(SMU) Heisman Trophy trivia

by **Donnell88** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:15 pm

We all know Doak Walker won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 1948 but we came close in some other years.

In 1950, SMU's Kyle Rote finished second behind running back Vic Janowicz of Ohio State, who had 114 carries for 314 yards (2.8 average) and four touchdowns. Rote rushed for 762 yards and passed for 490 yards.

In 1958, Don Meredith received 26 first-place votes but finished third behind Billy Cannon of LSU.
Dandy Don completed 105 of 181 passes for 1,266 yards, with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

In 1982, Eric Dickerson finished third behind Herschel Walker of Georgia and John Elway of Stanford. Walker received 525 first-place votes to 31 for Dickerson. Interesting to note, Walker gained 1,752 yards on 335 carries for 16 touchdowns and a 5.2 yard average. Dickerson rushed for 1,617 yards on 232 attempts (a 7.0 average) and 17 touchdowns. Craig James finished that year with 938 yards on 197 carries.

If Eric Dickerson is feeling slighted (he's still not in the College Football Hall of Fame), he has similar company in Jim Brown of Syracuse, who in 1956 finished fifth in the balloting after rushing for 986 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 1956 winner was Paul Hornung of Notre Dame who completed 59 of 111 pass attempts for 917 yards, three touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He remains the only Heisman winner from a losing team.

by **PonyKris89** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 12:15 am

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought I had heard that Doak was probably deserving of being a two time winner. How close was he his Sr. year?

Wow, didn't realize Dickerson's numbers were that much better than Walker. Guess nobody else did either...

by **CalallenStang** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:35 am

PonyKris89 wrote:Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought I had heard that Doak was probably deserving of being a two time winner. How close was he his Sr. year?

Wow, didn't realize Dickerson's numbers were that much better than Walker. Guess nobody else did either...

I believe Doak wanted to not be considered his senior year so that others could win.

EDIT: just was doing some online reading and it appears that the "not be considered" story is related to the All-American list (Doak didn't want to be considered because his season was riddled with injuries, so he asked that his spot go to someone more deserving).

Looks like he finished 3rd in 1949...and 3rd in 1947