Ranking the most dominant Heisman campaigns of the last 25 years

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Marcus Mariota, quarterback for the University of Oregon Ducks, hoist the trophy after being named the 80th Heisman Memorial Trophy Award winner during the 2014 Heisman Trophy Presentation at the Best Buy Theater on December 13, 2014 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: Photographer approval needed for all Commercial License requests. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Getty Images for The Heisman) /

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NEW YORK – DECEMBER 10: Heisman candidate quarterback Matt Leinart #11 of the USC Trojans speaks to the media after the 2005 /

19. Matt Leinart

As the starting quarterback for the USC Trojans during their incredible dynasty under Pete Carroll, Leinart had a leg up in the Heisman race, although his 2004 victory proved to be anything but easy.

The Santa Ana native became a star at powerhouse Mater Dei High School, becoming one of the top recruits in the class of 2001. USC nearly lost Leinart after firing head coach Paul Hackett before agreeing to play for Caroll and joining the Trojans.

After spending his first two years redshirting and then serving as Carson Palmer’s backup, Leinart narrowly beat out Matt Cassel for the starting quarterback job and proceeded to finish sixth in the Heisman voting. Leinart took thinks to the next level in 2004, completing over 65 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,322 yards and 33 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

There was little separation throughout the 2004 Heisman race, with defending champion Jason White, future No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith and USC teammate Reggie Bush also putting up huge numbers. Leinart topped Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson by 328 points to win the award, with White and Smith splitting votes not far behind.

Having a loaded roster didn’t hurt Leinart’s cause at all, and he never felt like a dominant runaway winner like several other Heisman champions over the years due to the number of prolific quarterbacks in the 2004 race.

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