NCAA Football: 25 Heisman Trophy finalists who should have won in hindsight
By John Scimeca
In his senior year at Iowa, Brad Banks threw for 2,573 yards, including 25 touchdowns passes and only five interceptions. He also ran for 423 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
This was at the height of the scrambling quarterback whose passing prowess was often overlooked: Michael Vick of Virginia Tech had been selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft just one year prior by the Atlanta Falcons.
At the time, Iowa was 11-1, ranked No. 3 in the nation, and headed to the Rose Bowl to face USC. The Hawkeyes would go on to lose by a score of 38-17, but this took place after Heisman voting.
Banks starred in leading the Hawkeyes to several key victories against some of the nation’s best teams from that season, such as Penn State and Michigan.
In all, Iowa’s win total from 2002 has only been matched once and surpassed once. That season, the Hawkeyes did not get a shot at the eventual national champion and fellow Big Ten Conference member Ohio State. If not for a 36-31 upset loss to in-state rival Iowa State earlier in the season, Banks may have heard his name called at the Heisman Trophy award ceremony.
Instead, the 2002 trophy was awarded to USC quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer enjoyed a more talented supporting cast (as witnessed by the emphatic Rose Bowl win against Iowa) than Banks and had compiled 3,942 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Palmer’s rushing total from the year was a sack-aided -122 yards.
To sum it up, Banks was snubbed because he came from an unheralded Hawkeyes squad that was not typically on the national stage. Palmer was the sexier pick from the glamorous USC Trojans and therefore won the Heisman Trophy.