NCAA Football: 25 Heisman Trophy finalists who should have won in hindsight
By John Scimeca
Philip Rivers, an Alabama native and a father of nine children, has torn it up the NFL for the past 16 years with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers at a rate that only Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and maybe Eli Manning can compare.
As a senior at North Carolina State in 2003, Rivers blasted through the defense to a tune of 4,491 yards and 34 touchdowns in only 12 games. At the time, his passing yardage for a single season was the ninth-best mark in NCAA history. He also threw for 34 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, while completing an absurd 72 percent of his passes.
At the end of Rivers’ collegiate career, it was widely predicted that he would embark on a Pro Football Hall of Fame career as an NFL player. Rivers was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants, where he was swapped with the Manning and sent to San Diego, who had drafted Eli with the No. 1 overall pick.
Rivers ended up finishing with the seventh-highest vote total in 2003, finishing behind Kansas State’s Darren Sproles, Ole Miss’ Manning, and Oklahoma’s Jason White, the winner. How did Rivers’ incredible output not garner more Heisman votes?
Rivers played for an unheralded Wolfpack program in the ACC that finished 7-5 in the regular season. NC State lost to teams like Wake Forest and Maryland, as well as big-time teams such as Ohio State and Florida State.
Rivers might have worn the label of a “system quarterback,” much like Texas Tech quarterbacks from the beginning of the Air Raid era. Red Raider gunslinger B.J. Symons threw for more than 5,800 yards in the same season, setting an NCAA record that still stands today and finished 10th in the Heisman voting.
Either way, Rivers’ sub-par supporting cast and playing on a less talented team shouldn’t have been held against him in favor of White, who made a BCS National Championship Game appearance (a loss to LSU) with the Sooners.