Ranking Heisman Trophy winners from 1-81
Vine Testaverde 1986 Season Statistics
- Games: 11
- Pass Completions: 175
- Pass Attempts: 276
- Completion Percentage: 63.4
- Passing Yards: 2,557
- Passing Yards Per Game: 232.5
- Passing Touchdowns: 26
- Interceptions: 9
- Rushing Attempts: 46
- Rushing Yards: -103
- Rushing Yards Per Game: -9.4
- Yards Per Carry: -2.2
- Rushing Touchdowns: 4
- Receiving: 1 REC, 13 YD
Of all the great Miami football players that played for the Hurricanes during the dynasty of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Vinny Testaverde was the first to win the Heisman Trophy in 1986.
After finishing fifth in the voting in 1985, Testaverde blew the competition away in 1986. The senior threw for 2,557 yards and led the country with 26 touchdowns while completing 63.4 percent of his passes. Testaverde led the nation in pass efficiency rating (165.8), adjusted passing yards per attempt (9.7) and total touchdowns (30).
Far from a dual-threat signal caller, Testaverde finished the season with -103 rushing yards as the results of sacks. He did however find the end zone on four TD runs.
Testaverde earned a whopping 678 first-place votes and 2,213 total votes in the process. Runner-up Paul Palmer, a running back from Temple, had 28 first-place votes and 672 points while Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh finished third with 25 No. 1 votes and 458 points. Fifth-place finisher Holy Cross running back Gordon Lockbaum actually receiving the second-most first-place votes behind Testaverde with 32.
In addition to winning the Heisman, Testaverde was also a consensus All-American, and won the Davey O’Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, the Sammy Baugh Trophy and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. Testaverde led Miami to an 11-0 regular season record, but the Hurricanes lost 14-10 to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Ty Detmer 1990 Season Statistics
- Games: 12
- Pass Completions: 361
- Pass Attempts: 562
- Passing Yards: 5,188
- Passing Yards Per Game: 432.3
- Passing Touchdowns: 41
- Interceptions: 28
- Rushing Attempts: 73
- Rushing Yards: -166
- Rushing Yards Per Game: -13.8
- Yards Per Carry: -2.3
- Rushing Touchdowns: 4
BYU quarterback Ty Detmer threw for more passing yards in his 1990 Heisman Trophy-winning season than any other player in the history of the award. Detmer’s 5,188 passing yards broke 1989 Heisman winner Andre Ware’s NCAA record of 4,699 and narrowly beat out Ware’s replacement at Houston, David Klingler, who threw for 5,140 yards in 1990 as well. The record stood for 13 seasons and currently ranks sixth on the all-time list for a single season.
In addition to leading the nation in passing yardage and passing efficiency (155.9), Detmer led all players with an astounding 28 interceptions. He also ranked second in completions (361), attempts (562), yards per attempt (9.2), touchdowns (41), and total yardage (5,022).
Detmer won the Heisman in a close race with Notre Dame’s Raghib Ismail, and also captured the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award and was a consensus All-American. Undersized for a quarterback at 6-foot and 175 pounds, Detmer returned to BYU in 1991 and again led the nation in passing yardage (4,031) while winning All-American honors and the O’Brien Award for the second time, as well as the Sammy Baugh Trophy. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The last Heisman winner to play for a school from a mid-major conference, Detmer broke a grand total of 59 NCAA records and tied three more in four seasons with the Cougars before going on to a long career in the NFL.
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