12 Teams With The Most Second-Place Heisman Trophy Finishers

The Heisman trophy is college football’s most prestigious award. Since 1935, the sport has recognized the player that it believes to be the NCAA’s best during the season-ending ceremony.

This year, there are a number of high-profile candidates expected to compete for the hardware. Some top names include Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, and Cade Klubnik.

There are a number of schools that have produced multiple Heisman trophy winners. USC leads the way with eight.

But what about those that have come close only to fall a few votes short? Below are the 12 programs that boast the most second-place finishers.

Army Black Knights

The Army football program has had three Heisman trophy runners-up, all coming between 1935 and 1945.

Monk Meyer finished second on the first-ever ballot to Jay Berwanger of Chicago. Glenn Davis then finished second in back-to-back seasons (’44, ’45).

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan has three Heisman trophy runners-up. The last was Aidan Hutchinson in 2021, who fell to Bryce Young.

The other second-place finishers came way back in 1939 (Tom Harmon) and 1947 (Bob Chappuis).

Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State has seen three Heisman trophy runners-up, with the most recent coming in 1984 (Keith Byars).

Bob Ferguson (’61) and John Hicks (’73) are also amongst the Buckeyes’ second-place finishers.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State has three Heisman trophy runners-up. The last was Ki-Jana Carter, who lost to Rashaan Salaam in 1994.

Other Nittany Lions to finish second include Richie Lucas (’59) and Chuck Fusina (’78).

Pitt Panthers

Pitt has seen three players rank second in Heisman trophy voting. The last was wideout Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.

Marshall Goldberg finished second in the 1938 voting while Hugh Green lost in 1980 to George Rogers.

Purdue Boildermakers

Purdue boasts three Heisman trophy runners-up, all of which came during a four-year period in the 1960s.

Bob Griese (’66), Leroy Keyes (’68), and Mike Phipps (’69) make up the Boilermakers’ list of second-place finishers.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa is our first team with four Heisman trophy near-misses. Alex Karras (’57), Randy Duncan (’58), Chuck Long (’85), and Brad Banks (’02) make up that list.

The Hawkeyes have one winner, the man for which the stadium was named after, Nile Kinnick (’39).

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame makes the list of both most Heisman winners and second-place finishers. The Fighting Irish have seen seven players finish first and four more just miss.

Those runners-up include Angelo Bartelli (’41), Joe Theismann (’70), Raghib Ismail (’90), and Manti Te’o (’12).

Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee has no Heisman trophy winners but four second-place finishes. All are notable for one reason or another.

Peyton Manning fell to the only defensive winner, Charles Woodson, in 1997, Hank Lauricella lost to the last Ivy League winner in 1951, Johnny Majors fell to the last winner with a losing season in 1956, and Heath Shuler fell in 1993 to a future NBA pro.

USC Trojans

USC tops the list of Heisman winners with eight, but it also has four second-place finishers.

The Trojans have seen OJ Simpson (’67), Anthony Davis (’74), Ricky Bell (’76), and Rodney Peete (’88) just miss.

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma has seven Heisman trophy winners and six runners-up. Most recently, Jalen Hurts finished second to Joe Burrow.

Kurt Burris (’54), Greg Pruitt (’72), Billy Sims (’79), Josh Heupel (’00), and Adrian Peterson (’04) also make the list.

Stanford Cardinal

Stanford is tied for the top spot with Oklahoma at six runners-up. Unlike the Sooners, the Cardinal have just one winner.

John Elway (’82), Toby Gerhart (’09), Andrew Luck (’10 and ’11), Christian McCaffrey (’15), and Bryce Love (’17) make up the list of second-place finishers.