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For better and for worse, 2009 has been the year of the quarterback in college football. Typically, QB 1 is the flashiest recruit who becomes the Big Man on Campus, the team captain, the one at the center of the field and the press conferences. The intense focus on the quarterback is nothing special.

What's riveting about this year's crop of quarterbacks is the star power of the players themselves - the last two Heisman trophy winners (Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow), the last three Heisman finalists (Bradford, Tebow, and Colt McCoy), and two up-and-coming California golden boys (Matt Barkley and Jimmy Clausen) - not to mention the scary injuries among QBs nationwide.

Fortunately for fans, a handful of the nation's best are facing off in this weekend's marquee rivalry games.

In T-10 hours, we'll finally get the answer - though maybe not a definitive one - to the question SportsCenter anchors have asked all week: Bradford or McCoy?

Both could've declared for the draft. In returning, McCoy is a frontrunner for this year's Heisman and has a chance to take his Texas Longhorns to the BCS title game. Bradford's gunning for a national championship, still a slim possibility, and for a win over Texas.

It's a game with serious implications for the BCS bowl line-up, and it's a game Sam Bradford nearly had to sit out after suffering a sprained shoulder against BYU in the season-opener. It looked like a season-ender as Bradford writhed on the ground in obvious pain, but he bounced back quick enough to have a shot at what he went to OU to accomplish: winning the Red River Rivalry. Last year, Bradford won the Heisman and McCoy won the game; I'm pulling for a flip-flop this year. After all, fair's fair (and y'all know I'll never root for Texas).

The other active Heisman winner, Florida's Tim Tebow, is also on the mend after sustaining a horrendous concussion three weeks ago and, going up against a Bobby Petrino-coached Arkansas team, he, too, might look for a high-scoring game. Say what you want about Petrino but he's been successful when he's had strong-armed pure passers under center (Anyone remember Louisville and Brian Brohm? Anyone?) With Petrino's flashy, airborne offense, the Razorbacks seem to be the perfect match for Michigan transfer (and Arkansas native) Ryan Mallett.

Mallett's no Tim Tebow - I doubt we'll ever see another competitor quite like Tebow - but he's beginning to come into his own in his first season as a starter. Arkansas will be no match for the Gators as they chomp their way towards another national title game, but it'll be fun to watch Tebow and Mallett square off, Tebow representing the best of the last few years in college football, and Mallett offering a glimpse of the future.

The future will play just as much of a role as the rivalry's rich history in tomorrow's clash between Southern Cal and Notre Dame. If Jimmy Clausen has a stellar day, especially if he can pull off the win over the Trojans, he'll move to the top of the list of Heisman contenders. In a slew of close games this year, Clausen has shown a surprising measure of grit and mental toughness. Sure, they were close games against a weakened Michigan and a one-win-in-two-seasons Washington, but maintaining poise in that kind of pressure situation - and coming out on top - is an accomplishment regardless of who you're competing.

This weekend, Clausen will be competing against another blond-haired ball handler from Southern California, USC's true freshman starter Matt Barkley. Barkley is undoubtedly the future of USC football and unlike his counterpart Clausen, he's stepped into the role smoothly, with a calm confidence quite unlike Clausen's brash demeanor of two years ago. Barkley, like OU's Bradford, suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the loss to Washington, but he fought back from it, just as he fought for, and won, the starting job. You can bet he'll bring the same mentality to his first game in South Bend.

When Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford met on the field in last season's BCS national championship game, it was a rarity to have two Heisman winners on the same field. But this weekend, when OU plays Texas in Dallas, when Florida and Tim Tebow run into Ryan Mallett's ridiculous arm, and when the two golden boys from Southern California vie for the Shillelagh, there's a good chance at least one of those games will feature a match-up of future Heisman winners, and that's a great reason to tune in.