By
Pete Fiutak |
CFN Heisman
Central
Post-Bowl Heisman Voting
2000 to 2007 |
1980 to 1989 |
1970 to 1979
It's now become a college football tradition to award the
Heisman Trophy, the premier individual prize in all of sports, in
between the end of the regular season and the bowls. Unfortunately,
the signature player of a given season often times isn't determined
until after the bowl game, and as everyone knows, one huge performance
on a national stage often means everything in the race.
In the 2007 battle, look at how Arkansas star Darren McFadden went from
also-ran to possible front-runner by blowing up against LSU when
everyone was watching. Missouri's Chase Daniel went from certain
finalist to out of the picture after struggling in the Big 12
Championship loss to Oklahoma. Yes, one big day on the national stage,
or one dud, is often the difference between winning and being a
footnote.
If the voting was done after the bowl games over the year, who would've won?
USC RB Reggie
Bush might have been a transcendent superstar in 2005, and he had a
whale of a Rose Bowl, but Texas QB Vince Young would've won if the
voting had been done after the national title game.
Sometimes the Heisman serves as a motivating factor in a bowl game for
the opposing defense, so
it's not always cut-and-dry that the winner would be clear after the
bowls like it does now. Even so, going back to 1970, when
the national title started being awarded after the bowls rather than
after the regular season, here are the last 36 Heisman winners and what
would've likely happened if the big prize was awarded after the season
was actually over.
1999 Ron Dayne, RB Wisconsin
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Dayne, 2) Joe Hamilton, QB Georgia
Tech, 3) Michael Vick, QB Virginia Tech
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Ron Dayne, RB
Wisconsin
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Dayne, 2) Vick, 3) Peter
Warrick, WR Florida State
There's no question Ron Dayne
would've still won after the bowls, he finished his career as the
all-time leading D-I rusher and ran for 200 yards and a score in the
Rose Bowl win over Stanford, but the voting would've been a heck of a
lot closer than the landslide it originally was. Joe Hamilton's Georgia
Tech team lost to Miami in the Gator Bowl, and here's where it gets
interesting. Virginia Tech's Michael Vick, who finished third, put on a
showstopper of a performance in the Sugar Bowl loss to Florida State,
running for 97 yards and a score and throwing for 225 yards and a
touchdown in a showstopper of a performance that was far better than the stats. And then there
was FSU's Peter Warrick, who finished sixth in the voting thanks to an
off-the-field problem involving a five-finger discount at a Dillard's,
but he lit up the Hokies for six catches for 163 yards and two
touchdowns as the MVP in the national championship. The sports world was
buzzing about him after the FSU win, but Vick was the one leaving jaws
on the floor.
1998 Ricky Williams, RB Texas
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Williams, 2) Michael Bishop, QB Kansas
State, 3) Cade McNown, QB UCLA
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Ricky Williams, RB
Texas
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Williams, 2) Bishop, 3) Ron
Dayne, RB Wisconsin
Forget about it. Williams ran for
203 yards and two touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl win over Mississippi
State, while Michael Bishop's Kansas State team lost to Purdue in the Alamo
Bowl and Cade McNown's UCLA lost to Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Ron
Dayne, who didn't even finish in the top ten in the voting, but had a big
season, likely would've rocketed up to third after tying a then-Rose
Bowl record with 246 yards and four touchdowns against the Bruins.
1997 Charles Woodson, CB Michigan
The Final Three Were ... 1) Woodson, 2) Peyton Manning, QB
Tennessee, 3) Ryan Leaf, QB Washington State
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Charles Woodson, CB
Michigan
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Woodson, 2) Manning, 3) Leaf
One of the all-time most heated Heisman races would've been a slam-dunk
after the bowls. Charles Woodson picked off a pass in the Rose Bowl as he led
his Michigan team to the national championship over Washington State.
Ryan Leaf was great in the loss, throwing for 331 yards and a touchdown with
an interception, and would've cemented the No. 3 spot. Peyton Manning threw
for a mere 134 yards and a touchdown with an interception in the 42-17
loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, and he likely would've been pushed
by Leaf for the runner-up slot.
1996 Danny Wuerffel, QB Florida
The Final Three Were ... 1) Wuerffel, 2) Troy Davis, RB Iowa
State, 3) Jake Plummer, QB Arizona State
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Danny Wuerfel, QB
Florida
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Wuerrfel, 2) Davis, 3)
Plummer
Danny
Wuerffel had a fight on his hands with Iowa State 2,000-yard runner,
Troy Davis, for the Heisman, but it wouldn't have been close after a
306-yard, three touchdown day in the 52-20 Sugar Bowl victory over
Florida State to win the national title. It would've been a close call
between Arizona State RB Jake Plummer and Ohio State OT Orlando Pace,
who finished fourth, for the third spot. Even in a 20-17 Rose Bowl loss
to the Buckeyes, Plummer was terrific throwing for 205 yards and a
touchdown, with an interception, and running for an 11-yard score on a
late drive that almost sealed the national title for the Sun Devils
before Joe Germaine led OSU on the game-winning drive.
1995 Eddie George, RB Ohio State
The Final Three Were ... 1) George, 2) Tommie Frazier, QB
Nebraska, 3) Danny Wuerffel, QB Florida
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Tommie Frazier, QB
Nebraska
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Frazier, 2) George, 3)
Keyshawn Johnson, WR USC
A tremendous Heisman battle would've ended in a flip-flop. Eddie George
ran for 107 yards and a touchdown in the 20-14 Ohio State loss to
Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl, but he was outplayed by Volunteer RB Jay
Graham, who ran for 168 yards and a score. Tommie Frazier would've won
in a walk after throwing for 105 yards and a score and running for 199
yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a classic 75-yard
tackle-breaking scoring run, in the 62-24 national title win over
Florida in the Fiesta Bowl. With Florida's Danny Wuerrfel throwing three
interceptions in the loss, USC WR Keyshawn Johnson, who finished seventh
in the voting, would've moved up to the third slot after catching 12
passes for 216 yards and a touchdown in the 41-32 Rose Bowl win over
Northwestern.
1994 Rashaan Salaam, RB Colorado
The Final Three Were ... 1) Salaam, 2) Ki-Jana Carter, RB Penn
State, 3) Steve McNair, QB Alcorn State
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Rashaan Salaam, RB
Colorado
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Salaam, 2) Carter, 3) Kerry
Collins, QB Penn State
Rashaan Salaam won easily, and he wouldn't have had a problem getting
the award after the bowls with 83 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-24
Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame. Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter would've
closed the gap a little bit after running for 156 yards and three
touchdowns, highlighted by an 83-yard dash to open the scoring, in the
38-20 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Alcorn State's Steve McNair only
finished 16 points ahead of fourth place finisher Kerry Collins, and
that likely would've changed after the Penn State quarterback threw for
200 yards with an interception against the Ducks to finish off an
unbeaten season.
1993 Charlie Ward, QB Florida State
The Final Three Were ... 1) Ward, 2) Heath Shuler, QB Tennessee,
3) David Palmer, RB Alabama
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Charlie Ward, QB
Florida State
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Ward, 2) Shuler, 3) J.J.
Stokes, WR UCLA
Charlie
Ward was a no-brainer pick, and he would've stayed that way after
winning the national title completing 24 of 43 passes for 286 yards
against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Heath Shuler was on an island as
the No. 2, and he would've likely stayed there despite losing to Penn
State in the Citrus Bowl, throwing for 205 yards and a touchdown with an
interception. The third place finish would've been an interesting battle
led by Alabama's do-it-all playmaker David Palmer, who came up with a
good day in a 24-10 Gator Bowl win over North Carolina. UCLA WR J.J.
Stokes, who finished seventh, but by a mere 161 points behind Palmer,
would've likely been a finalist after catching 14 passes for 176 yards
in the 21-16 Rose Bowl loss to Wisconsin.
1992 Gino Torretta, QB Miami
The Final Three Were ... 1) Torretta, 2) Marshall Faulk, RB San
Diego State, 3) Garrison Hearst, RB Georgia
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Garrison Hearst, RB
Georgia
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Hearst, 2) Torretta,
3) Faulk
One of the historically significant Heisman races would've turned on its
ear after the bowls. No one questioned that San Diego State's Marshall
Faulk and Georgia's Garrison Hearst were better players than Miami's
Gino Torretta, but the theory was that Faulk, a sophomore, had two more
shots at winning and Hearst, a junior, would've been the front-runner in
1993. And then disaster struck as Torretta threw for 278 yards and three
interceptions in a 34-13 Sugar Bowl national championship loss to
Alabama. Faulk didn't go to a bowl game after getting stuffed for 21
yards on 21 carries against Miami in his regular season finale. That
would've opened the door for Hearst, who ran for 163 yards and two
touchdowns on 28 carries in the 21-14 Citrus Bowl win over Ohio State.
1991 Desmond Howard, WR Michigan
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Howard, 2) Casey Weldon, QB Florida
State, 3) Ty Detmer, QB BYU
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Desmond Howard, WR
Michigan
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Howard, 2) Steve Emtman, DT
Washington,
3) Shane Matthews, QB Florida
Desmond Howard won the Heisman in a blowout getting 640 first place
votes, while second place finisher Casey Weldon of Florida State
finished with 19. That would've changed just a bit after Howard was shut
down by Washington in a 34-14 Rose Bowl loss with just one catch for 35
yards. Casey Weldon would've fallen off the map after completing 14 of
32 passes for 92 yards and four interceptions in a 10-2 Cotton Bowl win
over Texas A&M. Detmer never got a Holiday Bowl win (even though he
threw for 576 yards against Penn State in the 1989 loss), but he
finished up with 350 yards and two touchdowns in a 13-13 tie with Iowa.
He likely would've been knocked out by fifth place finisher Shane
Matthews, who had a tremendous 370-yard, two touchdown, three
interception day in the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. Steve Emtman, the
unquestioned leader of the co-national champion Washington Huskies,
would've rocketed up into the two spot. The junior defensive tackle
originally finished fourth, but he was second behind Howard in first
place votes.
1990 Ty Detmer, QB BYU
The Final Three Were ... 1) Detmer, 2) Rocket Ismail, WR Notre
Dame, 3) Eric Bienemy, RB Colorado
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Rocket Ismail, WR
Notre Dame
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Ismail, 2) Detmer, 3)
Bienemy
Ty Detmer won because he lit up defending national champion Miami on
national TV early in the season, but his Cougars lost late in the year
59-28 to Hawaii, and then got destroyed 65-14 to Texas A&M in the
Holiday Bowl. In the blowout, a banged up Detmer completed 11 of 23
passes for 120 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Notre Dame's
Rocket Ismail, the most electrifying player in America and a close
second place finisher, would've won in a post-bowl landslide for a play
that didn't even count. He seemingly ruined Colorado's national title
dream in the Orange Bowl with a late punt return for a touchdown, but it
was called back on a questionable holding penalty. With the Buffs
winning the national title, Eric Bienemy, who ran for 86 yards and a
touchdown in the 10-9 win, would've finished third.
Post-Bowl Heisman Voting
2000 to 2006 |
1980 to 1999 |
1970 to 1979