Just before I started writing this, I wanted to look something up. Below is a list of Heisman winners dating back to 1990 with the team they played for and the school’s ranking at the end of the year.
| Year | Winner | School | Final AP Rank |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush | Southern Cal | 2 |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 2003 | Jason White | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | Southern Cal | 4 |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch | Nebraska | 8 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | Florida State | 5 |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin | 4 | 1998 | Ricky Williams | Texas | 15 | 1997 | Charles Woodson | Michigan | 1 | 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida | 1 | 1995 | Eddie George | Ohio State | 6 | 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | Colorado | 3 | 1993 | Charlie Ward | Florida State | 1 | 1992 | Gino Torretta | Miami | 3 | 1991 | Desmond Howard | Michigan | 6 | 1990 | Ty Detmer | Brigham Young | 22 |
So, of the last 16 Heisman winners, two have been on teams outside of the Top 10. And, if you look at Ricky Williams, he crushed runner up Michael Bishop in the votes. Why not? Williams put his name in the NCAA record book 20 times.
Ty Detmer is the true exception to this list. He edged out Notre Dame’s Raghib Ismail. The Irish finished at No. 6 that year.
What does all of this tell me? Well, a few things.
1. It gives an advantage to Troy Smith if Ohio State keeps rolling.
2. Michigan Chad Henne should probably be on the list considering he’s put up great numbers for the second-best team in the land. You could argue the same for Chris Leak or Michael Hart.
3. Guys like James Davis and Ray Rice aren’t just sophomores, they’re not on powerhouses. I will be eating a buffet of crow if Rutgers beats Louisville and West Virginia.
Maybe most importantly, does it mean that Brady Quinn could Williams and Detmer if Notre Dame loses another game? If the Irish lose, and lose bad, they probably won’t finish near the Top 10. And, is there an exception because it’s Notre Dame? I’d argue yes to the second one.
I thought all of that was interesting. What’d you think? Keep commenting, I’m loving it (and I plan on doing mailbags to answer them, I promise).
Troy Smith, Ohio State
Quarterback, Senior
He still hasn’t given me a single reason to dethrone him of the top spot. I think I’ve said everything I could about this guy.
Last week: 14-21, 183 yards, 1 TD, 43 rush yards, 1 TD vs Minnesota
This week: at Illinois
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Quarterback, Senior
Southern Cal losing won’t help his campaign – a win over a national title hopeful-USC would have been a lot more impressive. However, he’s still doing everything else right.
Last week: 18-25, 295 yards, 3 TDs, 28 rush yards, 1 TD at Navy
This week: versus North Carolina
Steve Slaton, West Virginia
Running back, Sophomore
As the group Genesis sang: “I’m gonna make it right, tonight, tonight, tonight.” This is it for Steve. If he rumbles for 150+ and a few TDs, you have to put him in the same sentence as Troy Smith.
Last week:idle
This week:at No. 5 Louisville, Thursday 11/2
Chris Leak, Florida
Quarterback, Senior
Does Florida really need Tim Tebow to come in and help win games? I think it’s ridiculous for two reasons: one, you burn Tebow’s redshirt and two, you hurt Leak’s numbers. Heisman winners help colleges out in big ways (powerful recruiting tool).
Last week: 14-28, 163 yards, 1 TD vs Georgia
This week: at Vanderbilt
Ian Johnson, Boise State
Running back, Sophomore
Last week he was making moves, this week he rolls through Fresno State to reach the vaunted Top 5. I must admit I didn’t see much of his performance against the Bulldogs – I was switching between LeBron and the Knicks.
Last week: 22 carries, 136 yards, 2 TDs vs Fresno St. (Nov. 1)
This week:at San Jose State (Nov. 11)
Still making moves:
Ray Rice, Rutgers
Running back, Sophomore
He was relatively bottled up against Connecticut, but he’s still chugging right along at 5.4 yards per carry. I think his coach, Greg Schiano, should employ my strategy when I have a Heisman hopeful on XBox: just use him every single play. I doubt Rice would get tired.
Last week: 22 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD vs Connecticut
This week: idle
Defensive bruiser:
The entire Michigan defense
Simply put, the Wolverines’ front seven are owning opponents. They yield just 28 yards per game on the ground (clearly the best in the country). Last year’s best rush defense, Ohio State, gave up an average of 73.4 yards (Southern Cal was tops in 2004 with 79.4). That’s a big difference. Could Ball State not rush for any positive yards this week? I bet my buddy Dean in Muncie would say it’s very possible.
Last week: NEGATIVE 13 RUSHING YARDS versus Northwestern
This week: versus Ball State
As for tonight, tonight, tonight? I'll go with Louisville, I think the Cardinals are more dimensional on offense. Pat White needs to show me he can throw the ball.
Comments (1)
WVU wins tonight. White will be able to throw the ball if the occasion calls for it, he is completing almost 70% of his passes this year the only downfall is that he has thrown only 6 TD's and 5 picks but 3 of those came in one game. However, I don't think White will have to beat the Cards with his arm. Two weeks ago Louisville gave up 249 yards rushing to Cincinnati. Cincinnati for crying out loud. If the Bearcats can rush for almost 250 yards against Louisville then the boys from Morgantown should roll up at least that. I'm sure Rich Rodriguez has a few wrinkles with the passing game as well. I would imagine some playaction looks that WVU has yet to show this year that should yield big yardage if the occasion calls for them. WVU by 7.