:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1062270/GYI0061311500.jpg)
Part two of the writing assignment for EA Sports is the Heisman Tophy snub. There are times when there is a Heisman Trophy winner that is indefensible, but it is incredibly hard to argue or compare statistics. My snubs aren't with the winner, but with just being invited to the dance.
I don't think that I have the historical background to go back much further, but I'll start with 2002.
| Player | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.J. Symons | 470 | 719 | 65.4% | 5,833 | 52 | 22 |
| Jason White | 278 | 451 | 61.6% | 3,846 | 40 | 10 |
| Eli Manning | 275 | 441 | 58.0% | 3,401 | 21 | 15 |
| Matt Leinart | 255 | 402 | 63.4% | 3,556 | 38 | 9 |
| Philip Rivers | 348 | 483 | 72.0% | 4,491 | 34 | 7 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 342 | 495 | 69.1% | 4,486 | 37 | 10 |
In 2002, OU's Jason White won the Heisman and statistically, he was an incredible quarterback, but not as good as B.J. Symons. Eli Manning also had an incredible season, but not as good as Symons. You can add Matt Leinart and Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger to that list as well. Symons did end up receiver 38 votes and finished last out of 10 candidates.
At that time, the offense was considered to be a gimmick and now that argument has somewhat gone away. But the Heisman Trophy is sometimes as much about having a good season as winning and being a part of the football elite, at least as far as recent history is concerned (arguments could certainly be made that BYU and Houston do not fit the elite profile). Looking back now, those numbers are tough to defend, but OU had one of the best teams and truth be told, I think that Larry Fitzgerald probably should have won the Heisman that year.
Symons still holds the NCAA record for most passing yards in a season and this is what leads me to 2007 and 2008.
More after the jump.
In 2007, you had the best receiving performance in any given season (arguably) in freshman phenom WR Michael Crabtree and the second best passing performance, behind Symons 2003 year, in QB Graham Harrell. Again, just based off of receiving yards, Crabtree still holds the most yards in a season at 1,962 and is tied with Larry Fitzgerald (2003) with 22 touchdowns in a given year.
Again, we're talking about a record-breaking year for Crabtree. A record that still stands five years in a pass-happy college football world and Crabtree didn't even warrant an invite to New York. Instead, you had Tim Tebow, Darren McFadden, Chase Daniel and Colt Brennan. Again, all were winners. All had outstanding seasons, and all were very good, but none of them broke records.
All I'm asking for was an invite.
A similar argument could be had for Harrell, who statistically maybe had a better years than Daniel or Brennan, but couldn't even receive an invite in 2007. The same thing happened in 2008, when Texas Tech had one of it's greatest years in it's program with two players that proved to be statistically two of the best that the NCAA has ever seen and not even an invite. In fact that year only three players were invited to New York, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. Again, I'm acknowledging that trying to suggest that Harrell should have been ahead of some of these players would have been difficult, but to not even receive an invite was troubling.
All I'm asking for was an invite.
So my snubs as a Texas Tech fan aren't necessarily with the winners, but rather with just being invited to the ceremony. That doesn't sound too unreasonable given the circumstances.
This post was sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 13. Check out the video for the game below.
EA SPORTS NCAA Football 13 TV: "Son" (via EASPORTS)