Sooner Report: The pros, cons of playing a Heisman winner

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Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel poses with the Heisman Trophy after becoming the first freshman to win the college football award, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

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December 13, 2012

Sooner Report: The pros, cons of playing a Heisman winner

By John Shinn Norman Transcript / CNHI News Service The Enid News and Eagle Thu Dec 13, 2012, 10:21 AM CST

NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma will face the Heisman Trophy winner — Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel — in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. It’s either a good or bad thing depending on what historical trend you want to zero in on.

Heisman Trophy winners are 24-27 in bowl games. Twenty-six of the 77 winners played on teams that did not go to bowl games. That includes OU’s Steve Owens (1968) and Billy Vessels (1952).

The Sooners are 2-1 against Heisman Trophy winners in bowl games. USC’s Matt Leinart threw for five touchdowns in OU’s 55-19 loss to the Trojans in the 2004 national championship game.

They fared much better against Florida State’s Chris Weinke in the 2000 national championship game. The Sooners intercepted Weinke twice en route to a 13-2 victory.

Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan threw for 250 yards and ran for a touchdown when he met OU in the Sugar Bowl four weeks after winning the Heisman Trophy in 1971. The Sooners still rolled to a 40-22 victory.

However, the most-recent trend goes against OU. The last three Heisman winners — Baylor’s Robert Griffin III (2011), Auburn’s Cam Newton (2010) and Alabama’s Mark Ingram (2009) — all won their bowl games. The last to lose was OU’s Sam Bradford in 2008.

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Sooner Report: The pros, cons of playing a Heisman winner

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