On Saturday, the 80th Heisman Trophy will be awarded. The expectation is that Oregon’s Marcus Mariota will walk away with the trophy. Mariota has earned the trophy by being consistently excellent all season long.
When the Heisman Trophy comes up in conversation, there is often talk of a “Heisman Moment.” While Mariota doesn’t have one particular moment or game that should win him the trophy this year, the Heisman moment is a real thing and it has helped boost others to the trophy in the past.
Let’s take a look at some recent and not-so-recent Heisman winners that were boosted by a moment that either got them into the conversation or took them over the top:
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2012: Johnny Manziel
The No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies had to travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium in early November to play the undefeated and top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama was a 13.5-point favorite. The Aggies quickly jumped on top, 20-0, in the first quarter, and held on to win by five points in a big upset. Many of you will remember this play:
This play and performance didn’t win Manziel the Heisman, but the win over Alabama moved him from underdog to leading contender in the 2012 Heisman race. The rest is history.
2011: Robert Griffin III
Two consecutive losses in the middle of the season to Texas A&M and Oklahoma State hurt RG3’s Heisman chances. He was an early favorite, but those two losses made him an afterthought. Then, the Bears played No. 5 Oklahoma.
Baylor had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners came roaring back to put the outcome in doubt. Baylor needed something special, something from Griffin. The drama of the moment set up this play with eight seconds left:
Baylor and RG3 couldn’t have scripted it better than this.
Those were two great recent “Heisman moments.” For the next two, let’s dig a little deeper into the history books.
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1991: Desmond Howard
The Wolverines came into their rivalry game with No. 18 Ohio State as the fourth-ranked team in the country with a record of 9-1. Howard was having a fantastic season, but this game and this next play in particular put him over the top. Howard’s Heisman pose in the end zone still lives to this day, and will long endure as an iconic Heisman moment:
1984: Doug Flutie
Boston College came into this game at No. 10 with a record of 7-2. The Golden Eagles faced the defending champion Miami Hurricanes, and it was a doozy in the venerable Orange Bowl stadium. With just six seconds left and the game hanging in the balance, Flutie scrambled out of the pocket and let it fly with :00 on the clock. When a small Boston College receiver somehow came down with the pass in the end zone, CBS announcer Brent Musburger screamed, “(GERARD) PHELAN’S AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT PILE!”
The Eagles won on that “Miracle in Miami” and Flutie went on to win the Heisman with a little help from one of the most iconic plays in college football history:
These aren’t the only “Heisman Moments” in the long and storied history of the trophy, but they are the ones that stand out for the generation of fans born no earlier than the mid-1970s. They will also withstand the test of time. Mariota will prove this year that you don’t necessarily need a “moment” to lift you to the trophy, but it certainly adds to the folklore of college football.
