Wow..imagine that..Heisman goes to Offensive player..

[Mithrandir]

As usual defensive players don't exist in the minds of the Heisman voters...Mathieu, DB from LSU should have won. Mathieu won the Defensive player of the year, but not the best DB award??????

[Judge Jude]

Maybe Mathieu's failed drug test and one-game suspension had something to do with it?
LSU beat Auburn, 45-10, without Mathieu.

[Moonlight J]

RGIII didn't get enough TV time but he was amazing all season. If you watched him play, it wasn't even close. Glad the voters got this one right. This is a guy in Baylor who doesn't have anything more than 3* WR's that tore up everyone this season.

[JudeBaldo]

Word is that RG3 may have enough speed to break the NFL combine's 40 time.

[pjs24]

As usual defensive players don't exist in the minds of the Heisman voters...Mathieu, DB from LSU should have won. Mathieu won the Defensive player of the year, but not the best DB award??????

The right guy won. Mathieu deserved his recognition and invite, but RG3 was the best and absolutely deserved the award.

[umjewman]

The right guy won. Mathieu deserved his recognition and invite, but RG3 was the best and absolutely deserved the award.

Yeah, seriously. If this was anyone other than RG3, it would have been terrible.

[TyWebb004]

I was happy to see RG3 get it, and he truly deserved the Heisman, but I would argue that Mathieu had as many (if not more) big plays/moments as Woodson did in 1997. Peyton Manning not winning the Heisman in '97 was criminal.

[umjewman]

I was happy to see RG3 get it, and he truly deserved the Heisman, but I would argue that Mathieu had as many (if not more) big plays/moments as Woodson did in 1997. Peyton Manning not winning the Heisman in '97 was criminal.

Needless to say, I'm going to disagree with you there.

Woodson in 1997 was absolutely ridiculous. He had eight interceptions in a season where nobody was throwing at him. He had the punt return against Ohio State to cap off our undefeated season. The absurd backhanded INT while on the sidelines against MSU. The INT in the end zone of the Rose Bowl (sure it was after the Heisman, but just summed up his season).

Sure, Mathieu has had two punt returns for TDs and 2 fumble recoveries for TDs as well, but there was virtually nothing like Woodson in 1997. Don't forget that Woodson also had 12 receptions at 20 yards per catch for two TD's when he came in on offense. And those were limited scenarios where pretty much everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball and he still got open and made big plays on offense (he even completed a 28 yard pass in one game! ).

Peyton had a great season, with 36 TDs and 11 picks and 3800 yards passing. But he didn't win the Heisman because he had two absolute stinkers on his resume, going 8-25 with 126 yards and a pick in a 22-7 win at home against a 5-6 South Carolina team and 12-27 with 159 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in a 17-10 win at home against a 3-8 Vanderbilt team. He then made up for that by feasting for 5 TDs against a 6-5 Texas Tech team, and 523 yards and 5 TDs against a 5-6 Kentucky team. Peyton had a great year, but those two stinkers, plus losing to Florida for the fourth consecutive season meant he was properly the second place guy for the Heisman. Doesn't change the fact that he's a Hall of Famer and one of the best QBs in NFL history. Just rightfully not the Heisman.

In case you can't tell, I've had this argument before

[SeaDogStat]

Needless to say, I'm going to disagree with you there.

Woodson in 1997 was absolutely ridiculous. He had eight interceptions in a season where nobody was throwing at him. He had the punt return against Ohio State to cap off our undefeated season. The absurd backhanded INT while on the sidelines against MSU. The INT in the end zone of the Rose Bowl (sure it was after the Heisman, but just summed up his season).

Sure, Mathieu has had two punt returns for TDs and 2 fumble recoveries for TDs as well, but there was virtually nothing like Woodson in 1997. Don't forget that Woodson also had 12 receptions at 20 yards per catch for two TD's when he came in on offense. And those were limited scenarios where pretty much everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball and he still got open and made big plays on offense (he even completed a 28 yard pass in one game! ).

Peyton had a great season, with 36 TDs and 11 picks and 3800 yards passing. But he didn't win the Heisman because he had two absolute stinkers on his resume, going 8-25 with 126 yards and a pick in a 22-7 win at home against a 5-6 South Carolina team and 12-27 with 159 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in a 17-10 win at home against a 3-8 Vanderbilt team. He then made up for that by feasting for 5 TDs against a 6-5 Texas Tech team, and 523 yards and 5 TDs against a 5-6 Kentucky team. Peyton had a great year, but those two stinkers, plus losing to Florida for the fourth consecutive season meant he was properly the second place guy for the Heisman. Doesn't change the fact that he's a Hall of Famer and one of the best QBs in NFL history. Just rightfully not the Heisman.

In case you can't tell, I've had this argument before

Michigan guys are so sensitive...


BTW, Ron Powlus got jobbed all 4 years in the Heisman voting, right, Beano?

[umjewman]

Michigan guys are so sensitive...


BTW, Ron Powlus got jobbed all 4 years in the Heisman voting, right, Beano?

I'm okay with some criticism of Michigan when it's warranted. The Woodson thing is one that I've argued so many times and I do actually feel strongly that it was the right decision, Michigan goggles off.

And I totally lol'd at the Ron Powlus thing. I remember turning NBC games onto mute after Powlus threw some ultra high pass that was basically throwing it away and some receiver jumped out of nowhere to make an amazing touchdown catch. They instantly starting talking about how it was a great throw by Powlus and just completely ignored the circus catch. Those announcers were unlistenable when Powlus was playing.

[TyWebb004]

Needless to say, I'm going to disagree with you there.

Woodson in 1997 was absolutely ridiculous. He had eight interceptions in a season where nobody was throwing at him. He had the punt return against Ohio State to cap off our undefeated season. The absurd backhanded INT while on the sidelines against MSU. The INT in the end zone of the Rose Bowl (sure it was after the Heisman, but just summed up his season).

Sure, Mathieu has had two punt returns for TDs and 2 fumble recoveries for TDs as well, but there was virtually nothing like Woodson in 1997. Don't forget that Woodson also had 12 receptions at 20 yards per catch for two TD's when he came in on offense. And those were limited scenarios where pretty much everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball and he still got open and made big plays on offense (he even completed a 28 yard pass in one game! ).

Peyton had a great season, with 36 TDs and 11 picks and 3800 yards passing. But he didn't win the Heisman because he had two absolute stinkers on his resume, going 8-25 with 126 yards and a pick in a 22-7 win at home against a 5-6 South Carolina team and 12-27 with 159 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in a 17-10 win at home against a 3-8 Vanderbilt team. He then made up for that by feasting for 5 TDs against a 6-5 Texas Tech team, and 523 yards and 5 TDs against a 5-6 Kentucky team. Peyton had a great year, but those two stinkers, plus losing to Florida for the fourth consecutive season meant he was properly the second place guy for the Heisman. Doesn't change the fact that he's a Hall of Famer and one of the best QBs in NFL history. Just rightfully not the Heisman.

In case you can't tell, I've had this argument before

Woodson's achievements in '97 were awesome, but to say that Mathieu was "virtually nothing like Woodson in 1997" is just plain silly. He made at least 4 big time plays in huge games(Oregon, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Georgia) which totally switched the momentum in each. That is not a coincidence. If anything, I could make a case for Woodson's '97 falling short of Mathieu's season. Objectively, their season's achievements are about the same.