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SEC
1. Cam Newton, QB, Auburn, 2010: Granted, it was only one season. But what a season it was on the Plains for Newton and the Tigers. Newton, who came over from junior college after starting his career at Florida, guided Auburn to a 14-0 record and the school's first national championship in 53 years. He was unstoppable as a runner and equally dynamic as a passer, accounting for 51 touchdowns. The runaway winner of the 2010 Heisman Trophy, Newton was second nationally in passing efficiency (182.05) and led all SEC players in rushing with 1,473 yards. In short, it was about as close as it gets to being a perfect season.
2. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida, 2007: Tebow's sophomore season was his best statistically, even though the Gators didn't win a national title that year. He became the first quarterback in FBS history to pass for 20 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in the same season. Tebow finished with 32 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing touchdowns in becoming the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy. Not known for his passing prowess, Tebow threw for 3,286 yards and only six interceptions that season. He also rushed for 895 yards and was the Gators' go-to guy any time they got near the goal line.
3. Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia, 1980: Even though Walker won his Heisman Trophy in 1982, it was his freshman season in 1980 that everyone remembers. It remains almost mythical with the way he burst onto the scene in the second half of the opener that year against Tennessee and ran over Bill Bates at the goal line. He rushed for 1,616 yards that season in leading the Bulldogs to a 12-0 record and national championship. In a lot of ways, Walker was the first of his kind, a 225-pound bruiser who had track speed. To this day, many consider him to be the SEC's greatest player.
4. Derrick Thomas, OLB, Alabama, 1988: When you start talking about pure stats and gaudy numbers, it's hard to top what Thomas accomplished during the 1988 season. He set an SEC record with 39 tackles for loss, including an NCAA record 27 sacks. Thomas, who died in 2000, also had an incredible 45 quarterback hurries that season. He completely took over the Penn State game with three sacks and a safety, and to this day he remains the standard for rushing the passer in this league. Former Alabama coach Bill Curry called him the "best football player I ever coached."
5. Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida, 1996: Never fully satisfied with the way his quarterbacks perform, Steve Spurrier came close in 1996. Wuerffel was brilliant that season in leading the Gators to a national championship. He finished with 3,625 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. His accuracy and ability to put the ball in places his receivers could turn short gains into touchdowns made him one of the Head Ball Coach's favorites. "Danny Wonderful" didn't have an exceptionally strong arm but always knew where to go with the football.
PAC-12
1. Marcus Allen, USC, 1981: When "College Football Live" puts out its top five list this week, Allen will be on it. (You'll have to wait to find out where. Sorry.) In 1981 he became college football's first 2,000-yard rusher. He set 14 NCAA records that included five consecutive 200-yard games. More on Allen later this week.
2. Steve Emtman, Washington, 1991: His professional career never really panned out, but he was a monster in '91, compiling 6.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for a loss while helping the Huskies to the 1991 national championship. The defense yielded just 9.2 points per game that year and many felt he should have won the Heisman Trophy.
3. O.J. Simpson, USC, 1968: Remember, this isn't a character debate. In 1968, Simpson rushed for 1,880 yards en route to the Heisman Trophy. Among his highlights, an 80-yard rushing touchdown and 171 yards on the ground in a loss to Ohio State in the 1969 Rose Bowl.
4. Reggie Bush, USC, 2005: Though his Heisman Trophy was later vacated, his '05 season was spectacular, rushing for 1,740 yards and 16 touchdowns while catching 37 balls for 478 yards. He set the USC mark for most rushing yards in consecutive games with 294 against Fresno State followed by 260 the next game against UCLA. He looked like he was shot out of a cannon every time he took the ball.
5. Terrell Suggs, ASU, 2002: The consensus All-American smashed the Pac-10 and NCAA single-season record with 22 sacks and tallied 29.5 tackles for a loss. He went on to win the Morris Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He finished his career with 44 total sacks.
ACC
1. Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State, 1993: It doesn't get much better than a national title and the Heisman Trophy, and Ward won both. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named the Walter Camp Player of the Year and the ACC's Player of the Year. The football and basketball star set 19 school and seven league records in his two seasons as starter. He set the school record for touchdown passes in a season with 27 in 1993.
2. C.J. Spiller, RB/KR, Clemson, 2009: He finished third in the nation in kickoff return average, fourth in all-purpose running with 191 yards per game and sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. The Tigers' schedule included four top 15 opponents, and Spiller had 234 total yards against Georgia Tech in the regular season, 301 against the Jackets in the ACC championship game, 227 against TCU and 310 against Miami. He broke his own record with 312 yards against Florida State in a 40-37 victory. He had a play of at least 54 yards in 10 of 12 games against FBS opponents and six games of at least 200 all-purpose running yards, a Clemson single-season record. Spiller scored a school-record 21 touchdowns in 2009 and was the only player nationally to score a touchdown in every game.
3. Philip Rivers, QB, NC State, 2003: He accounted for 34 touchdowns, 4,491 yards and 4,600 yards of total offense. He set the ACC records for total offense, total offense per game, touchdown responsibility (37), passing yards (Matt Ryan broke that in 2007), touchdown passes and completion percentage (Riley Skinner broke that in 2007).
4. Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech, 2006: He won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver and finished 10th in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy. Johnson was a unanimous All-American (AP, AFCA, FWAA, Walter Camp, The Sporting News) and the ACC’s Player of the Year. He tied for second in the nation with 15 touchdown catches, a Tech record. He had a school-record 1,202 yards receiving on 78 catches, the second-best season total in Tech history. He caught 15 of Tech's 25 touchdown passes and led the ACC in receptions per game (5.4) and receiving yards per game (85.9). In the Gator Bowl against West Virginia, Johnson had nine catches for a career-best 186 yards.
5. Randy White, DL, Maryland, 1974: White was a consensus All-American and won the Outland and Lombardi trophies. He was also the ACC Player of the Year and had 147 tackles, including 24 tackles for loss and 12 sacks. The Terps were ACC champions that season, and White was named the MVP of the Liberty Bowl despite a 7-3 loss. He was the first overall pick in the 1975 draft.
Big 12
1. Vince Young, QB, Texas, 2005
Young takes home this award, breaking a tough set of ties, for carrying his team to a national title. No player outside the SEC has earned a ring since Young knocked off USC (aka The Greatest Team Ever) on the Trojans' home turf in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. He completed 65 percent of his passes and threw for 3,036 yards with 26 touchdowns. He also added 1,050 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, none bigger than his 8-yard touchdown on fourth-and-5 to beat the Trojans and send Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush home without any championship hardware. Young finished that game with an absurd 267 yards passing and 200 yards rushing, his second game of the season with at least 200 yards of each.
2. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska, 2009
No defensive player was more destructive during his time on the field. Just ask Colt McCoy. Suh is the most dominant defensive player in the history of the Big 12, and let's just get this out of the way: He should have won the Heisman Trophy in 2009. Instead, Mark Ingram earned Alabama's first Heisman Trophy. Suh, whose name means "House of Spears," became the first defensive player to ever earn the AP Player of the Year honors and became the first defensive tackle invited to the Heisman ceremony since Warren Sapp in 1994. He finished fourth in the voting, but he didn't end the season empty-handed. Anything but. He had 85 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 10 pass breakups and an interception that changed a season-defining, comeback win at Missouri. For his efforts, he took home the Lombardi Award, the Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award and was a finalist for the Walter Camp Award and Lott Trophy.
3. Ricky Williams, RB, Texas, 1998
Ricky ran and ran and ran. He finished his senior season with 2,124 yards, an average of just under 200 yards a game, becoming the eighth player in NCAA history to top 2,000 yards in a single season. He had two 300-yard rushing games (an NCAA record) and memorably set the NCAA career record for rushing that season with a long touchdown run against Texas A&M. That season, he earned the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award and became the first two-time winner of the Doak Walker Award. Over a decade later, Texas coach Mack Brown still talks about the time Ricky ran for 150 yards to upset No. 7 Nebraska 20-16 and break the Huskers' 47-game home winning streak. Nebraska fans responded by chanting "Heisman" as Williams walked off the field.
4. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma, 2008
Bradford broke out as a sophomore in 2008 and took home just about every piece of hardware imaginable. He threw for 4,720 yards and an absurd 50 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, while completing 328 of 483 passes (67.9 percent). For his work, he earned the Heisman Trophy (Oklahoma's fifth winner), the Davey O'Brien Award and the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Oklahoma won the Big 12 and staked its claim as the highest-scoring offense in the history of college football. The Sooners reached the national title that season but lost to Tim Tebow's Florida Gators.
5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma, 2004
Can you imagine a true freshman leading the nation in rushing and carries, breaking NCAA freshman rushing records along the way, and being named a unanimous All-American. Well, it happened not too long ago. The latter seasons of Peterson's career were marred by injury, but Peterson broke the mold of college football in his first year on the field, steamrolling opponents and finishing second in the Heisman voting as a true freshman back in 2004, which was unthinkable. Back then a sophomore had never even won the greatest individual award in sports. He rushed for 1,860 yards and 15 touchdowns, carrying the Sooners to the national title game. He ran for 100 yards in nine consecutive games and 11 times as a true freshman, both NCAA records. He was also the first freshman finalist for the Doak Walker Award.
Big East
1. Gino Torretta, QB, Miami, 1992. Torretta threw for 3,060 yards in his senior season and won the Heisman, Maxwell, Davey O'Brien and Walter Camp awards. He's the latest Big East player to win the Heisman.
2. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Pitt, 2003. Fitzgerald holds the Big East single-season records for receiving yards (1,672), 100-yard games (10) and receiving touchdowns (22), all set in that terrific 2003 season. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Jason White of Oklahoma.
3. Donovan McNabb, QB, Syracuse, 1998. In his senior season, McNabb set a school record with 22 touchdown passes and ran for eight more while leading the Orange to a berth in the Orange Bowl. He finished fifth in the Heisman voting and ended up being named Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
4. Elvis Dumervil, DE, Louisville, 2005. I went back and forth between him and USF's George Selvie, who had a monster year in 2007. But Dumervil still holds league single-season records for sacks (20) and forced fumbles (10), an NCAA record. He also set an NCAA single-game record with six sacks against Kentucky.
5. Pat White, QB, West Virginia, 2007. It was tough singling out one year, and keeping in mind that White did have a terrific backfield partner in Steve Slaton. But it goes without saying that teams had a difficult time stopping White throughout his career. He still holds the single-season rushing record for a quarterback with 1,335 yards -- he surpassed 150 rushing yards in three games in 2007. He also threw for 1,724 yards and was sixth in the Heisman voting.
Big 10
1. Dick Butkus, LB, Illinois, 1963: In many ways, Butkus is synonymous with the hard-nosed defensive style that has become the Big Ten's calling card. If you want a symbol for toughness, you couldn't do much better than him. He was named the player of the year in 1964 and finished third in the Heisman voting that year. But we're going with his 1963 season, in which he recorded a whopping 145 tackles, won Big Ten MVP honors and led the Illini to a Rose Bowl win over Washington. Little wonder that the award for the nation's best linebacker is named after him.
2. Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State, 1974: Griffin remains the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, and his first statue-worthy season was his best as a collegian. He ran for 1,620 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 6.9 yards per carry in an era of less offense. As he broke tackles left and right that season, Griffin earned the high praise of legend Woody Hayes, who called him the best football player he'd ever coached.
3. Mike Rozier, RB, Nebraska, 1983: The Cornhuskers' ground game was an unstoppable machine in '83, and Rozier was its engine. He averaged an amazing 7.8 yards per carry, a NCAA record for players with at least 214 attempts, and finished with 2,148 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. He ran for more than 200 yards in each of his last four regular-season games. Would Nebraska have beaten Miami in the Orange Bowl had Rozier not injured his ankle in the second half? We'll never know, but we do know this was one of the top seasons of all time.
4. Charles Woodson, CB/WR/PR, Michigan, 1997: Woodson became the first primarily defensive player ever to win the Heisman Trophy with his extraordinary performance for the Wolverines, who won a share of the national title that season. He had eight interceptions even though teams steadfastly avoided throwing the ball to his side of the field. He also compiled 500 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver and punt returner, including his memorable score against Ohio State. Woodson had to be special to beat out Peyton Manning for the Heisman that year, and he sure was.
5. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin, 2011: This may be controversial, since it happened so recently. But we firmly believe that when historians and fans look back on Ball's 2011 season, they will be astounded that he didn't win the Heisman or get more attention for what he accomplished. Ball led the nation in rushing yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry, matching the best mark that Heisman winner Ron Dayne ever put up during his Badgers career. He also scored 39 touchdowns, tying Barry Sanders FBS record. While a lot of people like to point out that Sanders played in fewer games, they conveniently neglect to mention that Ball had 37 fewer carries in 2011 than Sanders did in 1988. It was truly a historic season for Ball, and one of the best in Big Ten history.
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