New York ? Ohio State senior quarterback Troy Smith tried not to lose his poise during his first trip to the Big Apple. But it was hard to disguise the emotion that swept over him when he became the sixth player from that storied Big Ten program to win the Heisman Trophy.

No one at the Nokia Theater on Saturday night – or anywhere else, for that matter – seemed surprised by the results of the balloting. Smith completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,507 yards and 30 touchdowns for the top-ranked, 12-0 team that will play Florida for the BCS national championship on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz. He won the award given to college football’s most outstanding player in a landslide, with a record 801 of 924 first-place votes and 2,540 points overall.

Arkansas sophomore running back Darren McFadden – who should be the preseason front-runner for the 2007 award – finished a surprising second with 878 points, while Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn was third with 782. West Virginia running back Steve Slaton finished fourth with 214 points.

After the announcement was made by William J. Dockery of the Heisman Trust at the end of the hour-long ceremony, Smith – who was dressed in a gray suit and scarlet and gray tie – rose to his feet and shook hands with Quinn. Then, he found his mother, Tracy Smith, and sister, Brittany, and gave them both big hugs. “Normally, I’m pretty cool in pressure situations,” he said. “But my heart is pounding so fast right now.”

When he finished his heartfelt acceptance speech, he hoisted the 25-pound trophy aloft for the crowd to see.

That was easy part for the normally unflappable Smith.

Ohio State University quarterback Troy Smith walks to his news conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. Smith won the Heisman in a landslide Saturday in New York.

The hard part for him on the way to Saturday night, occurred back when he was just a 9-year-old kid from the poorest part of Cleveland – forced to spend four years away from his mother, who, according to court records, was struggling to conquer drugs and having trouble caring for Troy and Brittany.

The hard part was getting thrown out of St. Edward’s High in Lakewood, Ohio – a private Catholic school – midway through 11th grade after witnesses said he purposely threw an elbow into the face of an opposing player from St. John’s of Toledo during a basketball game and the coaches didn’t buy Smith’s explanation that he was being taunted with racial slurs.

The hard part was living through a two-game NCAA suspension that included the 2004 Alamo Bowl and the 2005 opener against Texas after admitting he took $500 from a booster the previous spring.

“I don’t want to make it sound like my life was the worst of anyone who grew up on 112th and Sinclair,” Smith said. “Life wasn’t so bad. I had the love of a lot of people.”

Make no mistake about it, this is Smith’s team and he came up huge whenever the Buckeyes needed him this season, particularly in the Nov. 18 No. 1 vs. No. 2 game against Michigan at the Shoe. Smith threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns and ran for an additional 50 as the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines, 42-39, to secure a spot in the BCS Championship Game.