Will Age Decide Heisman Winner?
N E W Y O R K, Dec. 8 -- Chris Weinke capped a remarkable back-to-schoolstory tonight night when the 28-year-old Florida State quarterbackwon the Heisman Trophy in one of the closest votes in the historyof the award.
This year’s Heisman race is too close to call between the28-year-old Weinke and Oklahoma’sJosh Heupel. But if some of the 922 Heisman voters leave Weinke’s name off their ballot because of his age, Heupel would have an even stronger chance to win the trophy given by the Downtown Athletic Club.
“It would be a travesty if he doesn’t win because age was a factor,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. “That shouldn’t be a factor.”
One of the Closest in History
But because it’s there, age has become an issue. Some argueWeinke has an unfair advantage because of his maturity and hisexperience as a pro baseball player, and won’t even consider him a candidate. Others argue that Weinke should be admired for havingthe “audacity,” as Bowden calls it, to come back and think he could excel after playing minor league baseball for six years,
Ballots were due Friday, but no matter who wins and for whatreason, this Heisman race might end up as one of the closest inhistory.
The tightest Heisman voting was Bo Jackson’s 45-point win overChuck Long in 1985; the second-tightest was Ernie Davis of Syracusebeating Bob Ferguson of Ohio State by 52 points in 1961.
Says Weinke, who won the Davey O’Brien Award on Thursday night to go with his Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award: “If they don’t want to vote for me, OK,” he said, “but there is nothing on the Heisman ballot that says you can’t be 28.”
These two quarterbacks led their teams to a nationalchampionship game in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3 — a matchup that is likely to feature a Heisman winner against the runner-up.
“I have no idea how it’s going to come out,” Bowden said. “You’ve got one who has taken his team to an undefeated season and has done everything you’ve got to do to get there. Then you’ve got the other who has played superlative football and is unique in his age.”