Ranking Heisman Trophy winners from 1-81
Archie Griffin 1974 Season Statistics
- Games: 12
- Rushing Attempts: 256
- Rushing Yards: 1,695
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 141.3
- Yards Per Carry: 6.6
- Rushing Touchdowns: 12
- Receptions: 5
- Receiving Yards: 77
- Receiving Yards Per Game: 6.4
- Receiving Touchdowns: 0
The only player to ever win the Heisman Trophy twice, Archie Griffin’s first award-winning season was significantly better than his second.
An immediate star at Ohio State, Griffin set a school record with 239 rushing yards in just his second game on campus. Griffin finished with 867 rushing yards and three touchdowns as a freshman, which he followed with 1,577 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns as a sophomore. Griffin finished fifth in Heisman voting that season.
In 1974, Griffin led the nation in rushing with 1,695 yards and also scored a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns while helping the Buckeyes to a 10-1 regular season record, a Big Ten championship, and a spot in the Rose Bowl (an 18-17 loss to USC). The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Griffin earned 483 first-place votes, which was 363 more than runner-up Anthony Davis.
Griffin, who also led the nation with 1,772 total yards from scrimmage and ranked fifth with an average of 6.6 yards per carry, earned consensus All-American honors for the first time and also won the first of his two Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards.
In 1975, Griffin became the first and only player to win the Heisman a second time after running for 1,450 yards and four touchdowns while leading the Buckeyes to an 11-0 regular season record and a No. 1 national ranking.
Ernie Davis 1961 Season Statistics
- Games: 10
- Rushing Attempts: 150
- Rushing Yards: 823
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 82.3
- Yards Per Carry: 5.5
- Rushing Touchdowns: 12
- Receptions: 16
- Receiving Yards: 157
- Receiving Yards Per Game: 15.7
- Receiving Touchdowns: 2
One of the closest Heisman Trophy races in history (and the closest at the time), the 1961 battle between Syracuse running back Ernie Davis and Ohio State’s Bob Ferguson was decided by a margin of 57 first-place votes with Davis coming out on top. The victory made Davis, who gained 823 rushing yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns, the first African-American player to win college football’s greatest individual honor.
A member of the 1959 national championship squad at Syracuse that went 11-0 and beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl, Davis also played linebacker in college and was a receiving threat out of the backfield. In his Heisman-winning season, Davis led the team with 16 receptions and 157 receiving yards and hauled in two TD catches.
A two-time consensus All-American, Davis became Syracuse’s all-time leader with 2,386 career rushing yards, 3,414 all-purpose yards, 220 points, and 35 career touchdowns and surpassed the great Jim Brown (who, like Davis, wore the legendary No. 44 for the Orange) atop the school’s all-time leaderboard in each category.
After winning the Heisman, Davis was selected first overall in the 1962 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Tragically, he never played a game for the Browns after being diagnosed with leukemia. Davis died the following year.
Nicknamed “The Elmira Express,” Davis’ life story was told in a book by the same name written by Robert C. Gallagher, which was later turned into a 2008 major motion picture named “The Express.”
Next: No. 33-32