Talking Points: Clever Heisman campaigns

1.

Colleges are getting more and more clever when it comes to promoting an athlete for the Heisman Trophy.

Take the push Kent State is making for Dri Archer, the Golden Flashes’ do-it-all running back. The school has kicked off a unique Heisman Trophy campaign to promote the lightning-fast Archer that includes a comic strip depicting him as a college football superhero. (We’re sorry of the small image here.

“The Archer” debuted Wednesday and will run on a weekly basis throughout the Golden Flashes’ season.

2.

The new kid isn’t exactly a neophyte, nor can it be considered a genuine underdog.

Nonetheless, if upstart 24-hour sports network Fox Sports 1, which launches Saturday, is to make inroads not only against Goliath ESPN but in a seemingly saturated television sports landscape, it will have to scream alternative.

That’s why you will see 81-year-old Regis Philbin hosting a discussion and analysis program called “Crowd Goes Wild.”

For local viewers, FS1 will take the place of the SPEED Channel on all platforms: Comcast is 408 or 723 for HD, DirecTV is 219 and Dish Network is 150.