By
Pete Fiutak |
CFN Heisman
Central
Post-Bowl Heisman Voting
2000 to 2007 |
1990 to 1999 |
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.
1989 Andre Ware, QB Houston
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Ware, 2) Anthony Thompson, RB Indiana,
3) Major Harris, QB West Virginia
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Andre Ware, QB
Houston
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Ware, 2) Thompson, 3) Tony
Rice, QB Notre Dame
Andre
Ware was a statistical monster throwing for 44 touchdowns and 4,299
yards in the new run 'n' shoot attack. But he didn't play in a bowl
game, and neither did Indiana's Anthony Thompson. West Virginia's Major
Harris, who finished third, got blasted in a 27-7 Gator Bowl loss to
Clemson, and with no other real candidates to slip into the top three,
Notre Dame's Tony Rice, who finished fourth, would've probably slipped
into the top three after beating Colorado 21-6 in the Orange Bowl.
However, it wouldn't have been a slam-dunk after completing just five of
nine passes for 99 yards.
1988 Barry Sanders, RB Oklahoma State
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Sanders, 2) Rodney Peete, QB USC, 3)
Troy Aikman, QB UCLA
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Barry Sanders, RB
Oklahoma State
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Sanders, 2) Steve Walsh, QB
Miami,
3) Aikman
Barry
Sanders got 559 of the 715 first place bowls. After running 25 times for
222 yards and five touchdowns in the 62-14 Holiday Bowl win over
Wyoming, it would've been 715 of 715. USC's Rodney Peete was held to 158
yards and two interceptions in a Rose Bowl loss to Michigan, and
would've likely dropped out of the top three. UCLA's Troy Aikman
would've stayed in the top three because his Bruins beat Arkansas 17-3
in the Cotton Bowl, but he only threw for 172 yards with a touchdown and
an interception. Miami's Steve Walsh won the national title over
Oklahoma with a nice 209-yard, two touchdown, one interception
performance and would've gone from fourth to second.
1987 Tim Brown, WR Notre Dame
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Brown, 2)
Don McPherson, QB Syracuse, 3)
Gordon Lockbaum, RB/DB
Holy Cross
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Tim Brown, WR Notre
Dame
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Brown, 2)
Lorenzo White, RB Michigan State, 3) McPherson
Tim
Brown won in a landslide and wouldn't have had many problems after the
bowls catching six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in a 35-10 loss
to Texas A&M, but he was held in check as a returner. Don
McPherson didn't do enough in the 16-16 Sugar Bowl against Auburn to get
much closer, but Michigan State RB Lorenzo White, who finished fourth,
would've blown past Holy Cross cause
célèbre Gordie Lockbaum after running 35 times for 113
yards and two touchdowns leading the Spartans to a 20-17 Rose Bowl win
over USC.
1986 Vinny Testaverde, QB Miami
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Testaverde, 2) Paul Palmer, RB Temple,
3) Jim Harbaugh, QB Michigan
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Vinny Testaverde, QB
Miami
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Testaverde, 2) Palmer,
3) Brian Bosworth, LB Oklahoma
Vinny
Testaverde might have thrown five picks, no touchdowns and 285 yards in
the 14-10 Fiesta Bowl loss to Penn State, but there simply weren't any
other options. This was the first of two big Heisman years from Gordie
Lockbaum, a do-it-all player from Holy Cross finished fifth. Temple's
Paul Palmer didn't play in a bowl, and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh was
almost as bad as Testaverde with three interceptions and 172 yards in
the 22-15 Rose Bowl loss to Michigan. Brian Bosworth led a Sooner
defense that stuffed Arkansas 42-8 in the Orange Bowl.
1985 Bo Jackson, RB Auburn
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Jackson, 2) Chuck Long, QB Iowa, 3)
Robbie Bosco, QB BYU
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Bo Jackson, RB
Auburn
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Jackson, 2) Longa,
3) Lorenzo White, RB Michigan State
In one of the closes Heisman races ever, with Bo Jackson beating Chuck
Long 1,509 total points to 1,464, voting after the bowls might not have
settled the issue. Bo ran 31 times for 129 yards and a touchdown in the
36-16 loss to Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, while Long threw for 319
yards and a touchdown with an interception in the 45-28 Rose Bowl loss
to UCLA. Michigan State's Lorenzo White, who finished fourth, would've
likely jumped up past BYU's Robbie Bosco for third after the Cougar star
threw four picks in a Citrus Bowl loss to Ohio State.
1984 Doug Flutie, QB Boston College
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Flutie, 2) Keith Byars, RB Ohio State,
3) Robbie Boscoe, QB BYU
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Doug Flutie, QB
Boston College
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Flutie, 2) Bosco, 3) Byars
Doug Flutie's landslide win would've been even bigger after throwing for
180 yards and three touchdowns in the 45-28 Cotton Bowl win over
Houston. Keith Byars ran for 109 yards in the 20-17 Rose Bowl loss to USC,
while Robbie Bosco led his Cougars to the national title by throwing for 343
yards and two touchdowns, but he threw three picks, in the 24-17 Holiday
Bowl win over Michigan. The two would probably have flip-flopped spots
in the post-bowl voting.
1983 Mike Rozier, RB Nebraska
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Rozier, 2) Steve Young, QB BYU, 3) Doug
Flutie, QB Boston College
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Mike Rozier, RB
Nebraska
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Rozier, 2) Young,
3) Bernie Kosar, QB Miami
Mike Rozier got hurt in the national title loss to Miami, but he still
would've pulled out the Heisman after dominating throughout the season.
Steve Young got most of the second place votes, and would've closed the
gap after throwing for 314 yards, running for a score, and catching a
touchdown pass in the 21-17 win over Missouri in the Holiday Bowl.
Doug Flutie played well with a furious rally coming up short in 19-18
Liberty Bowl loss to Notre Dame, so the 300-yard, two-touchdown
performance in the epic win over Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl would
probably have taken him from out of the Heisman voting to third.
1982 Herschel Walker, RB Georgia
The Final Three Were ... 1) Walker, 2) John Elway, QB Stanford,
3) Eric Dickerson, RB SMU
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Herschel Walker, RB
Georgia
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Walker, 2) Dickerson, 3)
Elway
It would've been an interesting post-bowl fight for the runner up
spots, but there was no question Herschel Walker would've still won easily after
running for 103 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Penn State in the
Sugar Bowl. John Elway never played in a bowl game, while Dickerson led SMU
to an icy 7-3 win over Pitt with 124 yards on 27 carries. Nittany Lions
Curt Warner, who finished tenth, and Todd Blackledge, who finished
sixth, would've made a big push for one of the top three spots after
their performances over Georgia to with the national title. Warner
outgained Walker with 117 yards and a touchdown on just 18 carries,
while Blackledge threw for 228 yards with a classic 47-yard touchdown
pass to Greg Garrity.
1981 Marcus Allen, RB USC
The Final Three Were ... 1)
Allen, 2) Herschel Walker, 3) Jim
McMahon, QB BYU
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Marcus Allen, RB USC
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Allen, 2) Walker, 3) McMahon
This might have been the great Heisman race ever, and it certainly
would've gotten even more interesting after the bowls. How good would
this post-bowl race have been? Pitt's Dan Marino, who finished fourth,
would've have been able to crack the top three after throwing for 261
yards and three touchdowns with a 33-yard scoring pass on
fourth-and-the-game to beat Herschel Walker's Georgia. Walker ran for 84
yards and two touchdowns, and would've been able to off McMahon, who
would've made a push from the three spot after bombing away for 342
yards and three touchdowns in the 38-36 Holiday Bowl win over Washington
State. Oh yeah, and then there's Marcus Allen, who ran for 2,342 yards
becoming the first player ever to pass the 2,000-yard mark, but was held
to 80 yards on 30 carries in a 26-10 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta
Bowl.
1980 George Rogers, RB South Carolina
The Final Three Were ... 1) Rogers, 2) Hugh Green, DE Pitt,
3) Herschel Walker, RB Georgia
The Likely Winner After The Bowls Would've Been ... Herschel Walker, RB
Georgia
The Final Three Likely Would've Been ... 1) Walker, 2) Green,
3) Rogers
Rogers might have led the nation with 1,781 rushing yards, but if
the voters could've gotten past Herschel Walker's freshman status, it
would've been a no-brainer of a vote after the Georgia star led his team
to a national title win over Notre Dame by running for 150 yards and two
touchdowns. Rogers ended up with 113
yards, but fumbled two times in a 37-9 loss to Hugh Green's Pitt in the
1980 Gator Bowl. The Gamecocks did everything possible to stay away from
Green, and that allowed Rickey Jackson to make 19 tackles.
Post-Bowl Heisman Voting
2000 to 2006 |
1900 to 1999 |
1970 to 1979