By Jim Johnson
SouthernPigskin.com

Follow us at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin.  Become a fan at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page

Looking back at how every Heisman winner since 2000 has performed in the postseason.

After taking home the Maxwell, Walter Camp, and Davey OBrien Awards earlier this week, Joe Burrow, with the addition of college footballs most prestigious individual honor to his mantle, joins an impressive shortlist of names that have swept all the various awards that are out there for a quarterback to win — a list that, most recently, includes the likes of Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, and Cam Newton.

Burrow, the 82nd Heisman Trophy winner, has put together a historically great campaign, most deserving of the distinguish. His 77.9% completion percentage is the best ever. His 10.7 yards per attempt currently sits in the top ten all-time, and at his 2019 per game rate, if he plays two more games, hell finish sixth in single passing yards. He could also finish second in single season passing touchdowns if he keeps up his approximately 3.5 per game clip over two more contests.

However, more stunning than the sheer staggering statististical production is the stage upon which he has acquired it. For so long, it seemed like LSUs offense was going to be stuck in the 20th century, in perpetuity, doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again, banging its head against an unbreakable wall, Sisyphus rolling that boulder up the hill. Yet, Burrow, in concert with Broyles Award winner Joe Brady and Biletnikoff Award winner JaMarr Chase, has at once not only brought LSU out of the stone ages, but made the Tigers one of the modern offensive standard-bearers.

And hes done so against one of the most challenging schedules in college football; the 13th toughest according to OAYP.

That said, in the eyes of some, perhaps Burrow himself, first and foremost, it will have all been for naught if those trophies, the Heisman included, arent accompanied by a ring, on January 13th.

And, as the LSU faithful learned for so long, headbutting drywall and pushing rocks, history is apt to repeat itself. So, lets take a look at the other 19 players that have won the Heisman since the turn of the century, and see how they performed in the postseason:

2000 — Chris Weinke, QB, Florida State

Regular Season Stats: 347.3 passing yards/game, 9.7 yards/attempt, 7.7% TD rate, 2.6% INT rate, 163.1 passer rating, 61.7% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 274 passing yards, 5.3 yards/attempt, 0% TD rate, 3.8% INT rate, 84.6 passer rating, 48.1% completion rate

After winning the National Championship in 1999, Florida State rolled back into the title game for a rematch with Oklahoma, who they had beaten a year prior, in the Sugar Bowl, 46-29. Suffice it to say, things didnt resemble the previous matchup in the slightest, nor did they go remotely as planned for FSUs offense, who entered the contest averaging over 40 points per game, and had not been held under 24. Completely shut down, Weinke and the Seminoles turned the ball over three times and failed to manage even a single offensive score, losing 13-2.

2001 — Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska

Season Stats: 218.8 yards of total offense/game, 6.7 yards/play, 6.4% total TD rate, 5.3% INT rate, 124.3 passer rating, 55.6% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 176 yards of total offense, 4.8 yards/play, 0% total TD rate, 6.7% INT rate, 54.7 passer rating, 33.3% completion rate

Nebraskas inclusion in the BCS National Championship that season did not come without controversy. Yet, despite having not played in their conference championship game, and losing their final regular season game to Colorado, the Cornhuskers nonetheless had an opportunity to take on undisputed #1 Miami in the 2002 Rose Bowl. Crouch ran the ball somewhat efficiently, but he and his team were overmatched and outclassed from jump street, falling behind 34-0 in the first half. They would go on to score just one offensive touchdown in the second half, the other score coming on a punt return, and lose 37-14.

2002 — Carson Palmer, QB, USC

Season Stats: 303.3 passing yards/game, 7.9 yards/attempt, 7% TD rate, 2.2% INT rate, 149.1 passer rating, 63.2% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 303 passing yards, 9.8 yards/attempt, 3.2% TD rate, 0% INT rate, 160.5 passer rating, 67.7% completion rate

It wasnt the National Championship, but Palmer did at least, briefly, halt a two year skid in favor of the Heisman Curse. Against #3 Iowa in the 2003 Orange Bowl, the Trojans, led by their signal caller, were fantastic. Palmer played one of the best games of his entire season, en route to a 38-17 victory.

2003 — Jason White, QB, Oklahoma

Season Stats: 288 passing yards/game, 9.0 yards/attempt, 9.7% TD rate, 1.9% INT rate, 158.1 passer rating, 61.6% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 102 passing yards, 2.8 yards/attempt, 0% TD rate, 5.4% INT rate, 47.5 passer rating, 35.1% completion rate

The 2003 Heisman winner restarted the streak of Heismans in the National Championship, that Carson Palmer interrupted, and it also restarted the streak of those Heismans losing the National Championship. The loss, itself, wasnt as bad as Crouch or Weinkes, but the quarterback play was arguably even worse. White had his lowest yardage total and completion percentage of the year, and threw two interceptions, before ultimately falling 21-14 to LSU.

2004 — Matt Leinart, QB, USC

Season Stats: 255.5 passing yards/game, 8.1 yards/attempt, 8% TD rate, 1.5% INT rate, 156.5 passer rating, 65.3% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 332 passing yards, 9.5 yards/attempt, 14.3% TD rate, 0% INT rate, 178.3 passer rating, 51.4% completion rate

In the first of what would be back-to-back National Championship appearances for USC, their Heisman winning quarterback played one of the best games of his career. The Trojans decimated Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl, behind Leinarts second highest passing total of the season and five passing touchdowns, which tied his career high.

2005 — Reggie Bush, RB, USC

Season Stats: 133.8 rushing yards/game, 8.7 yards/carry, 8% TD rate, 36.8 receiving yards/game, 12.9 yards/reception, 12.5% TD rate
Postseason Stats: 82 rushing yards, 6.3 yards/carry, 7.7% TD rate, 95 receiving yards, 15.8 yards/reception, 0% TD rate

In one of the greatest title games ever played, the 2006 Rose Bowl, Bush, personally was not at his best. Although he was extremely effective as a pass catcher, he struggled to run the ball as efficiently as he had to that point in his career, and also had one of the more memorable gaffes in college football history, when he infamously tried, unsuccessfully to pitch the ball, resulting in a fumble that Texas recovered. While Vince Young cemented himself as a legend later on in that matchup, this also kickstarts perhaps the strongest run of Heisman Curse evidence.

2006 — Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State

Season Stats: 195.5 passing yards/game, 8.2 yards/attempt, 9.6% TD rate, 1.9% INT rate, 161.9 passer rating, 65.3% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 35 passing yards, 2.5 yards/attempt, 0% TD rate, 7.1% INT rate, 35.3 passer rating. 28.6% completion rate

I dont hate Troy Smith winning the Heisman in 806 as much as a lot of people seem to, and re-litigating it after the National Championship is pointless — thats not the award works, but this was just awful. Florida hammered Ohio State 41-14 in that National Championship, Smith looked like he had never played before, and the rest is history.

2007 — Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

Season Stats: 321.6 yards of total offense/game, 7.5 yards/play, 9.8% total TD rate, 1.7% INT rate, 172.5 passer rating, 66.9% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 211 yards of total offense, 4.3 yards/play, 8.2% TD rate, 0% INT rate, 120.7 passer rating, 51.5% completion rate

Tim Tebow is the greatest quarterback in college football history, yet, curiously, his Heisman season was Floridas least successful, as a team, with him behind center. Tim Tebows first game after taking home the trophy was not the National Championship, far from it, relatively speaking. The, at that point, three-loss Gators were sent to the Capital One Bowl where they fell 35-41 to unranked Michigan. (Yep, thats also the Michigan team that lost to App State)

2008 — Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

Season Stats: 337.1 passing yards/game, 9.8 yards/attempt, 10.4% TD rate, 1.7% INT rate, 180.8 passer rating, 67.9% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 256 passing yards, 6.2 yards/attempt, 4.9% TD rate, 4.9% INT rate, 122.2 passer rating, 63.4 completion rate

Bradfords performance in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game, which he coincidentally lost to Tebows Gators, 24-14, wasnt as bad as Weinke, Crouch, White, or Smiths, but the outcome was the same. It was a season low for him in yards per attempt and passer rating, and a season-high in interceptionsxa6 hardly a recipe for success.

2009 — Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

Season Stats: 118.4 rushing yards/game, 6.1 yards/carry, 6.3% TD rate, 23.9 receiving yards/game, 10.4 yards/reception, 9.4% TD rate
Postseason Stats: 116 rushing yards, 5.3 yards/carry, 9.1% TD rate, 12 receiving yards, 6 yards/reception, 0% TD rate

In hindsight, this was a fairly momentous occasion. Not only did it seemingly end the Heisman Curses reign of terror, and kickstart and era of Heisman postseason success, it was also the beginning of Nick Sabans dynasty in Tuscaloosa. Ingram was a force to be reckoned with in the 37-21 win over Texas, and took home Offensive MVP honors for his efforts.

2010 — Cam Newton, QB, Auburn

Season Stats: 309.1 yards of total offense/game, 7.95 yards/play, 9.2% total TD rate, 2.5% INT rate, 182.1 passer rating, 66.1 completion rate
Postseason Stats: 329 yards of total offense, 5.9 yards/play, 3.4% total TD rate, 2.9% INT rate, 137.82 passer rating, 58.5% completion rate

Cam Newtons 2010 campaign was the best single season effort by any quarterback in college football ever, to that point, but his 2011 BCS National Championship effort against Oregon was far from his best game. The raw production was there, but his efficiency took a marked step back. The Tigers did win the game 22-19, delivering another blow to proponents of the Heisman Curse, but if not for a questionable ruling (Michael Dyer was down), this game could have easily gone the other way, altering the entire course of history.

2011 — Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

Season Stats: 384 yards of total offense/game, 8.6 yards/play, 8.1% total TD rate, 1.5% INT rate, 189.47 passer rating, 72.4% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 350 yards of total offense, 6.9 yards/play, 3.9% total TD rate, 0% INT rate, 157.8 passer rating, 72.7% completion rate

The most meaningless of any of the games on the list, the 2011 Alamo Bowl pit Griffins unranked Baylor against unranked Washington. In what turned out to be a pretty fun shootout, the Bears prevailed 67-56, quietly extending the postseason win streak for Heisman Trophy winners. Still, similar to Newton albeit with wildly dissimilar stakes, though Griffins team came out on top, his personal production did see a drop in efficiency.

2012 — Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

Season Stats: 393.6 yards of total offense/game, 8.1 yards/play, 6.9% total TD rate, 2.1% INT rate, 155.3 passer rating, 68% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 516 yards of total offense, 10.1 yards/play, 7.8% total TD rate, 2.0% INT rate, 149.1 passer rating, 64.7% completion rate

The 2013 Cotton Bowl was billed as a showdown between two high-octane offense, one led by Johnny Football, the other by Oklahomas Landry Jones. The Aggies signal caller showed up, delivering arguably his most impressive performance of the season. The other did not. Granted, this one wasnt a national title game, either, but it was still a NY6 matchup that saw the Heisman winner prevail, at this juncture for the fourth time in a row.

2013 — Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State

Season Stats: 289.8 passing yards/game, 10.6 yards/attempt, 10.4% TD rate, 2.6% INT rate, 184.9 passer rating, 66.9% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 237 passing yards, 6.8 yards/attempt, 5.7% TD rate, 0% INT rate, 132.9 passer rating, 57.1% completion rate

With the Heisman winner back in the National Championship for the first time since Cam Newton, ironically playing against Auburn, Winston and the 8Noles got off to a brutal start, falling behind 21-3 in the second quarter. Devonta Freeman punched one in not long before the half, cutting the lead to 21-10. With Roberto Aguayo scoring the lone points of the third quarter, a 41-yard field goal, that still left an eight point deficit going into the final frame. Winston led a potentially game-tying drive early in Q4, but Jimbo Fisher inexplicably decided to just take the PAT, rather than playing for two, leaving Florida State down by a point. Thanks to some late game heroics by Kermit Whitfield on a 100-yard kick return touchdown, Winston was able to lead a game-winning drive with just over a minute left on the clock. He found Kelvin Benjamin on a three yard score with just 13 ticks remaining to seal the come-from-behind victory, and keep the Heisman streak alive.

2014 — Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

Season Stats: 348.2 yards of total offense/game, 9.0 yards/play, 9.8% total TD rate, 0.9% INT rate, 181.8 passer rating, 68.3% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 386 yards of total offense/game, 8.5 yards/play, 5.5% total TD rate, 2.7%
INT rate, 158.3 passer rating, 68.5% completion rate

As the first Heisman Trophy winner in the College Football Playoff era, Marcus Mariota is also the first player on the list to play two games after taking home the sports most prestigious individual award. He shredded defending National Champion FSUs defense in the 2015 Rose Bowl semifinal matchup, leading Oregon to a resounding 59-20 win. He also performed admirably in the subsequent National Championship, completing 65% of his passes at a clip of 9.0 yards per attempt with a pair of touchdowns. Ohio State won the game 42-20, but only so much of the blame can fairly be put on Mariota for that. Even so, it did end the Heisman postseason win streak at six games, counting the FSU contest.

2015 — Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama

Season Stats: 147.9 rushing yards/game, 5.6 yards/carry, 7.1% TD rate
Postseason Stats: 116.5 rushing yards/game, 4.2 yards/carry, 8.9% TD rate

Henry did what Mariota failed to do and is still the only player on the list to win two consecutive postseason games after getting the Heisman nod. It wasnt pretty, but it got the job done. He only carried the ball 20 times (thats a lot by most standards, but comparatively low for him in 2015) for 75 yards, but still managed to hit paydirt twice in the Tides 38-0 shutout of Michigan State. He wasnt super efficient in the National Championship either, but was a consistent force throughout the contest, rushing for 158 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries. OJ Howard technically won offensive MVP that game, thanks to an explosive showing, but no one was truly more valuable than Henry in the 45-40 instant classic win over Clemson.

2016 — Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

Season Stats: 393.4 yards of total offense/game, 7.6 yards/play, 7.6% total TD rate, 2.2% INT rate, 148.8 passer rating, 56.2% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 186 yards of total offense, 3.5 yards/play, 0% TD rate, 0% INT rate, 84.6 passer rating, 37% completion rate

Lamar Jackson is the best player in college football history, and should have won the Heisman in 2017, as well. He also should have been the first quarterback taken in the 2018 NFL Draft, which seems obvious now, but I told everyone that two-and-a-half years ago. Having said that, the two worst games of his legendary 2016-2017 both came in bowl games. He couldnt do anything with LSUs defense in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, and did even less against Mississippi State a year later. *Heisman Curse resumes*

2017 — Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Season Stats: 330.5 passing yards/game, 11.5 yards/attempt, 10.6% TD rate, 1.5% INT rate, 198.92 passer rating, 70.5% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 287 passing yards, 8.2 yards/attempt, 5.7% TD rate, 2.9% INT rate, 147.7 passer rating, 65.7% completion rate

I remember debating with a coworker, after Mayfield set the single season passer rating record that year, whether or not we would see the next Mayfield or Lamar Jackson sooner. In other words, would someone else hit that efficiency mark or join Jacksons 3,500 passing-1,500 rushing yard club more quickly? The obvious answer to me was that Jacksons numbers were far less attainable, and that Mayfields production was more so a result of Oklahomas offensive construction (which was, continued to be, and still is perfect and beautiful). I was right. Its become clear that, given what Kyler Murray did the next year, and now what Jalen Hurts has accomplished, those records are Lincoln Rileys as much as the QBs themselves. Anyways, Baker Mayfield lost to Georgia 54-48, in overtime, in the 2018 Rose Bowl CFP semifinal.

2018 — Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

Season Stats: 383 yards of total offense/game, 10.4 yards/play, 10.4% total TD rate, 1.9% INT rate, 199.2 passer rating, 69% completion rate
Postseason Stats: 417 yards of total offense, 7.7 yards/play, 5.6% total TD rate, 0% INT rate, 139.1 passer rating, 51.4% completion rate

While Murrays raw production in Oklahomas 45-34 loss in last years Orange Bowl CFP semifinal, to Alabama, is impressive, part of that is simply opportunity. From an efficiency standpoint, his play clearly dropped, and while the game ended up within two scores, the Sooners trailed 28-0 early in the second quarter and the result was never in doubt. As such, after years of breaking the Heisman Curse — from Mark Ingram to 50% of Marcus Mariota — it has come back with a vengeance.

2019 — Joe Burrow, QB, LSU

Season Stats: 362.7 passing yards/game, 10.7 yards/attempt, 10.9% TD rate, 1.4% INT rate, 201.5 passer rating, 77.9% completion rate
Postseason Stats: ???

LSUs first Heisman Trophy winner since Billy Cannon, in 1959, Joe Burrow can now simply focus on winning. However, if proponents of the Heisman Curse are to be believed, that may be easier said than done. Since 2000, Heisman winners are 10-11 in the proceeding postseason. Counting only those in BCS National Championships or College Football Playoff games, theyre 7-9. Take out Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, and Derrick Henry from that record, and the quarterbacks drop to just 4-8.

Moreover, with few exceptions, the Heismans statistical production have dropped almost across the board. Granted, thats to be expected given that the team they played in the postseason will almost certainly have been better than the average team they played in the regular season, especially in the case of the BCS National Championship and CFP participants, but even in the case of the others, too.

However, only a select few still managed to exceed expectations, even on that sliding scale.

For Joe Burrow, thats not necessarily going to be the case. Er, it will in the sense that Oklahoma is clearly better than most of the teams they played, even though theyre not one of the four best teams in the country (#7 in overall OAYP, behind previous LSU opponent Alabama and just one spot ahead of Georgia), but their defense is not. The Sooners enter the game #43 in defensive OAYP, which is lower than five teams LSU has already beaten — Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Texas A&M, and just barely ahead of South Carolina.

The National Championship, though, if LSU wins in Atlanta, will be a different story, no matter who comes out of the Fiesta Bowl. Clemson and Ohio State are currently #1 and #2, respectively in defensive OAYP. For that matter, Ohio State and Clemson are also #1 and #2 in overall OAYP, the only two teams ahead of LSU, per OAYP.

So, whats it going to be? Against Oklahomas middling defense, it feels safe to take a Troy Smith-type disaster off the table. Marcus Mariota feels like the most likely scenario: destroy Oklahoma and play well enough against Ohio State or Clemson, but fall short. The folks in Baton Rouge are hoping for back-to-back 804 Matt Leinarts.

The Heisman history is checkered with runs that could point to a curse followed by stretches that spit in its face. Theres enough evidence to make it a fun talking point, but hardly enough empirical data to suggest its anything more than that.

A historic regular season and SEC Championship under his belt, with a full trophy case to show for it, all thats left for Joe Burrow to do is just win.