We have a great many friends who have Heisman Trophy votes, and we ourselves have voted for Mr. Stiff Arm winners in the past, but Friday’s proceedings at JerryWorld reminded us of a unique problem for which there is no real solution:

How do you vote for the Most Outstanding Player in College Football when you can’t figure out who deserves it more among teammates?

Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith, 2 of the 4 finalists for the 2020 version of the Heisman, provided the amateur intercollegiate tackle football version of “chicken or the egg?” Friday in the Rose Bowl against the undermanned and overwhelmed Notre Dame Fighting Irish to advance to College Football Playoff title game.

Does Jones make Smith the generational talent he is, and thus is deserving to be the first Tide quarterback to win the Heisman? Or does Smith make Jones the ruthlessly efficient quarterback he is, and thus is deserving to be the first Tide wide receiver to win the Heisman?

With all due respect to Clemson quarterback/presumptive No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence — and with much less respect to Florida quarterback/Heisman finalist Kyle Trask — the 45-pound hunk of bronze is destined to Tuscaloosa. The only question now is whether the name “Mac Jones” or “DeVonta Smith” is etched on the plaque.

In a way, it is good that Heisman voters had to submit their ballots before Friday’s virtuoso performances by Jones and Smith. Or is it Smith and Jones? Either way, the ballots were at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York and for Tuesday’s virtual ceremony long before Smith and Jones — or Jones and Smith? — torched Notre Dame’s defense.

The final numbers are only part of the story in Alabama’s 31-14 victory. Jones completed 25-of-30 pass attempts — an 83.3% clip — for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns. Smith, who was named the game’s Offensive MVP, hauled in 7 receptions for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns. Just as a running back can’t create open holes by himself, a receiver can’t throw himself passes. And even the best quarterback can’t throw passes to himself — though Jones actually did catch one of his attempts after it was batted back at him in a rare moment of Irish defensive pique.

To get tuned up like Notre Dame did would be psychologically damaging to most programs, but the Irish actually already took a worse beating in recent memory — getting destroyed by Alabama 42-14 in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game. And unlike that game, when much of the country (gambling and otherwise …) thought Notre Dame might have a shot, few outside the South Bend metropolitan area gave the Irish much of one Friday.

That’s because, simply put, Jones and Smith are both unbelievable talents who accent each other perfectly. Peanut butter and jelly, Bert and Ernie, and Oreos and ice-cold milk are the only possible exceptions to that statement — but neither of those tandems made a college football powerhouse look like your nephew Zach’s junior varsity team.

That’s what the Smith/Jones (Jones/Smith?) tandem did for 60 minutes at AT&T Stadium. Jones adroitly moved around the pocket to the point he only hit the turf when he was scrambling 6 times for 18 yards. Smith showed off NFL-level moves to make golden helmets miss early on a 26-yard tightrope TD. Jones distributed the ball to 8 receivers (including himself for the aforementioned minus-6-yard reception) to keep the Irish guessing. And when it was time for No. 6 to get the rock? Smith delivered a highlight-reel-worthy toe-tap for a 7-yard TD grab that only PylonCam was accurately able to illustrate proper reverence.

It got the point that mistakes by either Jones or Smith (Smith and Jones?) was remarkable. Smith dropped a sure completion midway through the fourth quarter that would have moved the Tide once again into Irish territory. And Jones ended that same possession by drawing an intentional grounding penalty.

Yes, the duo was that good that a pair of incompletions are news.

The potential 12th Joyless Murderball victim for Alabama? That’ll be either Clemson for the 5th time in the past decade or Ohio State in a rematch of the 2014 semifinals — live from South Beach on Jan. 11. Either way, the CFP finale figures to be more competitive than Tide vs. Irish was Friday night.

Although the usual cacophony that comes with football games in AT&T Stadium was subdued due to the less than 20,000 in attendance for the Rose Bowl (moved away from Pasadena for only the second time in its 107 iterations), it was telling that the in-house DJ was blasting Rob Base’s “It Takes 2” at one point in the fourth quarter.

Yes, it does take 2. And it is a shame that either Smith or Jones (Jones or Smith?) has to be the 1 to take home the Heisman.  Because both deserve it — due to each other.