Down-ballot Heisman voting is a fun (crazy) study:
Going back to 1980 to now.....
1980:More people thought QB Neil Lomax of Portland State should win the Heisman than did Anthony Carter and Kenny Easley COMBINED.
1981: 3 people thought RB Rich Diana of Yale should win it over Marcus Allen or Herschel Walker, while rushing for fewer carries, yards, ypc, and TDs (vs Yale's schedule)
1982: Dan Marino got 1 first-place vote in a season he threw 17 TDs and 23 INTs......also, Anthony Carter had his best Heisman showing (4th) in perhaps his worst season as a starter
1983: Out of about 700 voters, only 6 thought the 'best' OL should win the Heisman (Fralic). Only 7 thought the award should go to the 'best' DB (Hoage)
1984: Fralic must have fallen off, as his support to win the Heisman fell to 1 single voter.
1985: Sports Illustrated put their pseudo ballot on its cover, advocating for RB Joe Dudek of Plymouth State over Bo Jackson or Chuck Long. Dudek would finish 9th, with 12 first-place votes (11 more than Thurman Thomas).
1986: Three LBs appear in the top 10 of voting! WTF?? 9 thought Bosworth should win the Heisman, 3 chose Cornelius Bennett, and 5 picked Spielman....Auburn RB Brent Fullwood finished with just 4 first-place votes after a 1400 yard season @ 8.3 ypc, probably because he wasn't Bo.
1987: The only FR player to finish in the top 10 since Herschel, Florida RB Emmitt Smith gets 2 first-place votes.
1988: The news here isn't that Okie State RB Barry Sanders won, it's that 156 voters thought someone else should have won it over him....Alabama LB Derrick Thomas gets 3 first-place votes for a season with 27 sacks (unofficially)...and FSU CB Deion Sanders received zero first-place votes.
1989: 72 voters wanted to give ND QB Tony Rice the Heisman for a 2 TD pass, 9 INT season....MSU LB Percy Snow had 7 first-place votes, 4 more than ND WR Raghib Ismail, who did not have a single receiving TD, yet finished 10th in the voting.
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That's a lot for now, I can do another decade if anyone cares to read it.