Top 25 All-Time Heisman Winners
25. 1986 Vinny Testaverde, QB Miami
runner-up: Paul Palmer, RB Temple
Testaverde led the Canes to the Fiesta Bowl where they lost to Penn State. Before that meltdown, he lit up number one Oklahoma for four touchdown passes and threw for 2,557 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 165.8 passer rating. Remember, Heismans are decided before bowl games.
24. 1952 Billy Vessels, RB Oklahoma
runner-up: Jack Scarbath, QB Maryland
Vessels did it all, scoring 18 touchdowns and rushing for 1,078 yards with seven 100-yard running days in the 8-1-1 season. The star of Bud Wilkinson’s team was the first of the big-time OU star offensive players
23. 1960 Joe Bellino, RB Navy
runner-up: Tom Brown, G Minnesota
Bellino was a touchdown machine, scoring 18 times while leading Navy to the Orange Bowl. Only 5-9 and 181 pounds, he was small, but he was a tough, do-it-all playmaker with 834 rushing yards, three touchdown catches and two touchdown passes while also serving as a punt returner. Navy went 9-1 with a win over Army before losing to Missouri in the Orange Bowl.
22. 1974 Archie Griffin, RB Ohio State
runner-up: Anthony Davis, RB USC
This week in #Heisman history: Archie Griffin of @OhioStateFB becomes first and only player to win two Heisman Trophies. https://t.co/m39oJxItoc
— The Heisman Trophy (@HeismanTrophy) December 1, 2017
Griffin ran for 1,695 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 6.6 yards per carry rushing for more than 111 yards in every game before the Rose Bowl. His first Heisman win was one of the most dominant landslides ever, beating USC’s Anthony Davis by over 1,100 points.
21. 2013 Jameis Winston, QB Florida State
runner-up: AJ McCarron, QB Alabama
The only reason he isn’t much, much higher is the MVP factor – could Florida State have finished the regular season unbeaten without him? The team was that dominant. However, there wasn’t even a realistic No. 2 option. Just as the quarterback stats started to blow up in the college football world, he led the was completing 67% of his passes for 4,057 yards and 40 scores with ten picks as the catalyst for national champion.
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