On Friday, Wisconsin football lost at home against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, concluding a 5-7 season, their worst since 2001. The Wisconsin Badgers snap a streak of 23 straight bowl game appearances, a span in which they won double-digit games ten times. With Wisconsin’s season ending this weekend, fans were forced to reminisce on the golden days of Badgers football, especially those in the early 2010s, highlighted by three straight Rose Bowl appearances.
This weekend, with Boise State Broncos superstar running back Ashton Jeanty continuing his historic rushing campaign that has him as a shoo-in for the Heisman Trophy Award ceremony, many Wisco fans took to social media, believing if Badgers great Melvin Gordon did not win the honor in 2014 that Jeanty should not be the frontrunner. Jeanty is listed as a heavy underdog against his main Heisman competition, Colorado Buffaloes two-way megastar Travis Hunter.
Wisconsin Football Fans Remember Melvin Gordon Amid Ashton Jeanty’s Historic Season
According to former Wisconsin Badgers legendary running back Montee Ball via Twitter:
Jeanty deserves the Heisman but it is a popularity contest. The award lost its legitimacy when Melvin Gordon lost.
Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty is having a season for the record books. Across his team’s 12 regular season games, he has rushed for 2,288 yards and 28 touchdowns, both tops in the FBS. Pacing 190.7 rushing yards per game, Jeanty could break Oklahoma State running back Barry Sander’s near half-century rushing record (2,628) with a strong finish in the MWC title and the CFP. However, despite the record-setting performances, Jeanty remains a clear second to Colorado’s Travis Hunter for the Heisman Trophy Award. Hunter, a two-way player who has played unprecedented snaps, led the Big 12 with 11 passes defended, 92 receptions, and 14 receiving touchdowns.
However, Wisconsin football fans do not feel bad for Jeanty since the last great running back, Melvin Gordon, did not win the Heisman Trophy Award in 2014 following a 2,500-rushing campaign. Wisconsin Badgers fans flooded social media, comparing Jeanty’s 2024 season to that of Gordon in 2014.
I'll be on my deathbed still complaining that Melvin Gordon didn't win the Heisman in 2014 pic.twitter.com/Zs7uZHp7qw
— Zach Rastall (@zrastall17) November 29, 2024
If anyone is wondering why Ashton Jeanty is not leading the heisman race. Let me introduce you to Melvin Gordon.
Last clips is my favorite. pic.twitter.com/NauFxZa94G
— Cyrus Boone (@CyrusBoone_) November 29, 2024
They'll try and convince you we've never seen anything like Jeanty before… on the right is a guy who didn't win the heisman. Melvin Gordon, in a much more difficult conference, with more rush yards and TDs, finished 2nd in Heisman pic.twitter.com/ZPgRwvwwbD
— Certified Boogeyman (@MaskArcade) November 30, 2024
And you bro
— Richard Kirtley (@rkirtley87) December 1, 2024
How y’all gonna say Jeanty is close to Barry Sanders Heisman season stats when he isn’t even near Melvin Gordon’s 2014 season stats, where Gordon finished second in the Heisman voting and played in the Big Ten? pic.twitter.com/HTjSK2vi7H
— Nifty (@Thatkidnifty) November 24, 2024
No disrespect to Ashton Jeanty, but the amount of Heisman talk and hype around his season feels a bit over the top.
He’s had an incredible year, no doubt, but what Melvin Gordon did for Wisconsin back in 2014 completely dwarfs it. Let’s not re-write history.
— Dillon Graff (@DillonGraff) November 30, 2024
Through 12 games.
2014 Melvin Gordon.
2,411 total yards
29 TDs2024 Ashton Jeanty
2,390 total yards
29 TDsSo yes we have seen this before and no Melvin Gordon did not win the Heisman.
— Tyler Cintron (@IfUSeekCintron) November 30, 2024
Melvin Gordon had 2,587 yards, 7.5/YPC, and 29 TD in 2014 and somehow didn't win the Heisman https://t.co/yxxVE8Is4r
— Scary Alvarez (@barryisthedon) November 25, 2024
Melvin Gordon in 2014 reg season for Wisconsin:
LESS carries
MORE yards
MORE touchdowns
MORE YPC…While facing a B1G schedule and still lost the Heisman to Mariota. Jeanty is competing with a player who quite literally had an unprecedented season.
This shouldn’t be close. https://t.co/yZnUrloBo8
— 🃏 (@YOUNGBOY_LUVR69) December 1, 2024
Melvin Gordon deserved the heisman as well. https://t.co/OUOSxojIL3
— Theodore Opichka🐝 (@TheodoreOpichka) November 26, 2024
Melvin Gordon Lost Out to Marcus Mariota In 2014
This year, just one quarterback will likely be at the Heisman Trophy Award ceremony: Miami’s Cam Ward or Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. Ward has had a statistically superior season, leading the country with 36 passing touchdowns against seven picks. However, with his team suffering their second season loss against Syracuse on Saturday, the Hurricanes are likely out of the 12-team College Football Playoff field, a must for Heisman consideration regarding a player not having a historic season. Meanwhile, Gabriel’s Oregon Ducks are 12-0 and the top team in the country, but he has just 31 total touchdowns this season.
Most likely, the award will come down to Travis Hunter of Colorado and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. A superstar running back, Jeanty has stats similar to those of Melvin Gordon in 2014 with the Wisconsin Badgers. The main difference? Gordon went up against one of the most efficient seasons of all-time, with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota leading the Ducks to the then four-team College Football Playoff while collecting 57 total touchdowns against four interceptions.
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