Don’t Ask Me About The Heisman Race

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Each week I’m lucky enough to be a guest on radio stations across the Southeast.  It’s a great way to promote MrSEC and I can assure you that I like nothing better than talking SEC football and basketball.

But there’s one question I just can’t take anymore:

“Who do you think will win the Heisman Trophy?”



You see, I’m not a big fan of awards in the first place.  There are just too many of them these days and the voting is way too subjective to suit my tastes.  I’d prefer awards be handed out based on actual statistical achievements.  At least then there would be some guideline to explain why Player A beat out Player B for the Bert Wockenfuss Silver Limb Award.

But of all the awards handed out, none — in my opinion — is more ridiculous than the Heisman Trophy.

For years, the Northeast and Midwest population centers were home to the most voters.  So it’s no surprise that Notre Dame and Ohio State have combined for umpteen Heismans while stars for the two winningest programs in SEC history (Alabama and Tennessee) have never brought home a single statue.

The Heisman is supposed to go the greatest player in college football, but in fact it’s an award for offensive skill position players.  Lineman have no shot.  Neither do folks on defense.  Well, except for one year, of course.



In 1997, the Heisman Trophy lost a huge amount of credibility with me.  The following year, things got even worse and I decided that I’d watched my final Heisman presentation altogether.

In ‘97, the award finally went to a defensive player — cornerback Charles Woodson of Michigan.

Woodson, who dabbled on offense and returned punts, beat out Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning for the trophy.

Manning had completed 287 of 477 passes (60.3%) for 3,819 yards, 37 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions.  Unfortunately, he had also been talked about for four years and voters had simply grown tired of him. 

An early season loss to Florida served as a reason not to vote for him.  Woodson was the flavor of the month.  Below are his Heisman-winning stats:



CHARLES WOODSON, 1997 Offensive and Defensive Stats

Woodson won the Heisman with 1,815 votes.  Manning finished second with 1,543 votes.

And while I thought that vote was a royal screw-up at the time, I could have lived with it had voters used the same criteria a year later. 

They didn’t.

The gaudy numbers of an offensive skill player suddenly counted again in 1998.  Texas running back Ricky Williams took home the trophy based on his 391 carries, 2,397 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns.

Down the list — way down the list in fact — was Georgia cornerback Champ Bailey.  Bailey was a two-way star along the same lines as Woodson.  Only Bailey had much, much better stats than the ‘97 winner:



CHAMP BAILEY, 1998 Offensive and Defensive Stats

If that’s not a crock, nothing is. 

Bailey had 43 more rushing yards, 35 more catches, 506 more receiving yards, a better yards-per-return average, and 100 more tackles in 1998 than Woodson recorded in 1997.  He also scored one more touchdown.

But while Woodson won the Heisman with his 1,815 votes in 1997… Bailey finished just SEVENTH in the 1998 vote with a ridiculous 55 total votes.



That, my friends, is why I pay no attention to the most overhyped award in sports.  Regional bias still plays a role.  Statistics that mean everything one year, might mean absolutely nothing the next.

It’s a joke.

So if you hear me on a radio station in your town this week, don’t be surprised if give a fairly quick answer if asked about this year’s Heisman race.

‘Cause I don’t care and I don’t follow it.  Best of luck to Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram, but I won’t be watching.

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