Jordan Travis Deserves the Heisman

 PITTSBURGH-- December 3, 2023, will go down as one of the biggest travesties that has ever hit the college football world, with Florida State being left out of the College Football Playoffs despite going undefeated and winning the ACC all because their quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury. If Jordan Travis was truly that meaningful and important to the program for their entire team to sit out of the College Football Playoffs, then the answer is simple the Heisman Trophy should go to Travis without question.

The Heisman Trophy finalists are usually defined with “great ability, diligence, and hard work.” So do you truly think that Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Micheal Penix Jr and Marvin Harrison Jr are truly the four most outstanding college football players in the country?

Bo Nix and Marvin Harrison Jr are both not even playing in the playoffs after their teams lost their championship games while Travis though unable to play, showed resilience through his leadership as the Seminoles won their last two games against Florida and #15 Louisville to be left out of the top four which is the first time a Power 5 school went undefeated has been left out of the top four ever in CFP history.

“devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn (right now), I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!” These are the words that came out of Jordan Travis’ mouth wishing he got hurt sooner so everyone could see Florida State didn’t need him to win games and go undefeated which shows off the true meaning of excellence and leadership.

Jordan Travis After Suffering Season-Ending Injury

Going back to great ability, team success is important when determining the Heisman winner. Quarterback Jayden Daniels who won the award, not only did he miss the playoffs this season and not even make the SEC Championship, but if the twelve-team playoffs started this season LSU would not have even made it as they were ranked 13 in the country. Does that truly stand out as excellence or do empty stats that inflate overall numbers lead the way for a Heisman winner?

I can understand an important criticism that comes back to this argument with the fact that Travis got hurt and most players who win the Heisman play the entire season.

There have been some cases of players who have won the Heisman Trophy while being injured: Charlie Ward (1993), Vinny Testaverde (1986), Charles White (1979), John David Crow (1957) and Angelo Bertelli (1943). While this is unprecedented in the modern times of College Football, so is leaving out an undefeated Power 5 school and three of the four Heisman finalists not even making the College Football Playoffs including the winner.

Even if injuries were the main concern for the quarterback to win the Heisman he has continued to show off his excellence on and off the field constantly supporting the backup quarterbacks Tate Rodemaker and Brock Glenn.

If off-the-field accomplishments aren’t important maybe the fact that he led the ACC in passing efficiency (172.2) and touchdown passes (20) all the while missing the last three games of the season shows off the great ability, he showed all year long.

Travis’s numbers rarely came in garbage time with the first game of the season showing off his unmistakable talent thrashing the Heisman winner Daniels and LSU to start the season 45-24 with Travis having five touchdowns while accounting for 380 yards through the air and on the ground.

That is the level of play that Travis kept for the remainder of the season through ACC play until his injury against North Alabama which changed the entire trajectory of his career and the entire landscape of college football.

If someone is truly that irreplaceable to a team that it locks them out of the highest and most important football game of the season, then the answer should be a no-brainer to at the very least put Travis in the Heisman finalists let alone give him the highest reward for being that valuable to a team.

Travis put up fantastic numbers throughout the season that won’t be recognized by most people by being left off the ballot and he cannot come back to play again as it is his senior season in which outside forces and other individuals decided to let end in absolute heartbreak for the kid.

When looking back at previous Heisman winners it’s almost the same as treating the award as the MVP in the NFL or MLB by using a mixture of the team's success with said player around along with their strong on-field performances.

“They are a different team than they were the first 11 weeks, and if you look at who they are as a team right now without Jordan Travis without the offensive dynamic that he brings, they are a different team and the committee voted them five.” Those are the words from the CFP Selection Committee Chair Boo Corrigan, that defined the simple subtraction of Jordan Travis as enough to leave their program out.

If someone as well regarded as the Selection Committee Chair defines Travis as invaluable then no other player has a platform to stand on to win the Heisman. When professionals who select which team deserves a franchise-altering chance at a playoff game find Travis as that important to the entire program then why is he not even being recognized on the ballot putting him at fifth the same way the CFP chose to put Florida State for the playoffs which is beyond disrespectful.

There’s no case, no need for debate here, a player got robbed of a chance to show how important he was because of a freak accident that no one can predict despite the fact he led this team to greatness either through comeback drives against Clemson or blowing out other programs in the ACC such as Pitt, Wake Forest or even Duke who were ranked #16 at the time when the two schools squared off.

He also brought sustained long-term success that kept getting ignored by colleges which is really annoying with Florida State having a good season last year.

Travis took a Seminole squad that went 5-7 in 2021 to 10-3 in 2022 and then led them to a conference championship for the first time since Jimbo Fisher was the head coach back in 2014 when Jameis Winston was the quarterback almost a decade ago.

Unfortunately, what’s done is done and Jayden Daniels is going to have the Heisman Trophy while Travis will just be remembered for this negative injury that could affect his life, but not going to receive any credit for all of the good he has done for Florida State this year because of gross incompetence from the CFP and the selectors of the Heisman Trophy and that just isn’t right at the end of the day.

Travis isn’t going to advocate for himself that he was robbed, of all his statements that just do not fit with his character and leadership that he has shown, only other writers and us reading these articles can understand and highlight his achievements and accomplishments. He deserved the Heisman if Florida State was truly invaluable without his presence on the field even though they won their last three games without him on the field then he truly is the most outstanding player throughout college football this year.