There was never any doubt when it came to naming the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner. Jameis Winston led a dominant Florida State Seminoles 2013 run to a perfect 13-0 record, an ACC title, and a berth in the BCS National Championship in Pasadena this January. His near flawless performance all season long made the decision simple for Heisman voters on Saturday night as they selected Winston in a landslide to join college football’s most prestigious club.
Winston set freshman records passing for 3,820 yards and 38 touchdowns this season. In 13 games, he threw for 300 yards or more seven times and accounted for at least four touchdowns six times. He’s currently on pace to break the NCAA record for passer efficiency rating in a season (currently 190.1) and leads the nation in adjusted QBR (90.1) and yards per attempt (10.9). All of these gaudy stats came despite playing every snap in just three games this season as FSU regularly blew out their opponents, boasting a margin of victory of more than 40 points in 2013.
And that resulted in a landslide win in the Heisman voting for Winston. The FSU quarterback earned 2,208 points and was voted No. 1 on 668 of the 900 ballots submitted. AJ McCarron finished a very distant second, earning 704 points and being voted No. 1 on 79 ballots. It was the seventh largest margin of victory in Heisman history, despite Winston getting completely left off of 115 ballots which were likely submitted while the criminal investigation was still pending for the freshman quarterback. If those voters had included Winston, there’s no telling how big his margin of victory would have been.
Jameis Winston led the most dominant team in college football this season to a perfect season so it’s only fitting that he would dominate the Heisman Trophy race. Can he keep that dominance rolling for the rest of what should be a historically great collegiate career?
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