The finalists for the Hesiman Trophy and a trip to New York for the ceremony were announced Monday.

Three finalists were named, including Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te’o and Kansas State senior quarterback Collin Klein.

Junior quarterback Jordan Lynch was not a member of the Heisman finalists this season and will not be making the trip to New York for the award ceremony.

Due to the dominant numbers that Lynch put up this season, I found it hard to believe that Lynch got as little recognition as he did. Ultimately, I was surprised he was not named as a finalist for the Heisman.

Yes, I know it’s a long shot for anyone coming from the MAC, who supposedly plays up to no competition week in and week out. But wait, didn’t NIU just get a bid to the Orange Bowl from that same conference that goes up against no competition compared to the bigger BCS schools?

If you’re going to give the Huskies a shot on a national stage then you may as well give Lynch a shot on the national stage considering he led this team the whole way.

Lynch led the Huskies to a nation-leading 12th straight victory and their second consecutive MAC title in 44-37 double-overtime victory over Kent State, Friday. Those 12 wins also set a school record for most wins in a single season.

From an individual aspect, Lynch excelled on the ground and throwing the ball, as he broke records left and right and did things that quarterbacks had never done before.

In the Huskies game against Toledo, Lynch ran for 162 yards and threw for 407 yards, making him the first quarterback in NCAA history to run for more than 150 yards and throw for more than 400 yards in the same game. In this game, he totaled 569 yards and set a new record at NIU for total offense in a game.

On the season, Lynch has 4,733 yards of total offense, which leads the nation in total yards. He leads the nation in rushing with 1,771 yards and has added 19 touchdowns. In the MAC Championship, Lynch ran for 160 yards and in the process, Lynch broke Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson’s NCAA single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,702 yards.

Lynch has also set the NCAA record for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback with 11.

Passing, Lynch added 2,962 yards through the air and 24 touchdowns. Between passing and rushing, Lynch combined for 43 total touchdowns, which is an NIU record.

For his performance this season, he was awarded MAC MVP and named the Offensive Player of the Year.

Based on these nation-leading numbers, broken records and historic performances, regardless of the competition, Lynch should have been a serious consideration for a Heisman finalist.

I guess he and the Huskies will just have to wait till New Years Day to prove the BCS wrong again.