Notable Heisman Runners-Up

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 17, 2010

Notable Heisman Runners-Up

Vince Young

In June, after a four-year investigation, Reggie Bush was declared retroactively ineligible for the 2005 season. Thus the chatter began that Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy might go to second-place finisher Vince Young. The Heisman trust declared that the award would go vacant for that year, but it got SI.com thinking: what other notable players were runner-ups for the Heisman Trophy?

Adrian Peterson

Both Adrian Peterson and Matt Leinart played on fantastic teams -- ranked No. 2 and No. 1 respectively throughout the season -- but Leinart benefitted from two factors. Not only did his Southern Cal squad go undefeated, but also he had seniority: he was a junior, while Peterson was only a freshman. In the 75 years the Heisman Trophy has been awarded, a freshman has never won.

Larry Fitzgerald

Despite leading the NCAA in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Larry Fitzgerald couldn't prevail over quarterback Jason White, who piloted an Oklahoma squad that held the No. 1 ranking for 15 straight weeks.

Peyton Manning

More than just stellar statistics, Heisman Trophy winners are expected to embody diligence, perseverance and hard work. No one fits that definition better than Peyton Manning, who put the Tennessee Volunteers on his back to lead them to a comeback victory over Auburn in the SEC Championship game. Cornerback Charles Woodson, whose Michigan Wolverines finished the year as national champions, beat out Manning though.

Marshall Faulk

Another victim of stellar play on a mediocre squad, Marshall Faulk rushed for 1,630 yards and 15 touchdowns for a 5-5-1 San Diego State Aztecs squad. The 1992 winner, Gino Torretta, led a Miami Hurricanes squad to an 11-1 record.

Chuck Long

In the closest Heisman voting before 2009, Iowa's Chuck Long lost to Auburn's Bo Jackson by only 45 points in 1985. While Jackson did set then-single-season SEC records for rushing yards and yards per carry, Long led the Hawkeyes to a gusty victory over No. 2 Michigan and put up flashy statistics of his own.

Steve Young

After initially struggling to make the transition to collegiate quarterback, Steve Young flourished in his senior season at BYU, setting an NCAA record for completion percentage with 71.3 percent. His gaudy statistics couldn't compare with Nebraska's Mike Rozier , who rushed for 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns en route to the 1983 Heisman Trophy.

John Elway

Blessed with a huge arm and fantastic pocket awareness, John Elway gave his all to some very mediocre Stanford Cardinal teams, but was never able to lead them to a bowl game. Perhaps that is why he fell to Herschel Walker -- who led his Georgia Bulldogs to an 11-1 record -- in the 1982 Heisman voting.

Joe Theismann

As a starting quarterback at Notre Dame , Joe Theismann compiled a career record of 20-3-2 and set a plethora of Notre Dame passing records. In 1970 he passed for 2,429 yards and 16 touchdowns. His accolades were not enough to surmount Jim Plunkett, who was the runaway winner with 2,229 overall points, the sixth highest in Heisman history.

Bob Griese

A two-time All-America at Purdue, Bob Griese led the Boilermakers to their first-ever Rose Bowl appearance in 1966. His poise and accuracy however, were not enough to overcome the 1966 Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier, who finished with 843 more points than Griese.