Wins, Losses and the Heisman

“The Heisman is a joke. Rather than recognizing individual achievement, it usually gets awarded to the best player on the best team.”

–a commonly voiced opinion about the Heisman

“I don’t care how good that player is. His team lost (X-amount) games; there’s no way he deserves the Heisman!”

— another commonly voiced opinion about the Heisman

How much should team success factor in determining the winner of the Heisman Trophy? As you can see from the quotes above, it’s a topic that often divides college football fans into two opposing camps.

One side believes that team success should not play a deciding role in choosing the Heisman winner, while the other side sees team success as a byproduct of individual greatness and thus a necessary requirement for winning the trophy.

Our role here at Heisman.com is not to land on either side of the argument, but rather to shed some light on the topic by analyzing the standards by which previous Heisman winners were chosen.

Indeed, a study of Heisman history reveals that correlation does not equal causation in the area of team success. More accurately, it’s important to view each Heisman-winning season on a stand-alone basis. In some seasons, great individual efforts were rewarded despite less-than-remarkable team achievements. In other seasons, players surfed a victory-generated wave all the way to the Heisman podium. In other seasons, both factors were in play.

Some of the great record breakers in NCAA history also won the Heisman: The last three NCAA career rushing leaders did so, as did two of the last six NCAA career passing leaders. Barry Sanders still holds the record for single-season rushing yards and the man whose record he broke was Marcus Allen. Of the seven Heisman winners referenced in this paragraph, just one played for a national championship team, while the other six played for teams that had at least two losses.

At the same time, 14 Heisman winners played for teams that won the national championship, including four of the last nine. No Heisman winner has played for a team with four or more losses since 1969. Only one player — Paul Hornung — won the Heisman while playing on a team with a losing record.

In other words, wins and losses matter, except for when they don’t.

Here’s a breakdown of Heisman teams by record:

Winners on Regular Season Unbeaten Teams 
1938 Davey O’Brien Texas Christian 11 – 0 – 0
1941 Bruce Smith Minnesota 8 – 0 – 0
1944 Les Horvath Ohio State 9 – 0 – 0
1945 Doc Blanchard Army 9 – 0 – 0
1946 Glenn Davis Army 9 – 0 – 1
1947 John Lujack Notre Dame 9 – 0 – 0
1949 Leon Hart Notre Dame 10 – 0 – 0
1951 Dick Kazmaier Princeton 9 – 0 – 0
1953 John Lattner Notre Dame 9 – 0 – 1
1958 Pete Dawkins Army 8 – 0 – 1
1968 O.J. Simpson So. California 9 – 0 – 1
1973 John Cappelletti Penn State 11 – 0 – 0
1975 Archie Griffin Ohio State 11 – 0 – 0
1976 Tony Dorsett Pittsburgh 11 – 0 – 0
1977 Earl Campbell Texas 11 – 0 – 0
1979 Charles White So. California 10 – 0 – 1
1982 Herschel Walker Georgia 11 – 0 – 0
1983 Mike Rozier Nebraska 12 – 0 – 0
1986 Vinny Testaverde Miami 11 – 0 – 0
1992 Gino Torretta Miami 11 – 0 – 0
1997 Charles Woodson Michigan 11 – 0 – 0
2004 Matt Leinart So. California 12 – 0 – 0
2006 Troy Smith Ohio State 12 – 0 – 0
2009 Mark Ingram Alabama 13 – 0 – 0
2010 Cam Newton Auburn 13 – 0 – 0
2013 Jameis Winston Florida State 13 – 0 – 0

Winners on Teams with One Regular Season Loss
1936 Larry Kelley Yale 7 – 1 – 0
1937 Clinton Frank Yale 6 – 1 – 0
1939 Nile Kinnick Iowa 6 – 1 – 0
1940 Tom Harmon Michigan 7 – 1 – 0
1942 Frank Sinkwich Georgia 11 – 1 – 0
1943 Angelo Bertelli Notre Dame 9 – 1 – 0
1948 Doak Walker So. Methodist 9 – 1 – 1
1952 Billy Vessels Oklahoma 8 – 1 – 1
1959 Billy Cannon Louisiana State 9 – 1 – 0
1960 Joe Bellino Navy 9 – 1 – 0
1963 Roger Staubach Navy 9 – 1 – 0
1964 John Huarte Notre Dame 9 – 1 – 0
1971 Pat Sullivan Auburn 9 – 1 – 0
1972 Johnny Rodgers Nebraska 9 – 1 – 1
1974 Archie Griffin Ohio State 10 – 1 – 0
1978 Billy Sims Oklahoma 10 – 1 – 0
1991 Desmond Howard Michigan 10 – 1 – 0
1993 Charlie Ward Florida State 11 – 1 – 0
1994 Rashaan Salaam Colorado 11 – 1 – 0
1996 Danny Wuerffel Florida 11 – 1 – 0
2000 Chris Weinke Florida State 11 – 1 – 0
2001 Eric Crouch Nebraska 11 – 1 – 0
2003 Jason White Oklahoma 12 – 1 – 0
2008 Sam Bradford Oklahoma 12 – 1 – 0
2014 Marcus Mariota, Oregon 12 – 1 – 0
2015 Derrick Henry Alabama 12 – 1 – 0
2017 Baker Mayfield Oklahoma 12 – 1 – 0

Winners on Teams with Two Regular Season Losses
1954 Alan Ameche Wisconsin 7 – 2 – 0
1955 Howard Cassady Ohio State 7 – 2 – 0
1957 John David Crow Texas A&M 8 – 2 – 0
1962 Terry Baker Oregon State 8 – 2 – 0
1965 Mike Garrett So. California 7 – 2 – 1
1966 Steve Spurrier Florida 9 – 2 – 0
1967 Gary Beban UCLA 7 – 2 – 1
1984 Doug Flutie Boston College 9 – 2 – 0
1988 Barry Sanders Oklahoma State 9 – 2 – 0
1989 Andre Ware Houston 9 – 2 – 0
1991 Ty Detmer BYU 10 – 2 – 0
1995 Eddie George Ohio State 10 – 2 – 0
1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin 9 – 2 – 0
2002 Carson Palmer So. California 10 – 2 – 0
2012 Johnny Manziel Texas A&M 10 – 2 – 0

Winners on Teams with Three Regular Season Losses
1950 Vic Janowicz Ohio State 6 – 3 – 0
1961 Ernie Davis Syracuse 7 – 3 – 0
1970 Jim Plunkett Stanford 8 – 3 – 0
1980 George Rogers South Carolina 8 – 3 – 0
1981 Marcus Allen So. California 8 – 3 – 0
1985 Bo Jackson Auburn 8 – 3 – 0
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame 8 – 3 – 0
1998 Ricky Williams Texas 8 – 3 – 0
2007 Tim Tebow Florida 9 – 3 – 0
2011 Robert Griffin III Baylor 9 – 3 – 0
2016 Lamar Jackson Louisville 9 – 3 – 0

Winners on Teams with Four Regular Season Losses
1969 Steve Owens Oklahoma 6 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a .500 Record
1935 Jay Berwanger Chicago 4 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a Losing Record
1956 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 2 – 8 – 0