Boston College

Doug Flutie set the NCAA all-time passing yardage mark while winning Boston College's first Heisman in 1984.

Heisman Winner

Doug Flutie

QB | Senior | Boston College

Flutie set the NCAA all-time passing yardage mark while winning Boston College’s first Heisman in 1984.

The first major college football passer to surpass 10,000 career yards (10,579), the undersized Flutie was a surefire combination of derring-do, charisma and dazzling football skills.

Flutie was born in Baltimore but moved to Natick, Massachusetts, as a teenager. He graduated Natick High in 1981 as an all-league performer in football, basketball and baseball.

He signed with Boston College and earned a starting role as a true freshman and never looked back, never missing a game in his career. That first year, he threw for 1,652 yards and 10 touchdowns. He totaled 2,749 yards and a sophomore and 2,724 yards as a junior as BC went 9-3 and won the Liberty Bowl. That year, Flutie was a Heisman finalist, finishing third in the vote behind Mike Rozier. He entered the 1984 season as one of Heisman front runners and didn’t disappoint.

Flutie had a remarkable senior year, throwing for 3,454 yards and 27 touchdowns as the Eagles finished 9-2 in the regular season and ranked eighth in the polls. Of course, everyone remembers his dramatic last-second bomb to Gerard Phelan that led BC over Miami, 47-45. But contrary to popular belief, that play did not win Flutie the Heisman as the votes were already mailed in.

A unanimous First-Team All-America selection in 1984, he won the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award that year in addition to the Heisman. An excellent student, Flutie was also a candidate for a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in his senior year.

After graduation, he played 22 years of professional football and was elected to the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2007).

Flutie is currently a broadcast analyst for ABC Sports and ESPN, covering college football. In 1998, he established the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism in honor of his son who was diagnosed with the disability. To date, Doug has raised over $20 million for children with autism.

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1050 - Announced: December 1, 1984.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Doug FlutieSRQBBoston College67887322240
2Keith ByarsJRRBOhio State874271361251
3Robbie Bosco*JRQBBYU2095193443
4Bernie KosarSOQBMiami (Fla.)976141320
5Kenneth DavisJRRBTexas Christian6163686
6Bill FralicSROTPittsburgh1243081
7Chuck LongJRQBIowa261937
8Greg AllenSRRBFlorida State0101737
9Jerry RiceSRWRMississippi Valley State39936
10Rueben MayesJRRBWashington State171532

Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place.

Heisman Voting By Region

Heisman voters are spread out across six regions, with roughly 145 per region.

South

 Player
1Doug Flutie
2Keith Byars
3Bernie Kosar
4Robbie Bosco
5Jerry Rice

Northeast

 Player
1Doug Flutie
2Keith Byars
3Robbie Bosco
4Bernie Kosar
5Bill Fralic

Mid-Atlantic

 Player
1Doug Flutie
2Keith Byars
3Robbie Bosco
4Bernie Kosar
5Bill Fralic

Midwest

 Player
1Doug Flutie
2Keith Byars
3Robbie Bosco
4Bernie Kosar
5Chuck Long

Southwest

 Player
1Doug Flutie
2Keith Byars
3Robbie Bosco
4Kenneth Davis
5Bernie Kosar

Far West

 Player
1Doug Flutie
2Keith Byars
3Robbie Bosco
4Bernie Kosar
5Ruben Mayes

Statistics

Doug Flutie’s Heisman Year Statistics

DateOpponentResultAttCompPct.YdsYPATDIntRatingRushesYdsYPCTDPlaysTotal OffYPPTotal TDs
9/1/84West CarolinaW 44-24312270.933010.641191.37
9/8/84at AlabamaW 38-31381950.02546.720123.5251
9/22/84North Carolina**W 52-20382873.63549.360204.04
10/13/84TempleW 24-10331751.62577.812114.81
10/20/84at #18 West VirginiaL 21-20422150.02997.110117.66
10/27/84RutgersW 35-23302170.031810.632178.71251
11/3/84at Penn StateL 37-30532954.74478.412124.24
11/10/84ArmyW 45-31291965.531110.730189.74
11/17/84Syracuse**W 24-16211047.61366.50192.50
11/23/84at #18 Miami (Fla)W 47-45463473.947210.330181.63
12/1/84at Holy CrossW 45-10251352.027611.032168.34
Heisman StatsAP #89-238623360.334548.92710153.43
1/1/85+ HoustonW 45-28371335.11804.93291.95
Totals10-2, #4 in Coaches, #5 in AP42324658.136348.63012148.05663795.74348940138.2033

(+) Neutral Site
(**) At Foxboro, MA

Note: Complete game-by-game rushing and total offense numbers not available for Flutie at this time.

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