50 greatest college football players this century, ranked

• Heisman Trophy (2004)
• Manning Award (2004)
• Johnny Unitas Award (2005)
• Walter Camp Award (2004)
• 2× Archie Griffin Award (2003, 2004)
• 2× First-team All-American (2004, 2005)
• 2x First-team All-PAC 10 (2004, 2005)

Matt Leinart took over as the starter as a sophomore in 2003 and wasted no time continuing the USC tradition of quarterback greatness. His first pass in the season opener against Auburn was a touchdown to Mike Williams in a 23-0 win. It was the first of 255 completions and 38 touchdowns that season. He went 3-0 to start the year before a triple-overtime loss to Cal but still led the Trojans to an 11-1 record, winning eight straight to close the season.

Leinart won the Heisman in 2004 as a junior then finished as a runner-up to teammate Reggie Bush as a senior. During his three years as USC’s starting quarterback, he had three consecutive 3,000-yard seasons, threw 99 touchdowns and went 37-2, appearing in two BCS National Title games, winning one against Oklahoma by a score of 55-19 in the 2004 Orange Bowl.

Although he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior with 3,322 yards and 33 touchdowns, it might have been his worst season. He threw for more yards as a sophomore and senior and had five more touchdowns his sophomore year. The reason Leinart isn’t higher on this list is just due to the fact that he was surrounded by so much NFL talent on both sides of the ball.

Bonus Facts: Leinart started his career throwing touchdowns in 24 straight games. He had 20 games with three or more touchdowns, 10 games with four or more and three games with five touchdowns.