# Heisman curse

The Heisman curse is a two-part assertion of a negative future for the winner of the Heisman Trophy in American football. The "curse" supposes that any college football player who wins the Heisman plays on a team that will likely lose its subsequent bowl game. The trend of post-award failure has garnered the attention of the mainstream media.

## History

Talk of a Heisman curse in relation to bowl results was particularly prevalent from 2003 to 2008, when six Heisman Trophy winners compiled a cumulative 1–5 bowl game record, and five of those six led number one ranked teams into the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game as favorites (Heisman Trophy winners, including Reggie Bush, who gave back his Heisman Trophy, are 4–8 overall in the BCS National Championship Game and College Football Playoff National Championship, although prior to 2009 they were 1–6). Additionally, the Heisman curse asserts that most Heisman winners will either have a poor career in the National Football League (NFL), or not even see such a football career at all. Although many Heisman winners have not enjoyed success at the professional level, including Matt Leinart, Andre Ware, Jason White, Rashaan Salaam, Eric Crouch, Ty Detmer, Troy Smith and Gino Torretta, proponents of the "curse" rarely cite highly successful players such as Barry Sanders, Charles Woodson, Eddie George, Tim Brown, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, O. J. Simpson, and Tony Dorsett among the notables.
Insofar as there is a "curse" of underperforming Heisman winners, it seems to affect quarterbacks disproportionately. Although certain Heisman winners have gone on to win Super Bowl championships (such as Roger Staubach and Jim Plunkett), comparatively few have had successful NFL careers. Conversely, running backs seem generally to have fared better in the professional ranks, and wide receivers have had mixed results. The only primarily defensive Heisman winner, Charles Woodson, had a successful NFL career and final collegiate bowl game appearance. Seven Heisman winners have also been named Associated Press NFL MVP: Paul Hornung, Simpson, Campbell, Allen, Sanders, Cam Newton, and Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, four have won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award: Staubach, Plunkett, Allen, and Desmond Howard.
The "curse" does not imply that only Heisman winners have failed careers, only the irony behind college football's best underperforming after the award is given. However, while there are numerous counts of players who underperformed after winning the award, an equal number of players have gone on to see great success, evidence that the "curse" is more of an amusement than a reality.
While there is no statistical or empirical evidence that suggests Heisman winners underperform compared to other high-profile collegiate players, some try to explain the perception of the curse by reference to trends regarding voter selections. Some see the trend going back decades to other players, but it has most famously been observed since the 1990s. The accepted logical explanation for the discrepancy between success and failure of Heisman winners is that the people who pick the Heisman are sportswriters and former Heisman winners. This might mean that they vote for a winner based on reputation, without seeing him or really studying him, basically a qualitative approach. On the other hand, the people who pick players for the NFL are talent evaluators. They study footage, interview players and put them through workouts where their strengths and weaknesses can be quantified.

## Heisman Trophy winner's bowl game results

| Year | Player | Team | Bowl Game | Opponent | Bowl Game Result |
| 1935 | Jay Berwanger | Chicago Maroons | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1936 | Larry Kelley | No. 12 Yale Bulldogs | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1937 | Clint Frank | No. 12 Yale Bulldogs | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1938 | Davey O'Brien | No. 1 TCU Horned Frogs | 1939 Sugar Bowl | No. 6 Carnegie Tech | W, 15–7 |
| 1939 | Nile Kinnick | No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | No. 3 Michigan Wolverines | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1941 | Bruce Smith | No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1942 | Frank Sinkwich | No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs | 1943 Rose Bowl | No. 13 UCLA Bruins | W, 9–0 |
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli | No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1944 | Les Horvath | No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1945 | Doc Blanchard | No. 1 Army Cadets | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1946 | Glenn Davis | No. 2 Army Cadets | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1947 | Johnny Lujack | No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1948 | Doak Walker | No. 10 SMU Mustangs | 1949 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 9 Oregon Ducks | W, 21–13 |
| 1949 | Leon Hart | No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1950 | Vic Janowicz | No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1951 | Dick Kazmaier | No. 6 Princeton Tigers | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1952 | Billy Vessels | No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1953 | Johnny Lattner | No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1954 | Alan Ameche | No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1955 | Howard Cassady | No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1956 | Paul Hornung | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1957 | John David Crow | No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies | 1957 Gator Bowl | No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers | L, 0–3 |
| 1958 | Pete Dawkins | No. 3 Army Cadets | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1959 | Billy Cannon | No. 3 LSU Tigers | 1960 Sugar Bowl | No. 2 Ole Miss Rebels | L, 0–21 |
| 1960 | Joe Bellino | No. 4 Navy Midshipmen | 1961 Orange Bowl | No. 5 Missouri Tigers | L, 14–21 |
| 1961 | Ernie Davis | No. 14 Syracuse Orangemen | 1961 Liberty Bowl | Miami Hurricanes | W, 15–14 |
| 1962 | Terry Baker | Oregon State | 1962 Liberty Bowl | Villanova Wildcats | W, 6–0 |
| 1963 | Roger Staubach | No. 2 Navy Midshipmen | 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 1 Texas Longhorns | L, 6–28 |
| 1964 | John Huarte | No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1965 | Mike Garrett | No. 10 USC Trojans | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1966 | Steve Spurrier | No. 11 Florida Gators | 1967 Orange Bowl | No. 8 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | W, 27–12 |
| 1967 | Gary Beban | UCLA Bruins | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1968 | O. J. Simpson | No. 2 USC Trojans | 1969 Rose Bowl | No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes | L, 16–27 |
| 1969 | Steve Owens | Oklahoma Sooners | No Bowl | — | — |
| 1970 | Jim Plunkett | No. 12 Stanford Indians | 1971 Rose Bowl | No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes | W, 27–17 |
| 1971 | Pat Sullivan | No. 5 Auburn Tigers | 1972 Sugar Bowl | No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners | L, 22–40 |
| 1972 | Johnny Rodgers | No. 9 Nebraska Cornhuskers | 1973 Orange Bowl | No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | W, 40–6 |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti | No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions | 1974 Orange Bowl | No. 13 LSU Tigers | W, 16–9 |
| 1974 | Archie Griffin | No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes | 1975 Rose Bowl | No. 5 USC Trojans | L, 17–18 |
| 1975 | Archie Griffin | No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes | 1976 Rose Bowl | No. 11 UCLA Bruins | L, 10–23 |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers | 1977 Sugar Bowl | No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs | W, 27–3 |
| 1977 | Earl Campbell | No. 1 Texas Longhorns | 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | L, 10–38 |
| 1978 | Billy Sims | No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners | 1979 Orange Bowl | No. 6 Nebraska Cornhuskers | W, 31–24 |
| 1979 | Charles White | No. 3 USC Trojans | 1980 Rose Bowl | No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes | W, 17–16 |
| 1980 | George Rogers | No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks | 1980 Gator Bowl | No. 3 Pittsburgh Panthers | L, 9–37 |
| 1981 | Marcus Allen | No. 8 USC Trojans | 1982 Fiesta Bowl | No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions | L, 10–26 |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker | No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs | 1983 Sugar Bowl | No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions | L, 23–27 |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier | No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers | 1984 Orange Bowl | No. 5 Miami Hurricanes | L, 30–31 |
| 1984 | Doug Flutie | No. 8 Boston College Eagles | 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic | Houston Cougars | W, 45–28 |
| 1985 | Bo Jackson | No. 16 Auburn Tigers | 1986 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies | L, 16–36 |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde | No. 1 Miami Hurricanes | 1987 Fiesta Bowl | No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions | L, 10–14 |
| 1987 | Tim Brown | No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 1988 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies | L, 10–35 |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders | No. 12 Oklahoma State | 1988 Holiday Bowl | No. 15 Wyoming Cowboys | W, 62–14 |
| 1989 | Andre Ware | No. 13 Houston Cougars | No Bowl - NCAA Probation | — | — |
| 1990 | Ty Detmer | No. 13 BYU Cougars | 1990 Holiday Bowl | Texas A&M Aggies | L, 14–65 |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard | No. 4 Michigan Wolverines | 1992 Rose Bowl | No. 2 Washington Huskies | L, 14–34 |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta | No. 1 Miami Hurricanes | 1993 Sugar Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide | L, 13–34 |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward | No. 1 Florida State Seminoles | 1994 Orange Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers | W, 18–16 |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | No. 4 Colorado Buffaloes | 1995 Fiesta Bowl | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | W, 41–24 |
| 1995 | Eddie George | No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes | 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl | No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers | L, 14–20 |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | No. 3 Florida Gators | 1997 Sugar Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 1 Florida State Seminoles | W, 52–20 |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson | No. 1 Michigan Wolverines | 1998 Rose Bowl | No. 8 Washington State Cougars | W, 21–16 |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams | No. 20 Texas Longhorns | 1999 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs | W, 38–11 |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers | 2000 Rose Bowl | No. 22 Stanford Cardinal | W, 17–9 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | No. 2 Florida State Seminoles | 2001 Orange Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners | L, 2–13 |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch | No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers | 2002 Rose Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 1 Miami Hurricanes | L, 14–37 |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | No. 5 USC Trojans | 2003 Orange Bowl | No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes | W, 38–17 |
| 2003 | Jason White | No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners | 2004 Sugar Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 2 LSU Tigers | L, 14–21 |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart | No. 1 USC Trojans | 2005 Orange Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners | W$^‡$, 55–19 |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush | No. 1 USC Trojans | 2006 Rose Bowl (National Championship Game) | No. 2 Texas Longhorns | L, 38–41 |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes | 2007 BCS National Championship Game | No. 2 Florida Gators | L, 14–41 |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow | No. 9 Florida Gators | 2008 Capital One Bowl | Michigan Wolverines | L, 35–41 |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners | 2009 BCS National Championship Game | No. 2 Florida Gators | L, 14–24 |
| 2009 | Mark Ingram II | No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide | 2010 BCS National Championship Game | No. 2 Texas Longhorns | W, 37–21 |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | No. 1 Auburn Tigers | 2011 BCS National Championship Game | No. 2 Oregon Ducks | W, 22–19 |
| 2011 | Robert Griffin III | No. 12 Baylor Bears | 2011 Alamo Bowl | Washington Huskies | W, 67–56 |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel | No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies | 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners | W, 41–13 |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston | No. 1 Florida State Seminoles | 2014 BCS National Championship Game | No. 2 Auburn Tigers | W, 34–31 |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota | No. 3 Oregon Ducks | 2015 Rose Bowl 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship | No. 2 Florida State Seminoles No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes | W, 59–20 L, 20–42 |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide | 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic (December) 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship | No. 3 Michigan State Spartans No. 1 Clemson Tigers | W, 38–0 W, 45–40 |
| 2016 | Lamar Jackson | No. 8 Louisville Cardinals | 2016 Citrus Bowl (December) | No. 13 LSU Tigers | L, 9–29 |
| 2017 | Baker Mayfield | No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners | 2018 Rose Bowl | No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs | L, 48–54 |
| 2018 | Kyler Murray | No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners | 2018 Orange Bowl | No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide | L, 34–45 |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | No. 1 LSU Tigers | 2019 Peach Bowl 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship | No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners No. 3 Clemson Tigers | W, 63–28 W, 42–25 |
| 2020 | DeVonta Smith | No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide | 2021 Rose Bowl 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship | No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes | W, 31–14 W, 52–24 |
| 2021 | Bryce Young | No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide | 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship | No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs | W, 27–6 L, 18–33 |
| 2022 | Caleb Williams | No. 10 USC Trojans | 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (January) | No. 16 Tulane Green Wave | L, 45–46 |
| 2023 | Jayden Daniels | No. 13 LSU Tigers | 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl (January) | Wisconsin Badgers | W, 35–31 |
| 2024 | Travis Hunter | No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes | 2024 Alamo Bowl (December) | No. 17 BYU Cougars | L, 14-36 |
Rankings are from the AP Poll upon entering bowl games $^‡$ USC's 2005 Orange Bowl win was later vacated.