Best Moments in Big Ten Football History #2: Archie Griffin's Two Heismans

FanHouse is counting down the 10 best, 10 worst, and 10 weirdest moments in Big Ten football history.

As with yesterday's "best moment," here's another accomplishment you'd think somebody would have duplicated at some point. But no. Archie Griffin won the Heisman Trophy in 1974 and 1975. He's the only person (so far) to win it more than once.

It might be difficult to overstate just how good Archie Griffin was. He started for four years, and, not surprisingly, his freshman year was his least productive. He ran for only 1,428 yards that year on 159 attempts.

While Griffin would never again get close to averaging 8.9 yards a carry, that was only because Woody Hayes realized #45 needed to get the ball a lot more often. In 1973 the Buckeyes changed from a T-formation offense to an I-formation, and Griffin carried the ball 100 more times than he had in 1972. He was fifth in the Heisman voting that season.

1974 and 1975 brought more of the same for Griffin and OSU. His numbers were too great for Heisman voters to overlook. Both years he won the award by more than 1,000 points. Those weren't the most lopsided wins in Heisman history but they weren't far from it. Yet, as amazing as it may sound, winning two Heismans might not be Griffin's most unimaginable accomplishment.

He is the only person ever to start in four Rose Bowls.

I mean, think about it. The next two-Heisman guy just might come along in about eight months, unless Tim Tebow takes a huge step back in the upcoming season. But who's ever going to start in the Rose Bowl four times? Oh, and it's a good bet that Griffin's 31 consecutive games where he rushed for at least 100 yards is an untouchable record as well. These days highly talented running backs don't even play 31 games in college, it seems.

Griffin was less successful in the NFL, as Heisman winners often are. He spent seven seasons with the Bengals where he averaged 400 yards and but a single rushing touchdown per season. Small matter. The Heisman is not for the best NFL prospect; it's (theoretically) for the best player in college football. There is little question that Archie Griffin was the quintessential college football player of the mid-1970s and one of the greatest of all time.