Apparently there is a way to top a perfect season.

Quarterback Colt Brennan, who led the University of Hawai'i football team to a 12-0 regular season and a Sugar Bowl berth, has been invited to New York as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, head coach June Jones confirmed last night.

"This is great for the state and the school," Jones said. "When has that ever happened for our school? Never. It'll probably never happen again."

The finalists will be announced today.

Finalists are invited to attend the announcement of college football's most prestigious award at a show televised live from the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.

Brennan declined to comment, saying, "I haven't received an official invitation. It might come (today), but I don't want to say anything now to make the Heisman committee mad."

But the Downtown Athletic Club of New York has booked a round-trip ticket for Brennan, who will depart tomorrow night.

Last season, Brennan had the best statistical season by a quarterback in NCAA history when he earned a pass-efficiency rating of 186.0 Brennan finished sixth in the Heisman voting in 2006.

"He deserved to go to New York last year after the season he had," linebacker Adam Leonard said. "It's been overdue."

In January, during a tearful news conference in the Stan Sheriff Center, Brennan announced he would return to UH for his senior season, relinquishing an opportunity to apply for the 2007 National Football League draft. At the time, Jones said, Brennan was forfeiting millions of dollars in potential earnings.

"This was part of the decision," Jones said. "I told him if he came back, we'd have a chance to go undefeated. If we did that, with our last three or four games on ESPN, he'd have a chance (to be a Heisman finalist). All of that is coming true."

Now, Jones said: "We don't know if he'll win it. But he deserves to win it. He's the best player in the nation."

Brennan said that if he were indeed a finalist, he would go to New York as an ambassador.

"I don't represent myself," Brennan said. "I represent my team, my teammates, the University of Hawai'i and the state. This will be a good opportunity for all of us."

Brennan's Heisman campaign started with a DVD that was distributed to media nationally in July.

Despite two significant injuries — he missed one game because of a badly sprained right ankle, and was limited to two plays in a second game because of a concussion — Brennan made a late push, as predicted by Jones.

"We knew if we got through the last two (regular-season) games undefeated that was the only way he'd have a shot to win it," Jones said. "We accomplished that. I said all of America will see him the last two games on national TV, and they did, and he will get a shot."

In victories over Boise State and Washington, Brennan completed 79.6 percent of his passes (82 of 103) for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was intercepted twice.

"If LSU and Ohio State can come out of nowhere in the last couple of weeks to play in the national championship game, there isn't any reason that Colt can't have that type of a last-minute charge," said Karl Benson, commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference. "Look at the statistics, and the fact that he led his team to 12 wins. And Saturday night against Washington, he took the team on his back, and got them there."

Brennan is the NCAA career leader in touchdown passes. Although he accumulated 4,239 yards in total offense in 11 games this season, his average was skewed because of a two-pass cameo against Nevada.

"He was the best player last year, and he should be the best this year," Jones said. "If I had him, we would get to the next level no matter what league it was in, and we'd get there in a hurry.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is considered to be the favorite to win the Heisman.

Ken Taylor knows Brennan and Tebow personally. Taylor's son, Rick, is a UH slotback. Taylor was an assistant coach when Tebow was a senior at Nease High in Florida.

"I love Timmy to death, and I've known him since he was 6 years old," Taylor said. "When it comes to pure passing, it's Colt hands down."

Taylor said without Tebow, Florida would not have a winning record. But Taylor said that if Brennan played in Florida's spread-option offense, "he's the Heisman Trophy winner hands down."

Taylor said Brennan's "accuracy is amazing. I've never seen a quarterback more accurate than Colt Brennan."

Rick Taylor has caught passes from Tebow and Brennan. He said Brennan's passes "are not too hard, not too soft. They're right there."

He said Tebow has more arm strength.

But pressed to decide between the two, Rick Taylor said: "I'm going to have to go with Colt. That's my guy right now. They're both great quarterbacks, but Colt's my guy right now."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.