Our last Heisman Trophy retrospective noted an oft-neglected position that deserved to win the award, and a pair of outstanding all-purpose players denied invites. Consider the 2003 Heisman Trophy race a prequel. Oklahoma quarterback Jason White won the program's first Heisman since Billy Sims 25 years prior, and the first of three for the Sooners…
Tag: Heisman Trophy
The 2009 Heisman Trophy Vote Missed The Mark
Alabama football, for all its many All-Americans, NFL talents and national championship (real or conjured), never produced a Heisman Trophy before 2009. That factoid felt pertinent in the lead-up to the 2009 Heisman vote, which Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram won by a historically narrow margin over Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Gerhart's runner-up…
The Six Moments That Won Baker Mayfield The Heisman
You might hear or read pundits reference "Heisman Moments" when assessing a player's worthiness for the top individual honor in college football. Baker Mayfield joined the illustrious club in 2017 with a smattering of Heisman Moments. From the start of the regular season, going 19-for-20 with three touchdowns against UTEP; to closing the regular season…
2018 Heisman Contender Projections
The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner could emerge from relative obscurity. Such was the case for recent winners Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, a pair of redshirt freshmen not even projected to start a year out from their inclusion in college football's most exclusive club. Lamar Jackson was a known commodity after the 2015 season, but…
Heisman Watch: Baker Mayfield in Front as Candidates Jockey for New York
For as long as I have tracked these weekly rankings, The Open Man Heisman watch has always been a Top 10. Earlier this season, the race condensed down to five. Heading into Championship Week, the pack is at seven who seemingly have a reasonable path to New York. So, while names like Arizona's Khalil Tate,…
2,000-Yard Rusher Rashaad Penny Deserves More Attention
Certain milestones in sports carry legendary distinction to such a degree, one only need cite the statistic and no further context is needed: 3,000 hits. Triple Crown. 2,000 yards. The luster of the 2,000-yard milestone in college football has seemingly worn off in recent years, however. San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny joined the…
Heisman Top 10: The Race Begins to Thin Out
Had you ever wondered why The Open Man Heisman Top 10 elects to track 10 candidates specifically? No? Well, too bad; you're getting an explanation anyway. While the pool of Heisman finalists ranges from 3-to-5, with the rare six-man group of 2013 finalists also in the mix, the data compiled throughout the season varies significantly…
Heisman Top 10 Through Week 2: Baker Mayfield Surges
Baker Mayfield ended each of the last two seasons with Heisman-worthy numbers, and earned an invitation to New York in 2016. Should the Oklahoma quarterback continue at his current pace, he just might join recent Sooners quarterback Jason White and Sam Bradford in the exclusive club of winners. Mayfield surged into a tie in this…
Hindsight Doesn’t Give Reggie Bush His Due
Friends went off the air in 2004, but a new brand of Must See TV emerged that same year. For those who either were too young, weren't paying attention to college football or simply overlooked Pac-10 football, any words I may write in this space will fail to do the Reggie Bush Experience justice. Perhaps…
Sam Darnold Hype Takes Pressure Off Lamar Jackson
Three times in the past decade, the previous season's Heisman Trophy winner returned with the possibility of making history. All three -- Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston -- embarked on their encore seasons in a flurry of hype. 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson need not worry about the madness that follows an underclass…
I Still Love The Heisman
Tonight's the night some -- not all; it's never all -- of college football's best don formal wear, grin politely at corny jokes, and wait a few hours for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy. The recipient is often a foregone conclusion, as appears to be the case this time around. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson…
Should Jonathan Allen Get More Heisman Love?
If Heisman Trophy voters and the media responsible for driving the award's direction do their job, Jonathan Allen will be a serious candidate. There's no guarantee the two groups, which are more like one group, will learn from past mistakes. Pushing a defensive lineman for the top individual award requires imagination hive-minds collectively lack. But…
Bovada Heisman Odds: Latvia’s Chief Export
Bovada released updated Heisman odds Thursday. These will not impact the illustrious CFB Huddle Heisman Top 10 projection, but they might save the struggling Latvian economy. Despite what some sports media outlets are likely to tell you about these Heisman odds, which have LSU running back Leonard Fournette at a 9/2 favorite, they are not…
College Football Countdown: No. 99 Jay Berwanger
Today marks an important milestone in the 2016 college football countdown. We are officially out of triple digits, and down to just 99 days until the first round of games. Cal-Hawaii and North Dakota State-Charleston Southern officially usher in the campaign August 27. At this important juncture in the offseason, CFB Huddle counts down to…
The Very Early 2016 Heisman Top 10 Forecast
Throughout the 2015 season, starting in August, CFB Huddle gauged the temperature of the Heisman race every week leading up to the award's selection. The 2016 Heisman Top 10 forecast kicks off early, as there's no shortage of media outlets and voters offering up projections Two things to bear in mind for those new to…