On Saturday the Heisman Trophy will be awarded to the best player in college football. It’s similar to your Saturday where you'll have a chance at being named the best dancer of your work holiday party with your signature dance moves. We bet the Heisman winner doesn’t even know how to do the sprinkler.
Who’s winning now?
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS: Oklahoma City we’re in your neck of the woods today to introduce you to Last Night’s Game. If you can’t be at 1 Million Cups Oklahoma City, then you can watch us live at 9 am CST.
Five things to know about the Heisman Trophy
- The award is named after John Heisman who was an innovator and college football coach. He is best known for inventing the forward pass in 1906. (They didn’t really throw the ball before then – kind of like rugby. Weird right)?
- It’s not always easy being a Heisman winner. Reggie Bush (USC, 2005) had to give his back after an NCAA investigation found he seriously broke the rules by receiving impermissible benefits. O.J. Simpson (USC, 1968) sold his when times were tough. (They still are because he is in jail). Johnny Manziel, who was a freshman when he won the award (Texas A&M, 2012), is now a frequent subject of the tabloids and his football career went down the drain.
- The underachiever Marcus Allen (USC, 1981), is the only player to win the Heisman trophy, a College National Championship, a Super Bowl and be named the Super Bowl and regular season MVP.
- The Heisman pose is something every sports fan knows. Check it out and let’s see you replicate it on the dance floor this weekend. Hey it’ll fit right in with your sprinkler and shopping cart move.
- By the numbers:
- 45 pounds: the weight of the trophy
- $255,500: the winning bid at an auction for O.J. Simpson’s Heisman trophy. The winner bought it to “impress his girlfriend.”
- 5: the number of finalists, one of whom will be named the winner
- Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)
- Jabrill Peppers (Michigan)
- Dede Westbrook (Oklahoma)
- Deshaun Watson (Clemson)
- Lamar Jackson (Louisville) – who, according to the sports books, is the overwhelming favorite to win.
Overtime
- The last Navy player to win the Heisman was quarterback Roger Staubach in 1963. Navy unveiled their uniforms for their big rivalry game against Army this Saturday. The Navy uniforms are a throwback to the 1963 season in which Staubach led the Midshipmen to the Cotton Bowl. Side note, the only college football game this weekend is the storied Army vs. Navy game.
Sideline stat
- Oklahoma City Thunder’s (NBA – National Basketball Association) Russell Westbrook beat a milestone set by the man whose company sponsors him. Westbrook, who is sponsored by Jordan, secured his sixth consecutive triple-double. (Michael Jordan had five). Wilt Chamberlain holds the record with nine consecutive triple-doubles.
Coaches’ corner
- What is a triple-double? It’s not a cheeseburger but a basketball term. A triple-double is when a player scores double digits in three of the following categories in a game: points, total rebounds, assists, steals or blocks. Not an easy feat.