Obviously it takes a special season to win the Heisman. It takes an even more incredible year, however, to be ranked among the best in the award’s nearly 100-year history.
Many Heisman winners have accomplished extraordinary feats and set records in the year they took home. For example, in 2024, a two-way player who played almost all of his team’s snaps from scrimmage won the award in one of the most memorable races in Heisman history.
Was Travis Hunter’s win among the best in Heisman history? Here are the 10 best Heisman seasons of all time, courtesy of FOX Sports Research.
Louisville has been far from a Heisman factory during its 100-plus seasons of football. Not only was Jackson’s win the first in program history, but it marked the first time since at least 1982 that Louisville had a Heisman champion. Jackson’s play was good enough to put the Cardinals on the college football map that season. He threw for 3,390 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions to go with 1,538 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in 12 regular season games. He played eight games against Charlotte that year to go along with two seven TD games.
But his best performance came when he scored three touchdowns against Clemson, nearly taking down that season’s national champion along the way. When you put all those things together, it’s no surprise that Jackson had 4000 odds to win the Heisman days before the event.
9. Florida QB Tim Tebow (2007)
Tebow’s first season as a Heisman starter was one for the ages. After playing a role as a backup for the Gators during their title-winning season last year, Tebow quickly became one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. He threw for 3,132 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions to go along with 838 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns during the regular season. The rushing TD mark was the most in a single season in SEC history, while Tebow’s 9.4 yards per attempt led the FBS that year. After a touchdown performance in Florida’s bowl game, Tebow finished the year with 55 total touchdowns, which also set an SEC record.
Tebow’s performance wasn’t enough to get Florida back to the title game — the Gators went 9-3 in the regular season. But it was enough for him to become the first runner-up to win the Heisman.
Long before he became one of the best running backs in NFL history, Allen dominated the college game. His 1981 season remains one of the best ever by a running back. He rushed for 2,342 yards and 22 touchdowns that season, not including USC’s bowl game. If you add Allen’s rushing total from USC’s bowl win, his 2,427 rushing yards in 12 games would be fifth-most in a season. He rushed for more than 200 yards in USC’s wins over No. 2 Oklahoma and UCLA that season, marking two of the eight times he rushed for more than 200 yards in a game that season.
7. Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel (2012)
A year after Texas A&M went 7-6, the Aggies went 11-2 in their first season in the SEC and claimed the title. Manziel’s inclusion was a big reason for that, as he recorded one of the most electrifying seasons for a quarterback ever. He threw for 3,419 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions to go with 1,181 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns in 12 regular season games.
Manziel’s Heisman moment came late in the year, when he led Texas A&M to a 29-24 upset victory over No. 1 Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 93 rushing yards against a team that went on to win its second straight title. After Manziel’s bowl performance, he led the SEC in rushing yards (1,410) and rushing touchdowns (21). That helped solidify “Johnny Football’s” legendary season, as he became the first (redshirt) Heisman winner.
6. Pittsburgh RB Tony Dorsett (1976)
After finishing fourth in the Heisman voting in 1975, Dorsett made sure to claim college football’s top honor in 1976. He rushed for a national-leading 1,948 yards and 21 touchdowns in 11 regular-season games, which also helped him do it all. – the all-time mark for most rushing yards in NCAA history at the time. But his best performance that year is not included in that official stat line — rushing for 202 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia. That win helped Pittsburgh win the national title, capping one of college football’s best careers.
5. Michigan DB/WR Charles Woodson (1997)
Woodson had one of the most impressive seasons in college football history in 1997, helping Michigan win the championship that year. The top defensive back recorded seven interceptions, often covering the opposing team’s top receiver. Offensively, he had 231 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
Woodson’s most memorable play that season came as a punt returner. Six years after Desmond Howard had a punt return touchdown against Ohio State to cap his Heisman season, Woodson hit a 77-yard punt touchdown against rival Michigan. He couldn’t strike the Heisman pose as his teammates quickly caught him. But Woodson came home weeks later for the Heisman, beating out Peyton Manning in one of the closest votes in the award’s history.
4. Auburn QB Cam Newton (2010)
The case can be made that no one has ever done more to help their team win a national title than Newton did during the 2010 season. After leaving Florida, Newton quickly turned Auburn from a middling SEC team to a championship contender. With Auburn winning 11 games to open the season, it looked like it would lose to Alabama in its regular season finale. Newton, however, scored four touchdowns to help Auburn rally from a 24-0 deficit. Newton’s total of 408 yards and six total touchdowns in the SEC Championship Game vs. South Carolina led to a very important win. He won the Heisman after that game and threw two touchdowns in Alabama’s victory over Oregon in the title game, capping the year with 2,854 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, 1,473 rushing yards and and 20 quick touches.
3. Colorado WR/DB Travis Hunter (2024)
In an era where the quarterbacks of CFP teams often win the award, it has to take a non-quarterback to make something historic. Then imagine beating the second-leading rusher in a season in college football history.
Hunter managed to do something incredibly unique to secure the Heisman this past December. The two-way star played the majority of Colorado’s snaps from scrimmage in 2024, recording 1,360 snaps before Colorado’s bowl game. Not only did Hunter last longer, but he also put in elite production on both sides of the ball. He recorded 94 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns to go along with the rushing score during the season, including in Colorado’s bowl game. Defensively, Hunter had 35 total tackles, 11 passes defensed, four interceptions and a forced fumble. While those numbers may not be apparent, the quarterbacks didn’t throw Hunter’s way much. He allowed 22 receptions on 40 targets for just 212 yards and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus.
Much like Manziel, Burrow appeared to be the outsider to win the Heisman in 2019. But Burrow’s season was statistically one of the best ever for a quarterback. Burrow punished LSU opponents through the air all season, as he racked up 4,715 yards, 48 ​​touchdowns and six interceptions to go with 289 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in 13 games before the Heisman vote.
After winning the Heisman in the most decisive vote in the history of the award, Burrow arguably played his best two seasons. He threw for 12 touchdowns and ran for two more in the semifinal and championship game against LSU. That performance gave Burrow 5,671 passing yards, 60 touchdown passes and 65 total touchdowns, setting NCAA records in the latter two counts.
Before he became the leading rusher in NFL history, Sanders put up the best season to win the Heisman. He rushed for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final season in Stillwater, both NCAA records. He did it again while averaging 7.6 yards per carry.
What’s most impressive about Sanders’ 1988 season is that he put up those numbers in just 11 games. At the time, the NCAA did not count bowl game statistics in its official records. Sanders rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns in Oklahoma State’s bowl win that year, giving him 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns on the season.
RESPECTED
USC RB OJ Simpson (1968)
Georgia RB Herschel Walker (1982)
Nebraska RB Mike Rozier (1983)
Boston College QB Doug Flutie (1984)
Michigan WR Desmond Howard (1991)
Florida QB Danny Wuerffel (1996)
Texas RB Ricky Williams (1998)
USC RB Reggie Bush (2005)
Baylor QB Robert Griffin III (2011)
Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray (2018)
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