LSU’S Burrow favoured to win Heisman Trophy vote in landslide
As LSU quarterback Joe Burrow boarded a plane for New York City on Friday, the team posted a picture of him on social media with the line: “It’s That Time!”
Saturday night officially should be that time, with Burrow not only expected to pick up the second Heisman Trophy in school history, but to possibly do so by a record margin.
Burrow, the redshirt senior who failed to win the starting job at Ohio State in spring 2018 before transferring to LSU, was set to take in the sights and sounds of the Big Apple on Friday before the Heisman ceremony on Saturday.
“This is exactly how I envisioned it, to be honest,” he said of this season, as unbeaten LSU heads into the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed. “I knew the kind of team we had and the kind of people we had around me.”
Burrow, in line to grab LSU’S first Heisman since running back Billy Cannon took home the stiff-armed trophy in 1959, will be joined in New York by three other Heisman finalists — Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Ohio State defensive end Chase Young.
There are 927 Heisman voters — 870 media members, 56 former Heisman winners and one fan vote. Three points are awarded to the player who is listed first on the ballot, two points for second and one for third.
The size of the electorate has varied over the years, so the best way to gauge the biggest winner is by percentage of total points. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith is first in that category, earning 91.63 per cent of the point total in 2006. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was at 90.92 per cent in 2014, followed by Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield at 86.0 per cent in 2017.
The record for first-place votes is 855, set by USC running back O.J. Simpson in 1968, when there were 1,200 voters.
The record for being named on most ballots is held by Mariota at 95.16 per cent.
Burrow has been the runway leader since he completed 31-of39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns in a 46-41 win at Alabama on Nov. 9.
Burrow leads the nation in touchdown passes (an Sec-record 48) and completion percentage (77.9). He’s second nationally with 4,715 passing yards and in passing efficiency rating (201.5) while directing the nation’s most productive offence (554.4 yards per game).
He already has earned the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top player and Davey O’brien Award as the top quarterback, and was chosen the Walter Camp and AP Player of the Year, among other honours.
“I love the guys I play with, and I love the coaching staff, as well,” he said. “We’re a very, very closeknit group.”
LSU will play No. 4 Oklahoma in one semifinal, with No. 2 Ohio State facing off against No. 3 Clemson in the other.
The dual-threat Hurts is third nationally in passing efficiency (200.3), passing for 3,634 yards and leading Oklahoma with 1,255 rushing yards. He has accounted for 50 touchdowns.
Fields is fourth in the country in passing efficiency rating (190.3), throwing for 40 touchdowns against only one interception, while also rushing for 471 yards and 10 scores. Fields threw for at least two touchdown passes in all 13 games this season.
Young leads the nation with 16.5 sacks (1.5 per game) and in tackles for loss (1.9 per game). He’s the fourth defensive lineman to be a Heisman finalist, joining Washington’s Steve Emtman (1991), Miami’s Warren Sapp (1994) and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh (2009).
A Burrow victory would be the fourth for an SEC quarterback since 2007, when Florida’s Tim Tebow won. Auburn’s Cam Newton was the 2010 winner and Texas A&M’S Johnny Manziel followed two years later by being the first Heisman-winning freshman.
The last time a defensive player finished in the top four was in 2012, when Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o came second behind Manziel.
Quarterbacks have won every year since 2000, with three exceptions for running backs — USC’S Reggie Bush in 2005 (since vacated), and Alabama’s Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015).