In perhaps the most wide-open Heisman Trophy race in college football history, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III ended up the winner of one of the most prestigious awards in sports.
Griffin was able to beat out last year's runner-up Andrew Luck and Alabama's star running back Trent Richardson to claim the award. Luck was the first player to come in second in two years since Arkansas' Darren McFadden did it in 2006 and 2007. With the win, Griffin III became the first Baylor player to ever claim the Heisman Trophy.
"This is unbelievably believable. It's unbelievable because in the moment we're all amazed when great things happen," Griffin said. "But it's believable because great things don't happen without hard work."
Truer words were never spoken, Mr. Griffin.
Stanford's Luck, who placed seconds for the second consecutive year, started out the season as the preseason favorite to take home the hardware. Alabama's Richardson was among the top of the list, too.
But no one expected Griffin, who may not have even cracked the top-10 list in the preseason. And somehow, he managed to have a spectacular season and out-play Luck and Richardson on a week-to-week basis to become the 77th player to win the Heisman Trophy.
While watching the special on ESPN, you could tell Griffin was completely nervous, as he was the odds-on favorite entering Saturday. He took a deep breath before his name was called and once it was finally announced, he hugged everybody he could get his hands on -- his family, his fiancee, and his coaches. Griffin also received congratulatory handshakes from the other finalists.
Griffin received 405 first-place votes and accumulated 1,687 total points. Luck, the second-place finisher, finished with 247 first-place votes and tallied 1,407 points. Third-place finisher Richardson received 138 first-place votes, with a total of 978 points.
Wisconsin running back Montee Ball, who had one of the best seasons in college football, was fourth in balloting with 348 total points and LSU defensive stalwart Tyrann Mathieu rounded out the night with 327 points.
Griffin was still grateful that he won, even though he was expected by a vast majority to take home the trophy.
"My heart was beating really, really hard. I could feel it in mu chest like they all said," Griffin told ESPN after he won the prized trophy.
The junior quarterback, perhaps better known for his accuracy than anything, was undoubtedly the best player this season. He completed an astounding 72 percent of his passes, which was among the top of college football. Griffin also had 3,998 passing yards and 36 touchdown passes, while also rushing for 644 yards and nine touchdowns. He ended the season with a 192.3 efficiency rating, the highest in the nation.
Every Heisman winner is known for that "signature moment", in which it become the marquee play for them over the season. Cam Newton had one, Mark Ingram had one, everybody has had that play. Griffin's signature play came against Oklahoma when the junior threw a remarkable touchdown with eight seconds left to defeat the once-powerful Sooners. It was the first time in school history that the Bears had ever beaten the Sooners and it couldn't have come at a better time, especially for Griffin.
The Bears finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, the first time they have won that many games in a season in 25 years. The quarterback helped a school that had been bottom-feeders for so long and carried them into national prominence.
Clearly, Griffin was the best player throughout college football this season and deserved to win the trophy.
He is likely to enter the upcoming NFL Draft and if he does, he will have one more game to strut his stuff in front of the Baylor faithful when they take on Washington in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.
