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Ranking Heisman Trophy winners from 1-81

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Dec 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; The Heisman Trophy is seen during a press conference before the announcement of the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; The Heisman Trophy is seen during a press conference before the announcement of the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Paul Hornung 1956 Season Statistics

  • Games: 10
  • Rushing Attempts: 94
  • Rushing Yards: 420
  • Rushing Yards Per Game: 42.0
  • Yards Per Carry: 4.5
  • Rushing Touchdowns: 6
  • Receptions: 3
  • Receiving Yards: 26
  • Receiving Touchdowns: 0
  • Pass Completions: 59
  • Pass Attempts: 111
  • Passing Yards: 917
  • Passing Yards Per Game: 91.7
  • Passing Touchdowns: 3
  • Interceptions: 13

First things first, every college football player that has won the Heisman Trophy proved himself to be a great player – great enough that the nation’s sportswriters voted him as the best in the country in a single season. However, there are obviously some cases in which some Heisman winners were less deserving than others.

Paul Hornung, as great a player as he was in three seasons at Notre Dame, including a consensus All-American selection in 1955, did not deserve the Heisman in 1956. And, while statistics are part of the reason (and especially his ratio of three touchdown passes to 13 interceptions), the most concerning fact surrounding Hornung’s award-winning season is that he led the Fighting Irish to a terrible 2-8 record.

Ranked No. 3 in the first poll released by the Associated Press following an 8-2 record in 1955, Notre Dame lost its season opener to SMU 19-13, then lost five in a row including blowouts in three straight games by Michigan State (47-14), Oklahoma (40-0) and Navy (33-7). The second half of the schedule included a competitive loss to a ranked Pitt squad, a victory over North Carolina, and another humiliating loss, 48-8, to Iowa followed by a 28-20 defeat at the hands of USC.

All the while, Hornung piled up yardage and his 1,337 yards of total offense ranked second nationally. Unfortunately, his offensive production wasn’t nearly enough to make the Irish competitive in nearly half their games.

A more deserving Heisman winner would have been Tennessee’s Johnny Majors, who was the runner-up after both passing and rushing for over 500 yards, Oklahoma’s Tommy McDonald, who actually garnered the most first-place votes that season (205 compared to Hornung’s 197) after rushing for 853 yards and 12 touchdowns, or Syracuse running back Jim Brown, who finished fifth in the voting with 986 rushing yards and 13 TDs.

Eric Crouch 2001 Season Statistics

  • Games: 12
  • Pass Completions: 105
  • Pass Attempts: 189
  • Completion Percentage: 55.6
  • Passing Yards: 1,510
  • Passing Yards Per Game: 125.8
  • Passing Touchdowns: 7
  • Interceptions: 10
  • Rushing Attempts: 203
  • Rushing Yards: 1,115
  • Rushing Yards Per Game: 92.9
  • Yards Per Carry: 5.5
  • Rushing Touchdowns: 18

Paul Hornung was the only player in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy while playing for a losing team, but he wasn’t the only one to post a poor touchdown-to-interception ratio. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch tossed only seven touchdown passes in 2001 compared to ten interceptions.

However, unlike Hornung, Crouch helped his team achieve great success. Crouch operated Nebraska’s triple-option offense effectively enough to lead the Cornhuskers to 11 consecutive wins to start the season, which earned the team to a No. 2 ranking in the AP Top 25 prior to the season finale against Colorado. Though the Huskers suffered a defensive collapse in the 62-36 loss to the Buffaloes, which also cost Nebraska a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, Nebraska was still given an opportunity to play Miami in the Rose Bowl for the BCS National Championship.

Crouch completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 1,510 yards during the year, but did most of his damage on the ground. The Omaha, Nebraska native racked up 1,115 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns and was also on the receiving end of a 63-yard TD pass.

The performance was just enough for Crouch (770 points) to squeak past Florida quarterback Rex Grossman (708) and Miami signal caller Ken Dorsey (638) for the Heisman. Crouch was also named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year, which, like the Heisman is given to the nation’s top player, and won the Davey O’Brien Award given annually to the best quarterback in the country.

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