New York ? Tim Brown doesn’t think this year’s Heisman race is much of a competition. Danny Wuerffel says it’s too close to call.

Ask former Heisman Trophy winners what they think of the race for college football’s most prestigious award, and each one has a different answer. Iowa’s Brad Banks, Southern California’s Carson Palmer, Penn State’s Larry Johnson and Miami teammates Ken Dorsey and Willis McGahee are finalists for the trophy in one of the most wide-open contests in Heisman history.

Brown, who won the Heisman in 1987 with Notre Dame, voted for McGahee. So did Ricky Williams, the 1998 winner from Texas. Doug Flutie, who won it in 1984 out of Boston College, said his top three are quarterbacks — but he wouldn’t say who he voted No. 1. All former winners get to vote each year.

This year’s winner will be announced Saturday at the Yale Club in New York City.

“I don’t think it’s much of a race,” Brown said. “I think it’s going to be McGahee or Johnson, but I think McGahee’s going to win it. … It probably became pretty obvious three weeks ago this kid (McGahee) was probably the best player in the country.”

Maybe it was obvious to Brown, but the emergence of new candidates each week made it difficult for some voters.

Strong late-season performances pushed Palmer and Johnson into contention. McGahee wasn’t even supposed to play tailback, and Banks had never started a Division I-A game until this season.

It’s a rare situation when two finalists are from the same school. The last time that happened was 1994, when Penn State’s Ki-Jana Carter was second and Kerry Collins fourth.

“It’s such a regional voting thing, because they’re the guys you get to watch,” Flutie said. “So the Northeast people have a tendency to vote for the people they’ve seen on TV and the same for the Southeast or West Coast.”

Williams said: “You have to think who has contributed more to the success that team has. It’s probably McGahee. He’s had some big runs at clutch times. But I’m a running back. I’m probably a little biased.”

It could be an advantage that Miami is 12-0 and playing for its second straight national championship.

“I would guess one of those Miami players would be favored, just because a team like that usually has an advantage,” said Redskins coach Steve Spurrier, who won the Heisman in 1966 at Florida.

Dorsey has his supporters. Vinny Testaverde, who won out of Miami in 1986, is leaning toward the senior quarterback. So is Gino Torretta, another Hurricane who won it in 1992.

Some believe Palmer deserves it. The senior completed nearly 63 percent of his passes for 3,639 yards and 32 touchdowns with 10 interceptions this year. During the Trojans’ final eight games, he threw for 2,676 yards and 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

The last West Coast player to win the award was USC’s Marcus Allen in 1981.

Johnson finished with 2,015 yards rushing, only the ninth Division I-A player to top 2,000 in a season. Banks led the nation in passing efficiency, going 155-of-258 for 2,369 yards, 25 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 387 yards and five TDs on 73 carries; he was named The Associated Press College Player of the Year.