Love and Loss
The Tale of Darren McFadden and the Elusive Heisman Trophy
The Houston Nutt era of Arkansas football was a strange time to grow up. It consisted of average quarterbacks handing the ball off to above average running backs. Occasionally, a quarterback would push the ground game to new heights, running it himself (Matt Jones, RIP.)
Arkansas games were monotonous and predictable. Nutt would run the ball on the first two downs and pray that Casey Dick would hit Marcus Monk on a play-action pass to preserve the drive. Essentially, it was exactly the same as Bret Bielema’s offense, without AJ Derby (a legend in his own right). Arkansas often lacked the flair and dynamicity of more pass-happy programs.
Darren McFadden lacked neither flair nor dynamicity.
McFadden’s sophomore and junior seasons were among the most electric seasons in Arkansas’ history. The team’s roster consisted of three backs that would eventually start on NFL teams (McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis), and Michael Smith, who rushed for over a thousand yards his senior season. Somehow, among all of that talent, McFadden managed to stand head-and-shoulders above his peers. In three short seasons, Darren McFadden would accumulate 4,590 yards rushing, second all-time in the SEC. He recorded 41 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, one kick-return touchdown, and SEVEN PASSING TOUCHDOWNS. Seven. That’s a holy number. Lord Voldemort called it the most magical number as well, and no one has ever proven that McFadden wasn’t a wizard.
Every Razorback game during the 2006 and 2007 seasons was a waiting game. One watched anticipating when he would run free. Men adorned in hog hats and pig noses anticipated when this 6–1, 218 lb demi-god would stiff-arm a defender and break away from the defense. At his combine, he clocked a 4.33 sec 40, earning him the all-too-incredible nickname Run-DMC. Before his sophomore season, he also tried to kick his toe off curb-stomping a guy outside of a Little Rock night club.
Arkansas fans felt that they’d found their chosen one- the one who would stiff-arm his way all the way to NYC and bring home the Heisman Trophy. D-Mac was sure to lead the Hogs to a title. But dear reader, there are no sure things in life. There are fewer sure things as a Razorback fan. This is the story of how Darren McFadden finished second in the Heisman trophy voting- twice.
I’m sure that Troy Smith is a great guy. However, there’s this little part of me that always pictures him sitting in the middle of a dark room- a room only lit by a bluish glow that comes from a stolen 2011 Sugar Bowl trophy that lights whenever orcs or goblins are nearby. Next to this bewitched, mythical trophy sits Troy Smith, hunched over his Heisman trophy promising protection from filthy Hobbits and whispering, Precious.
Troy Smith entered the 2006 season as the frontrunner for the Heisman. His Ohio State Buckeyes were the consensus favorites to win it all, and they did so with relative ease, beating their opponents by an average margin of 26.25 points (only two of these games were within a touchdown). Leading this team to victory was the man-goblin Troy Smith. Smith finished the season with 2,542 yards and 30 TD’s passing, and only 6 INT’s- all very good numbers.
McFadden wasn’t a preseason contender for the Heisman. It’s hard to do much of anything when you try to kick off your toes outside of night clubs (there’s a lesson for the kids reading this). The country couldn’t ignore his performance, however. His 1,647 yards rushing were an Arkansas Razorback record, one that would only last a year, as he’d shatter it the following season. He’d go on to win the Doak Walker award (the first sophomore to do so) and finished second in the Heisman voting.
Arkansas fans weren’t terribly upset with McFadden’s second-place finish (I’m kidding, they’re usually upset). There was an understanding among Heisman voters that no one wins the Heisman Trophy as an underclassman. McFadden would have his shot the following year. Besides, Troy Smith led the way for the best team in the country, making him an easy choice for the Heisman.
A month later, the OSU Buckeyes would be routed in the championship game by Florida 41–14. A stunning breakdown for a team that had seemingly had no equals throughout the season. Thus began a beautiful era of SEC dominance. It’s also worth noting that Florida would not have played in this game had they not defeated Arkansas in the SEC Championship (it’s also-also worth noting that the majority of Razorback fans remember where they were when Reggie fumbled that punt).
Most noteworthy is Troy Smith’s stat line: 4–14, 35 yards passing, 1 INT, 1 fumble, and -29 yards from sacks. Fortunately, Arkansans are a progressive, forgiving lot (that’s another lie: After the Clinton’s left, the Huckabee’s arrived). All that was okay, because Darren McFadden was the Heisman frontrunner for the 2007 season. His freakish blend of speed and strength made him the clear choice.
I honestly think that I hate Tim Tebow more than John Elway hates Tim Tebow. If you don’t believe in God, you should take a good hard look into his bright blue eyes and spiky black hair; because God loves Tim Tebow, and he hates the Arkansas Razorbacks.
McFadden’s junior season was nothing if not rocky. It would be Houston Nutt’s final season at the helm of the Razorbacks, one that his team entered having lofty aspirations of a BCS Championship.
The Razorbacks, however, only went 8–4 during the season, with frustrating losses against a lackluster Alabama, a demoralizing meltdown against Kentucky, a sluggish 7–9 loss to Auburn, and a 13–34 loss to Tennessee.
Despite his team’s struggles, McFadden was outstanding. He rushed for over 120 yards each of the first five games. The only blemish on his season was a poor showing against Auburn, in which he was limited to 43 yards, as the whole offense effectively shut down.
Two of his games, were truly transcendent: his play against South Carolina and his game against #1 and eventual national champion LSU.
Against South Carolina, McFadden rushed for an SEC record 321 yards going for 9.4 yards per carry, bolstered by an 80 yard burst down the right sideline. In this game alone, McFadden jumped from tenth to the fifth place on the SEC all-time rushing list. For good measure, he also threw for one of his two TD’s. Imagine if LeBron James jumped Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, and Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list in one game. I know it’s not the same thing, but how ridiculous is that in a game his junior season. McFadden was transcendent.
It was the LSU game that truly solidified McFadden’s place in Arkansas lore, because rushing for 321 yards was not even the best game of his season. Heading into their matchup with unranked Arkansas, LSU had not allowed a single 100-yard rusher that season.
(Note: the next few paragraphs of this article are best if you hop onto Spotify and play My Adidas by the immortal Run-DMC. This is appropriate as Arkansas was still an Adidas school at the time. I should’ve told you to just put this song on repeat for the duration of the article, but we all make mistakes)
After punting on the first 4 drives, the Razorbacks drove 93 yards in 9 plays for the score, captalized by a 16 yard TD run by D-Mac out of the Wildcat Formation (bitterly referred to as the “WildHog” at this point due to a hatred for Gus Malzahn). Going into halftime, the Hogs lead 7–6. The #1 team in the nation was in a dogfight, but it had found success slowing down the nation’s most dynamic running game.
The Razorbacks took the ball at the 20 yard line, and Darren McFadden found space on the left sideline. One of LSU’s DB’s began to gain ground near the 35 yard line. One could argue that a miracle completion to London Crawford the next year defined Casey Dick’s career, but I’d have to argue it was this moment.
Casey Dick threw one of the cruelest blocks of all time, flattening Chad Jones, and clearing the path for Darren McFadden. It also cleared the path for some tastefully obvious “cock-block” jokes. God bless you, Casey Dick.
The score was tied 21–21 going into the 4th quarter. Standing on the 24-yard line, McFadden took a direct snap, started forward, but stepped back and threaded a pass through the middle of LSU’s defensive backfield and into the hands of Peyton Hillis.
LSU went on to force overtime. After one overtime, the score remained tied at 35. McFadden would score his fourth touchdown of the day on a 9 yard run in the 2nd overtime. The game was finally clinched with a Matterral Richardson interception in the third overtime. Arkansas had upset the #1 team in the nation 50–48.
McFadden ran free, accumulating 206 yards on the ground (against a team that hadn’t allowed a single 100-yard rusher), 3 TD’s, and one critical passing touchdown in the fourth quarter to Peyton Hillis
Splitting carries with 1,338-yard rusher Felix Jones, McFadden ended his senior season with 1,830 yards and 16 TD’s. He also threw for 4 touchdowns out of the Wildcat formation. McFadden went down as the first running back since Herschel Walker to record over 1,000 yards in his freshman, sophomore, and junior year. Based on his numbers and dynamic play, McFadden was destined to strike the Heisman pose.
Perhaps the only thing that could derail McFadden’s campaign was an enigma like Tebow. NFL.com did an article last summer listing the ten best college football players of the 2000’s. McFadden finished third. Who finished in front of him? Vince Young was second, and Tebow was first.
Giving credit where it is due, Tebow had a phenomenal sophomore season at Florida. He threw for 32 TD’s and rushed for 23. Also compiling 3286 yards and 895 yards passing and rushing respectively. He was the first to ever both rush and throw for more than 20 TD’s.
The fact remains that Tebow was a sophomore. In the long history of the Heisman trophy, no underclassman had ever won the award. Tradition held that the award should go to an upperclassman, as younger candidates would have more chances to win the award throughout their careers. This was, in fact, major reasoning for McFadden’s second-place finish the year before.
However, none of that mattered for Tebow. Breaking decades of tradition, the Heisman voters chose the dual-threat sophomore over McFadden. It’s worth noting that five of the next seven Heisman Trophy winners would be underclassmen, and five out of any seven Arkansas fans hate both Ohio State and Florida to this day (the other two are from Dallas and don’t know that they hate Ohio State and Florida).
According to the official site of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, the award “annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity,” but there’s a certain number of things that have to go ones way
Plenty of arguments can and have been raised among fans about McFadden. To be honest, I’ve been angrily searching the internet for people that agree with me.
Darren McFadden is the greatest player in Arkansas Razorback history. He might be the greatest Arkansan athlete there ever was. The two-time consensus All-American holds nearly every school rushing record, and is one of the most explosive players the SEC has ever seen. He’s a legend, and also a sad yet satisfying metaphor for the pain of Razorback sports.
At our best, are we still destined to come up short? No matter how hard we run, how brightly we shine, or how freaking incredible our nicknames are (Run-DMC: nothing will ever be that perfect again), are we forbidden from the Promised Land? We’ll we only be able to climb to the top of the mountain and glimpse the fruits of the valley where a Bear Bryant and Frank Broyles brawl in the garden fighting over 1964 National Championship Trophy just East of Eden?
Maybe so. I have to think that at some point in the next five decades, some upstart Hog team will stun the world- some unheralded quarterback (Austin Allen, please, I beg you) leads the team through the gauntlet of the SEC season, beyond a second-place Heisman finish, finally to strike the pose or, dare I say it, hoist the championship trophy?
I mean, I guess it’s possible, but history has taught me it would be better to lower my expectations. Like the boyfriend that keeps promising to propose after years and years of dragging his feet (whoa, this is an odd metaphor), the Razorbacks can’t seem to show me the love I deserve. But every now and then, a player comes along like Darren McFadden, and those players remind you of just how fun those second-place finishes can still be. Woo pig.
