I went back and looked. There was just no one else compelling. Darren McFadden finished second. And while he was probably the most talented player in the country, Arkansas wasn't a great team that year. Not in the national conversation. Brady Quinn of Notre Dame was 3rd, and was probably only up that high because he was Notre Dame's QB and they were 10-2. Those two losses were blowouts to Michigan and USC though. Steve Slaton was 4th. Does anyone here even remember what team he played for? Well, you all probably do but most fans probably don't.
That was a very underwhelming Heisman field, and Smith led an Ohio State team that was dominant and looked like a runaway NC winner heading into the Fiesta Bowl against Florida that year. Ohio State was not really challenged until the #1 vs. #2 showdown against Michigan that year (other than Illinois for some weird reason).
Yes I remember quite well. McFadden’s campaign suffered from being on a 4 loss team, sharing carries in 2006 (284-154) with Felix Jones, and not exactly eye popping numbers. His 2007 season was statistically better. Michael Hart of Michigan had even a lesser case.
Brady Quinn (among with Notre Dame) had ALL of the preseason hype in the world. ESPN and every magazine was all over him. He was the front runner and put up better numbers than Smith by a good margin. He did get exposed against the better defenses he faced. Especially against LSU. Brady Quinn was pribIf ND somehow ran the table and played against Ohio State, he for sure wins the Heisman. Maybe not by the same landslide margin....
Steve Slaton was never going to win. He (along with West Virginia) was just that shiny new toy that fresh out the factory of their 2006 Sugar Bowl upset of Georgia. Heck their QB Pat White was voted Big East offensive player of the year and didn’t even finish top 10 in the Heisman race that year. Now had Slaton played for Ohio State, well it may have been a different story...Same more or less with Ray Rice at Rutgers.
Troy Smith’s Heisman moment/game came against Michigan when it was #1 vs. #2 and it was a “Game of the Century”. He was 29/41 for 316 yards with 4 TD’s to 1 int. His only 300 yard passing game of the season. He was Gino Toretta 2.0.
Then there was Colt Brennan who played for Hawaii and threw the ball like 40 times a game against WAC nobodies. Seriously I don’t need to go any further with an explanation. Same with Ian Johnson at Boise State.
Dwayne Johnson and Calvin Johnson aka Megatron both had respectable seasons but they were always behind the 8-ball because the Heisman has never been kind to receivers.
I’ll agree, 2006 was a year where there was nobody in the top 10 was particularly overwhelming although Brady Quinn was the closest thing to it. Long story short somebody had to win it and man did he ever get exposed in the worst way possible.