It really is silly how many arbitrary limits we place on some awards. No freshman can win the Heisman, no player (other than some nebulous “best of all-time” guy) can be voted into the baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and others, as well.

When quoting those stats, also, don’t forget that Herschel sat out 11 full quarters of that season, due to injury, the game being a blowout, or (in the case of the Tennessee game) the old, “We didn’t know just how good he was” excuse.

Herschel Walker is, without a doubt, the greatest college football running back of all time. It’s no exaggeration that Georgia had virtually only 3 plays when Walker was on the field: “Herschel left,” “Herschel right,” and “Herschel up the middle.” I mean, shoot, Georgia only had 3 pass attempts in the national championship game vs. Notre Dame, and zero completions.

. . . and I agree that it was a statistical dead heat. (Rogers: 14 regular-season touchdowns. Walker: 15 regular-season touchdowns.) The statistics tell only part of the story, though, and Georgia’s I formation was totally dependent upon the tailback.

Don’t get me started on the stupidity of awarding the Heisman Trophy before the season is over (particularly now that bowl statistics count towards season totals and bowl games determine national championships), but you both are right that the bowl games added appreciably to Herschel’s case. This is particularly true when you consider that Walker took (appropriately) 34 snaps in the Sugar Bowl with a separated shoulder.

..befuddles me. It’s a self-congratulatory award from the media to look like they know what they’re talking about more than the common fan.

You and I may know that Gino Torretta and Ron Dayne had no businiess being called the country’s most outstanding player; it is what we do with that knowledge that defines who we are as fans. I choose to ignore the blowhards who tell me they know better than what I saw with my own eyes.

Great post, Kyle. I certainly agree that Herschel should have taken home the hardware in 1980 and the fact he was a freshman was one of the reasons he did not. In addition, Rogers was a senior and, similarly to past Heisman winners, earned more like a lifetime-achievement award as he rushed for over 1,000 yards in ‘78 and nearly 1,700 in ’79. However, likely the main reason Herschel did not win the Heisman in 1980 was his 205-yard, three-touchdown performance against Georgia Tech in the Bulldogs’ season finale was not considered.
Georgia played the Jackets on November 29 but the Heisman ballots were due the day before on Friday the 28th. The ballots were counted over the weekend and the winner Rogers was announced on Monday, December 1st. Entering the Tech game, Herschel had rushed for just over 1,400 yards and only 12 TDs and was coming off an un-Herschel-like 77 yards on 27 carries (2.9 avg.) against Auburn. Rogers, whose regular-season ended on November 22 against Clemson, had rushed for all of his 1,781 yards by the time the ballots were due. Besides Walker’s great stats against the Yellow Jackets, he also broke Tony Dorsett’s freshman rushing record late in the game—an achievement that certainly would have helped his Heisman chances.
The day after Rogers was announced the winner, there were several newspaper articles proclaiming Herschel should have won considering his final performance. Some voters even indicated if the voting was held after the regular season had ended, they would have voted differently. After the Heisman was given, John Farrell, the chairman of the Downtown Athletic Club said that if Walker’s performance against Tech had been considered, it probably would have made a difference in the voting but added “we have to stick to our [ballot] deadlines.”