When college football’s greatest individual award is presented this Saturday, it will be done without one of

it’s greatest players.

Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes deserved a trip to New York, but it’s not his fault.

As much as the award represents the game’s greatest individual player who ultimately hoists the trophy has just as much to do with his team’s success.

There have been 80 Heisman winners, but only Paul Hornung took home the hardware with a losing record of 2-8 in his senior season as the quarterback at Notre Dame.

The only quarterback this century that has won the Heisman with four losses is Mr. Florida Gator himself, Tim Tebow.

However, the fact remains that Mahomes numbers speak for themselves. Number five finished the regular season the nation’s leader in total offense (5,312), total passing yards (5,052), points responsible for (318), and total touchdowns (53).

Which means Mahomes threw for more yards than Oklahoma’s quarterback Baker Mayfield (3,669), scored more points than Clemson’s quarterback DeShaun Watson (262), and as flashy as the odds-on favorite has been, Mahomes has punched it in the end zone more times than Lamar Jackson (51).

Maybe being at Texas Tech has hurt Mahomes chances, given that people have become desensitized to the video game type numbers that Tech quarterbacks churn out every year. But anyone who’s watched him, knows that he is different.

With the ability to escape like Ben Roethlisberger and the fearlessness of Brett Favre, Mahomes has climbed the Tech record books faster than you can even say the word Heisman. It’s just a shame no one has been paying attention, because it’s not his fault.