Ranking Heisman Trophy winners from 1-81
Mike Rozier 1983 Season Statistics
- Games: 12
- Rushing Attempts: 275
- Rushing Yards: 2,148
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 179.0
- Yards Per Carry: 7.8
- Rushing Touchdowns: 29
- Receptions: 10
- Receiving Yards: 106
- Receiving Yards Per Game: 8.8
- Receiving Touchdowns: 0
Three of our top seven Heisman Trophy winners on our list did not begin their college football careers at the same university in which they won the award, and all three played at least one season in junior college before arriving at their final destination. The first is New Jersey native Mike Rozier, who played at Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas before transferring to Nebraska as a sophomore in 1981.
Rozier split time at running back for Nebraska as a sophomore and ran for 943 yards and five touchdowns before emerging as the team’s leading ball carrier as a junior in 1982. That season, Rozier became a consensus All-American when he ran for 1,689 yards and 15 TDs. He finished tenth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
However, Rozier’s greatest performance came as a senior, when he led the nation in rushing yardage (2,148) and rushing and total touchdowns (29). Adding his 106 receiving yards, Rozier also led the nation with 2,254 total yards from scrimmage. The Cornhuskers went 12-1, with the only blemish coming as the result of a failed two-point conversion against Miami in the Orange Bowl.
Rozier won the Heisman Trophy ahead of BYU quarterback Steve Young and became the second Nebraska player to win college football’s top individual honor. He was also named the winner of the Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards.
When taking bowl game statistics into account (which were not official for NCAA record books at the time), only Tony Dorsett’s 2,150 rushing yards in 1976 and Marcus Allen’s 2,427 yards in 1981 were more than Rozier’s 1983 performance. Rozier’s 2,148 rushing yards still rank among the top ten all-time for a single-season.
O.J. Simpson 1968 Season Statistics
- Games: 11
- Rushing Attempts: 383
- Rushing Yards: 1,880
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 170.9
- Yards Per Carry: 4.9
- Rushing Touchdowns: 23
- Receptions: 26
- Receiving Yards: 211
- Receiving Yards Per Game: 19.2
- Receiving Touchdowns: 0
Had he played more than two seasons at USC, O.J. Simpson may have gone down in history as the greatest college running back of all-time. As it stands, he was the greatest player of his era, and better than any running back that came before him.
After spending two seasons at City College of San Francisco, Simpson transferred to USC and quickly emerged as the nation’s best running back. As a junior, Simpson led the country with 1,543 rushing yards and scored 13 touchdowns for the 10-1 Trojans. Simpson helped USC win a national title and he won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award while also being named a consensus All-American, but finished second behind UCLA quarterback Gary Beban in Heisman Trophy voting.
The following season, Simpson again led the nation in rushing and set an NCAA single-season record with 1,880 yards and also led the country with 23 touchdowns and an NCAA-record 383 carries. In addition to winning the Camp Award and earning All-American recognition for a second consecutive season, Simpson was named the Maxwell Award winner and became the second Trojan to win the Heisman Trophy – which he did in record fashion. In fact, the 855 first-place votes Simpson received are still a record.
In just two seasons at USC, Simpson set an NCAA record for career rushing yardage with 3,423 yards – a mark that stood until 1971.
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