With the College Football Playoffs still two weeks away, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has already had himself a season to remember.
The senior won the 2019 Heisman Trophy by the largest margin in the award’s history on Saturday, cementing his place in LSU program history after one of the most impressive seasons by a passer in the history of the sport.
Burrow threw for 4,715 yards and 48 touchdowns while completing 77.9% of his passes.
“This is what kids dream of doing,” Burrow said after winning the award. “I envisioned myself on that stage and being the quarterback of the No. 1 team in the country playing for the national championship. So this entire season has been a dream come true for me.”
Burrow earned a first-place vote on 841 of 927 ballots, nearing the record of 855 first-place votes set by USC running back O.J. Simpson in 1968. Burrow’s 1,846-point margin of victory breaks Simpson’s record of 1,750. The senior also received 41 second-place votes and three third-place votes for a total of 2,608 points.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback set three Heisman records on the night. Burrow earned 93.8% of possible points available, breaking the previous mark of 91.6% by Ohio State QB Troy Smith in 2006. Burrow was also picked first on 90.7% of the ballots, breaking Smith’s record of 86.7%. The senior was also in 95.5% of the ballots, narrowly edging the previous record of 95.2% set by Oregon QB Marcus Mariota in 2014.
Joe Burrow makes Heisman history! pic.twitter.com/JhpDwOu6UA
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 15, 2019
“It goes to show the kind of year he’s had,” said LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. “He had a great year and I think the whole country noticed it. So we’re very proud that he won by such a wide margin.”
Burrow is just the second player in LSU history to win the award, joining running back Billy Cannon, who won it in 1959. Burrow capped off a spectacular week in which he added some more hardware to his collection as the senior won the Maxwell Award (best overall), Davey O’Brien Award (best quarterback) and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. The gunslinger was also named the Associated Press Player of the Year.
He is on pace to set a major college record, completing 77.9% of his passes this season.
Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts (762 points) finished second, narrowly edging Ohio State QB Justin Fields (747). Ohio State’s Chase Young (643) and Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor (189) rounded out the Top 5.
Hurts, who transferred to Oklahoma from Alabama, was vying to become the third consecutive Sooners quarterback — and a record-breaking eighth OU player overall — to capture the Heisman, following wins by Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018). In 13 games this year, Hurts threw for 3,634 yards with 32 touchdowns to go with 1,255 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.
The voting results now sets up a showdown between Hurts and Burrow as No. 4 Oklahoma takes on No. 1 LSU in the Peach Bowl semifinal on Dec. 29. The bowl matchup will just the eighth time ever that the Heisman winner and the runner-up will face off against each other.
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Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray Wins 2018 Heisman Trophy; Sooners Make History
