Trojan quarterback Matt Leinart added another honor when he was named the AP player of the year. The player of the year voting was actually closer than the Heisman, but in the end Leinart held off Jason White and Adrian Peterson. Leinart will try to continue his 2004 success with a victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

There are 64 members of a national panel who vote for the player of the year. Leinart ended with 17, White and Peterson had 12 each. The Oklahoma teammates tied for second place.

Leinart had 28 touchdowns on the year, nearly 3,000 yards passing and found his receivers 66% of the time.

Five straight quarterbacks have won the AP player of the year award.