Is there a Heisman Trophy curse?
No, not for the players going forward in their pro careers. Some Heisman winners turned into guys who were among the top three at their position (Barry Sanders). Some are Hall of Famers (Tim Brown). Some were excellent, steady players who were great for a few seasons (Eddie George). Some simply never did anything at the pro level (Eric Crouch comes to mind).
SEE RELATED:I’m more concerned about how a Heisman winner’s team fares in the ensuing game —- whatever bowl game he happens to play in a month or so down the line from the selection announcement.
It’s especially interesting since Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, this year’s winner, will play for a national title with his Sooners teammates next month. So here’s a look at the last 20 Heisman winners whose teams finished in the top five of the final regular season AP poll:
| Year | Winner/School | RS rank |
Bowl/Opponent | Result |
| 2006 | Troy Smith, Ohio St. |
1 | BCS/Florida | L, 41-14 |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush, USC |
1 | Rose/Texas | L, 41-38 |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart, USC |
1 | Orange/Oklahoma | W, 55-19 |
| 2003 | Jason White, Oklahoma |
3 | Sugar/LSU | L, 21-14 |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer, USC |
5 | Orange/Iowa | W, 38-17 |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch, Nebraska |
4 | Rose/Miami | L, 37-14 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke, Florida St. |
3 | Orange/Oklahoma | L, 13-2 |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne, Wisconsin |
4 | Rose/Stanford | W, 17-9 |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson, Michigan |
1 | Rose/Washington St. |
W, 21-16 |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel, Florida |
3 | Sugar/Florida State |
W, 52-20 |
| 1995 | Eddie George, Ohio State |
4 | Citrus/Tennessee |
L, 20-14 |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam, Colorado |
4 | Fiesta/Notre Dame |
W, 41-24 |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward, Florida State |
1 | Orange/Nebraska | W, 18-16 |
| 1992 | Gino Toretta, Miami |
1 | Sugar/Alabama | L, 34-13 |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard, Michigan |
4 | Rose/Washington | L, 34-14 |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde, Miami |
1 | Fiesta/Penn State |
L, 14-10 |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier, Nebraska |
1 | Orange/Miami | L, 31-30 |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker, Georgia |
1 | Sugar/Penn State |
L, 27-23 |
| 1979 | Charles White, USC |
3 | Rose/Ohio State |
W, 17-16 |
| 1978 | Billy Sims, Oklahoma |
4 | Orange/Nebraska | W, 31-24 |
Conclusions?
A 9-11 record for Heisman winners says pretty much nothing. The fact that Bradford is the 16th winner in 18 seasons to come from a top-five team only speaks to the insipid reality the Heisman has become an award for the best player on a really, really good team.
As for a Heisman curse? It sure doesn’t look like it.
It is sort of interesting what the breakdown by ranking is:
No. 1: 3-6
No. 2: 0-0
No. 3: 2-2
No. 4: 3-3
No. 5: 1-0
That No. 1 spot is a bit of an albatross, but it really didn’t stop Matt Leinart and Charles Woodson, either.
One other oddball note. So far as I can tell, the last Heisman winner to come from a team that finished No. 2 in the country in the last regular-season AP poll was one Orenthal James Simpson in 1968. The last one who is not currently incarcerated? Navy’s Roger Staubach in 1963.
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