Big Ten History: A long list of Heisman Trophy winners come from Oregon’s new conference
The first Heisman Trophy was handed out in 1935 and for the first four years, the trophy went to places such as Yale and Chicago. But beginning in 1939 with an Iowa running back, the Big Ten Conference has dominated college football’s most prestigious award.
As the Oregon Ducks get ready to compete in the Big Ten beginning in 2024, we wanted to see just how dominating the conference is in securing the Heisman. It’s an impressive list with Ohio State and Michigan grabbing the most Heismans, as expected. The Buckeyes’ Archie Griffin is the only player to be awarded the Heisman twice, but USC’s Caleb Williams is looking to join that club.
We’ve listed every Big Ten Heisman winner and included those from USC, UCLA and Oregon.
Nile Kinnick - Iowa
Year: 1939
Position: HB/QB
651 points (31 percent of the vote)
Tom Harmon - Michigan
Year: 1940
Position: HB
1,303 points (54.29 percent of the vote)
Bruce Smith - Minnesota
Year: 1941
Position: HB
554 points (49.99 percent of the vote)
Les Horvath - Ohio State
Year: 1944
Position: HB/QB
412 points (18.31 percent of the vote)
Vic Janowicz - Ohio State
Year: 1950
Position: HB/Punter
633 points (22.03 percent of the vote)
Alan Ameche - Wisconsin
Year: 1954
Position: FB
1.068 points (27.01 percent of the vote)
Howard Cassady - Ohio State
Year: 1955
Position: HB
2,219 points (55.87 percent of the vote)
Mike Garrett - USC
Year: 1965
Position: HB
926 points (26.61 percent of the vote)
Gary Beban - UCLA
Year: 1967
Position: QB
1,679 points (63.50 percent of the vote)
OJ Simpson - USC
Year: 1968
Position: HB
2,853 points (80.64 percent of the vote)
John Cappelletti - Penn State
Year: 1973
Position: RB
1,057 points (32.78 percent of the vote)
Archie Griffin — Ohio State
Year: 1974, 1975
Position: HB
1974: 1,920 points (59.53 percent of the vote)
1975: 1,800 points (57.64 percent of the vote)
*Griffin is the only player in college history to have won the Heisman Trophy twice.
Charles White - USC
Year: 1979
Position: RB
1,695 points (53.81 percent of the vote)
Marcus Allen - USC
Year: 1981
Position: RB
1,797 points (57.07 percent of the vote)
Mike Rozier - Nebraska
Year: 1983
Position: HB
1,801 points (57.17 percent of the vote)
Desmond Howard - Michigan
Year: 1991
Position: WR/PR
2,077 points (75.50 percent of the vote)
Eddie George - Ohio State
Year: 1995
Position: RB
1,460 points (52.84 percent of the vote)
Charles Woodson - Michigan
Year: 1997
Position: CB
1,815 points (65.69 percent of the vote)
Ron Dayne - Wisconsin
Year: 1999
Position: HB
2,042 points (73.83 percent of the vote)
Eric Crouch - Nebraska
Year: 2001
Position: QB/WR
770 points (27.75 percent of the vote)
Carson Palmer - USC
Year: 2002
Position: QB
1,328 points (48.01 percent of the vote)
Matt Leinart - USC
Year: 2004
Position: QB
1,325 points (47.85 percent of the vote)
Reggie Bush - USC
Year: 2005
Position: RB/KR
2,541 points (91.77 percent of the vote)
*Vacated for NCAA violations
Troy Smith - Ohio State
Year: 2006
Position: QB
2,540 points (91.63 percent of the vote)
Marcus Mariota - Oregon
Year: 2014
Position: QB
2,534 points (90.92 percent of the vote)
Caleb Williams - USC
Year: 2022
Position: QB
2,031 points (72.87 percent of the vote)
