Lamar Jackson added to a history of post-Heisman bowl disappointment

Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 10. Three weeks later, the Louisville quarterback played LSU in the Citrus Bowl, and it went horribly.

Against LSU’s overwhelming pass rush, Jackson posted his lowest efficiency rating of the season, 84.6. He was 10-of-27 passing, for 153 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. He had 26 runs for 33 yards, his lowest average of the season. That includes eight sacks at a cost of 64 yards. The Cardinals lost, 29-9, scoring their fewest points of the season.

If Heisman voting had occurred after bowl season and not the regular season, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson probably would’ve won.

Jackson’s humbling at the hands of the Tigers was shocking, even though LSU had a good defense. But Jackson’s not nearly the first Heisman winner to have it so bad in the bowl game immediately following his victory.

Of the 37 Heisman winners since 1980, 36 have played in a bowl game. Their teams went 17-19 in bowls, and a couple did it in a fashion just as gory as Louisville.

The only Heisman winner since then not to play in a bowl was Houston’s Andre Ware. The Cougars went 9-2 in 1989, Ware’s Heisman year, but were under a bowl ban for violations in previous years.

Whether the games were officially designated as the National Championship or not, that’s happened a lot in the last 40-some years.

Georgia’s Herschel Walker lost to Penn State in the 1982 season, as did Miami’s Vinny Testaverde in 1986. Nebraska’s Mike Rozier lost to Miami in 1983. Desmond Howard’s Michigan lost to Washington in ’91, and Miami’s Gino Torretta to Alabama in ’92.

Florida State’s Chris Weinke fell to Oklahoma in 2000, Nebraska’s Eric Crouch to Miami in ’01, Oklahoma’s Jason White to LSU in ’03, and USC’s Reggie Bush to Texas in ’05.

Later, in the BCS Championship Game’s eight years of existence, Heisman winners went 3-2. Mark Ingram, Cam Newton, and Jameis Winston were winners, while Troy Smith and Sam Bradford were title-game losers. Derrick Henry won with Alabama in the Playoff era, and Marcus Mariota won a semifinal.

Some were outclassed in title games by fellow finalists, as Bush was against Vince Young.

South Carolina’s George Rogers, Auburn’s Bo Jackson, Ohio State’s Eddie George, and Notre Dame’s Tim Brown had productive games in bowl losses.

In 1990, BYU quarterback Ty Detmer lumbered to an 11-of-23 passing day (120 yards) in a 65-14 Holiday Bowl loss against A&M. Detmer had negative-27 ground yards, one interception, and one touchdown.

In 2007, Florida’s Tim Tebow played Michigan in the Capital One Bowl. Tebow was 17-of-33 passing for 154 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He ran 16 times for 57 yards and another score. He was decent, but his team lost, 41-35.

If you don’t count title-game losses, probably. It comes down to Jackson against LSU and Detmer against A&M in the ’90 season. Jackson threw for about 30 more yards in his loss than Detmer did, while Detmer’s 97.3 efficiency rating came in a few points higher.

If you’re not forgiving of players who lose title games, things get more complicated. The 2006 winner, Ohio State’s Smith, had a categorically gruesome game against Florida, when he went 4 of 14 for 35 yards and an interception and ran 10 times for negative-29 yards.

Smith’s post-Heisman performance was definitely worse than Jackson’s, but at least it came against the national champ. Jackson’s came against a four-loss LSU on its second head coach of the year.

Weinke’s FSU team put up zero offensive points in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma that decided the 2000 season’s title. That was bad, but Weinke’s top receiver, Marvin Minnis, wasn’t playing, and he at least went over 250 passing yards.

Bowl game disappointment is practically a part of the Heisman package.