The Heisman Trophy: A Total Team Award

Upon his retirement, Paul W. Bryant was asked whether or not he was disappointed in the fact that he never had a Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama. His reply was something to the effect of, "At Alabama our players don't win Heismany trophies, our teams win national championships," addressing the notion that the Heisman is purely an individual award and that he cared only about team accomplishments.

That may have been true during the time that Bryant said it, but today, it couldn't be farther from the truth.

In reality, the Heisman Trophy is now a total team award. It is not the total team award (that honored distinction remains for the national championship), but it is nevertheless an award marked by overall team success, and not merely individual performance.

The truth of the matter is that for a player to have any legitimate shot at the Heisman Trophy these days, his team almost certainly has to be playing for a national championship.

Let's look at recent history, looking at the past eleven Heisman Trophy winners.

2006: Troy Smith took home the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Ohio State Buckeyes were 12-0, had a spot secured in the BCS Title game, and were also a massive favorite over Florida.

2005: Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his USC Trojans were 11-0, coming off of back-to-back national championships, and were going into the Rose Bowl as the #1 team in the country.

2004: Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his USC Trojans were 11-0, coming off of a national championship season, and were going into the Orange Bowl as the #1 team in the country.

2003: Jason White won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Sooners were 12-1 and had a spot secured to play for the national championship against LSU in the Sugar Bowl. For months, his Oklahoma Sooners were talked about as one of the greatest teams in the history of college football.

2002: Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Trojans were Pac-10 champions, and were going to play Big Ten champion Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

2001: Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Cornhuskers were 11-1 and were slated to play Miami for the national championship in the Rose Bowl.

2000: Chris Weinke won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Seminoles were 10-1 and playing Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. Florida State was coming off of a national championship season, and were playing in their third consecutive national championship game.

1999: Ron Dayne won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Big Ten champion Badgers were slated to play in the Rose Bowl, and Dayne had just broken the NCAA all-time rushing record.

1998: Ricky Williams won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Longhorns were slated to play in the Cotton Bowl, and Williams had just broken the NCAA all-time rushing record.

1997: Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Wolverines were 11-0 and were slated to play, effectively, for the national championship in the Rose Bowl against Washington State.

1996: Danny Wuerffel won the Heisman Trophy, and when the award was decided, his Gators were 11-1, SEC Champs, and were slated to play Florida State for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl.

So, that's it for the past eleven years.

All told, of the eleven last Heisman Trophy winners, eight of them were on a team playing in the national championship game, and the two that didn't had teams playing in the Cotton Bowl and the Rose Bowl, respectively, and had just broken the all-time NCAA rushing record. The only winner that did not fall into either category was Carson Palmer, the 2002 winner, and he was generally considered the best player in the country (he was the number overall selection in the NFL Draft six months later), and his Trojans at the end of the year were likely the hottest team in the country. Not exactly a mediocre squad, to say the least.

Let's look at combined overall records to drive home the point. If you omit the two who won the Heisman because they broke the all-time NCAA rushing record (Williams and Dayne), the other nine Heisman Trophy winner's team's had, at the time they were given the award, a combined 100-6 record, and eight national championship game appearances. Even if you include the 1998 Texas Longhorns (Williams), and the 1999 Wisconsin Badgers (Dayne), the overall record is 119-11. Quite impressive, to say the least.

In the end, it's a pretty simple analysis: If you want to win the Heisman Trophy, your team almost certainly must be in contention for the national championship (and by that I mean literally playing in a national championship game), or you must break one of the most highly regarded historical records.

Again, at bottom, despite assertions to the contrary, the Heisman Trophy is very much a team award. Unless your team is having a national championship contending year, you just aren't likely going to be able to win the Heisman.

2006 provided the perfect example. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, agreed that Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson was the best player in the nation. Many contended, and still contend, that he was the best Division 1-A receiver in decades, and honestly it was / is a legitimate argument. Nevertheless, Johnson never had a legitimate shot at the Heisman Trophy because he was on a mediocre team, and actually was not even in the final three at the Downtown Athletic Club. In fact, Johnson finished tenth in Heisman voting, behind the likes of Ian Johnson and Ray Rice.

And what about 2007? Most people have John David Booty as the Heisman Trophy front-runner, even though most will contend that Arkansas' Darren McFadden is the best player in the nation. Why? Booty's USC Trojans are #1 in the country, and everyone's pick to be national champions. Arkansas, on the other hand, isn't even picked to win their division, and is ranked 20th.

Again, there are no two ways about it, the Heisman Trophy is a team award.