NEW YORK — Cam Newton thanked his mother, then his father. And then he paused to compose himself.

Cecil Newton was back in Georgia, though his son put him squarely in the room where the Auburn quarterback accepted college football’s biggest award Saturday night — the Heisman Trophy.

“Thank you for all you did for me,” he told his parents, adding. “To my father, I love you so much.”

There was no doubt Newton would win the Heisman. Whether he gets to keep it is still uncertain.

Newton brushed off an investigation that determined his father violated NCAA rules as he did so many tacklers this season and captured the Heisman in a landslide vote.

Blending a linebacker’s body with a tailback’s speed and quickness, the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder from Georgia has guided Auburn to a perfect season. His numbers are off the charts: an SEC-best 1,409 yards rushing with 21 touchdowns, and 2,589 yards passing and 28 TD passes. He’s the first SEC player to run for at least 1,000 yards and pass for at least 2,000 in the same season.