Oregon Football: 5 reasons why Royce Freeman will win 2017 Heisman
By Zach Bigalke
2. Oregon’s record in 2017 will help keep Freeman in spotlight
In large part, the perception of a team has a drastic impact on a player’s Heisman campaign. Royce Freeman entered 2016 as a bona fide Heisman hopeful after posting nearly 2,200 yards of offense as a sophomore on a 9-4 team. Then injuries, both personally and to the offensive line, hampered Freeman’s hopes of winning the award before they could really take flight.
Only one player has won a Heisman Trophy on a team with a losing record. That was Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung in 1956. The inaugural winner, Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago, won the inaugural trophy back in 1935 on the Maroons’ .500 team. And only one other player, Oklahoma’s Steve Owens in 1969, won the Heisman on a team with as many as four regular-season losses.
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Oregon projects to be an eight or nine-win team in 2017. If they manage to steal one or two wins as a clear underdog, Royce Freeman will almost certainly play a major role in those upsets. A Ducks team that gets to nine or even 10 wins would be a team right in the thick of the Pac-12 hunt for most of the year.
Returning to national relevance would make Heisman voters keep an eye on Eugene. Along with Washington’s Jake Browning, the Pacific Northwest will have several Heisman hopefuls. If Oregon is still at or near the top of the Pac-12 North when the Ducks head to Seattle for the rivalry game against the Huskies on Nov. 4, Freeman will be right in the thick of the Heisman race.