LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was an easy choice to win the Heisman Trophy
It didn’t take long to fill out this year’s Heisman Trophy ballot. At least in the area marked “first choice.”
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has been the most outstanding player in college football this season, and it wasn’t really close.
Burrow carried the Tigers to an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. He threw for 4,715 yards and a Southeastern Conference-record 48 touchdowns. He’s also on pace to set a record by completing 77.9% of his passes.
There’s not much more that needs to be said. Or debated.
Burrow rightfully won the Maxwell Award Player of the Year, as well as our hometown Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award earlier this week. He topped it off with a runaway victory for the Heisman Memorial Trophy on Saturday.
Burrow became just the third Heisman winner to receive more than 800 first-place votes, joining O.J. Simpson (855 in 1968) and Troy Smith (801 in 2006).
The final tally had Burrow with 841 first-place votes, which is the highest percentage of first-place votes in Heisman history (90.7%). He also set records for largest margin of victory (1,846 points) and highest percentage of possible points (93.8%).
Burrow joined Billy Cannon as the second Heisman Trophy winner from LSU. Cannon won in 1959.
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts finished second, followed by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young and Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.
My ballot? 1. Burrow. 2. Fields. 3. Young.
Selecting Nos. 2 and 3 behind Burrow was the most challenging.
Fields had a sensational season for the undefeated Buckeyes, throwing for 2,953 yards with 40 TDs to just one interception. He also had 471 yards rushing and 10 TDs on the ground.
As far as Young, there wasn’t a better defensive player. He led the nation with 16.5 sacks and in tackles for loss per game (1.9). He deserved a trip to New York and became one of just four D-lineman to be named a finalist, joining Washington’s Steve Emtman (1991), Miami’s Warren Sapp (1994) and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh (2009).
Heavy consideration went to several others, namely two Big 12 stars — Hurts, the runner up, and Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard, the country’s rushing king this season.
Just like Fields, Hurts accounted for 50 TDs (32 passing, 18 rushing). And he posted better numbers with 3,634 yards passing and 1,255 yards rushing.
The knock? Hurts had more than twice as many giveaways (seven interceptions, six fumbles lost) compared to Fields (one interception, five fumbles lost).
Hurts didn’t have the strongest finish, either, throwing for less than 170 yards in the Sooners’ final two regular-season games against TCU and Oklahoma State.
That, coupled with Ohio State running the table and OU stumbling once, tipped the scales toward Fields and Young.
Hubbard, meanwhile, deserved recognition for his season. He rushed for 1,936 yards and 21 touchdowns, but his 6.27 yards per carry ranked 16th in the country. He simply fell short of the top three.
Hurts and Hubbard would’ve been Nos. 4 and 5 if the vote expanded beyond three.
Others worthy of consideration included Taylor, Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins, OU receiver CeeDee Lamb, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and Clemson RB Travis Etienne.
In the end, voting for a prestigious award is always an honor. And Burrow made this year very easy to anoint the winner.
Burrow and his LSU teammates will take on Hurts and Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 28. Meanwhile, Fields, Young and the rest of Ohio State are set to face Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28.
The winners of those bowl games will meet in the national championship game Jan. 13 in New Orleans.
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 7:55 PM.
