Ranking the 80 Heisman winners

There are several things to remember about these rankings. First, the Heisman ends up almost always going to junior or senior offensive skill players, and until recently, so many deserving freshman and sophomores since 1936 have missed out, and many deserving non-skill players haven’t been included in the fun.

Second, don’t forget the race factor before 1961 when Syracuse’s Ernie Davis won. Several African-Americans were deserving before Davis, but didn’t win.

Third, don’t just go by statistics. Different eras meant different things to the numbers.

And finally, several players on this list had better seasons than their Heisman winning years, but they don’t count. For example, Army’s Glenn Davis would've probably ended up in the top three if either of the two seasons before his Heisman winning year were included. Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers was better in 1971 than he was in 1972 when he won the Heisman. Only the Heisman winning seasons count.

Click to expand...

==============

63. 1966 Steve Spurrier, QB Florida

runner-up: Bob Griese, QB Purdue

The young Ball Coach actually could throw a little bit and was a better runner than most of the stars he has coached. He led the Gators to a 9-2 record.

--

8. 1996 Danny Wuerffel, QB Florida

runner-up: Troy Davis, RB Iowa State

The 1996 national title team played the nation's toughest schedule having to face No. 2 Tennessee, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 16 Auburn, No. 2 Florida State twice and No. 11 Alabama. Even so, Wuerffel had one of the best years in college football history leading the offense to 46.6 points per game and 76 touchdowns. He was deadly accurate throwing for 39 scores and finishing with a pass efficiency rating of 170.6.

7. 2007 Tim Tebow, QB Florida

runner-up: Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas

With an all-timer of a statistical season, being the first quarterback to run for 20 touchdowns and throw for 20, the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman became the culmination of everything the spread offense could become. He finished with 838 yards and 22 touchdowns and was second in the nation in passing efficiency completing 217-of-317 passes for 3,132 yards and 29 touchdowns with six interceptions.

-

1. 1988 Barry Sanders, RB Oklahoma State

runner-up: Rodney Peete, QB USC

Sanders' 1988 season ranks among the most dominant in the history of sports alongside Babe Ruth's 60-home run 1927 campaign, Wayne Gretzky's 92-goal season of 1981-1982 (and maybe his 215 point year in 1985-1986) and Jerry Rice's 1987 season when he caught 22 touchdowns passes in 12 games. The backup to Thurman Thomas and an All-America kickoff returner the year before, Sanders exploded for 2,628 yards and 39 touchdowns. Throw in the bowl game stats, like the NCAA does now, and Sanders ran for 2,850 yards and scored 44 times. By himself, Sanders would've finished 14th in rushing among all 2010 teams.

---

full-
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/ranking-the-80-heisman-winners/ar-AAfX6dT?li=BBnb7Kz#page=1