Who was the worst Heisman winner in the last 50 years?
I ask, because we're cruising along with perhaps 5-7 candidates who aren't having seasons that appear to be remotely historic or generational in nature. Sayin seems to be the front-runner - he's having a good passing season for an undefeated team. The rest of the field looks solid, but again, none appear to be performing at a level that would put them on an oil painting.
It made me think of the royal head-scratchers. Who were the worst in recent memory? This excludes the revisionist justifications based on zero or minimal professional accomplishments, or even "robberies."
My first thought is Gino Torretta - a sub-60% passer who barely exceeded 3,000 yards on a Miami team that won a lot of games due to its defense and piss-poor schedule. Maybe Mark Ingram - 1,600 yards and 17 touchdowns who won because those numbers came on an Alabama team?
Replies to: Who was the worst Heisman winner in the last 50 years?
Gino and furthermore because he won over Faulk then Detmer
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Detmer.
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Detmer was NOT the worst Heisman winner.
I'm fine with folks arguing that Rocket was the best player that year. But Detmer set or tied 47 college records that season. He led B.Y.U. to an upset of #1 Miami. Regardless of the debate over the best that season, Detmer had a great year.
The real beef regarding Ismail should really fall on whether Holtz should have used him more. He had 6 total touchdowns on only 126 all-purpose touches. Obviously, teams were focusing entire game plans around the guy and perhaps Holtz was concerned about injury risk.
Problem with Detmer was he threw about 30 INTs as well which was a record
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He threw 41 T.D.'s, ran for 4 T.D.'s, and had 28 INT's.
He was #2 in the nation in Passer Rating. I'm not defending him over Rocket, but he doesn't belong in the conversation with Gino for worst Heisman winners of the last 50 years. That's nuts.
He's definitely top 4 and passer rating was done a whole lot different during those days.
Averaging over 2 INTs a game is dreadful....every BYU QB for 25-30 years put up big numbers much like Texas Tech, Hawaii and Houston QBs in the past
Agreed. Didn't he throw 10 interceptions in 2 games after winning it?
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Got battered around
That's when he went down with both shoulders being separated against Texas A&M.
Not sure, sounds about right though. He also intercepted Rocket’s Heisman. So unfair.
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Last 50? Probably Gino. Last 70? Hornung. It's a joke that he picked over Jim Brown.
And Hornung won after a horrible season for ND. No excuses for that awful pick.
They also picked three other guys ahead of Brown in 1956. Ask Johnny Majors.
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Chris Weinke was the first Heisman winner not to be a consensus AA
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True, but he was pretty damn good.
4,000 passing yards, 3-1 TD/INT ratio, 10 yards per attempt.
Ty Detmer
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Detmer was a great college QB who picked apart Miami, when Miami was tops.
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Troy Smith?
Solid but hardly eye popping numbers on a loaded OSU team.
To go back further I would agree with gipper's selection.
He crossed my mind.
McFadden probably deserved that one, and Quinn had the superior passing season by far.
But I can't put Smith as the "worst" to win it. He was quite good.
I remember Ingram, that was the year Toby Gearheart the back everyone was talking about
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Ty Detmer (1990), Desmond Howard (1991)
In 1990, Detmer did throw for 41 TD's, but also 28 INT's.
If anything, I'd argue that his 1991 season was much better, since he still threw for 35 TD's, and just 12 INT's, and would have voted for him over Howard that year.
Desmond Howard, biggest pain in the ass and a prime time prima donna.
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Rocket deserved to win.
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Agreed about Rocket, unfortunately, he didn’t have the stats for the trophy….
I believe he only scored 6 TDs that year
Greatest player the defense and special teams had to worry about ever! When he went out against
Penn State in 1990 at the half I knew we were potentially in trouble and yes we were after Andre Jones blew a pick six opportunity.
Agree on Gino Torretta, always my answer when this type of question comes up.
Guy wasn't even a top 10 player on his own team.
GT is correct
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It was definitely a team award.
He was the Q.B. for a team that had won 23 straight games and was about to play for their 2nd straight title (which they spectacularly lost). The problem is that there was really no one else on Miami that you could justify giving it to - no 1,000-yard rushers or receivers, their All-Purpose threat was good but not great, and there were no defenders that had seasons like Emtman or Woodson or Suh that would have garnered enough attention to consider.
This one was made twice as bad by the fact that Marshall Faulk and Garrison Hearst were available on the ballot to select.
Even Craig Erickson was better than Gino, as evidenced by who stuck around in the NFL for awhile.
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Re: Who was the worst Heisman winner in the last 50 years?
Pat Sullivan Auburn. Oops - that was 54 years ago.
I had to look that one up.
Looks like it was perhaps an award for his performance the prior season. #2 and #3 in the voting looked like better candidates in 1971.
Not sure but Theismann and Rocket should have won it.
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