North Carolina State University Athletics
Rivers Finishes 7th in Heisman Race
12/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 14, 2003
NC State quarterback Philip Rivers didn't win the Heisman Trophy but he certainly got his share of recognition by some of the voters. Receiving a total of 18 first place votes and 118 points overall, he finished seventh in a race that was won by Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. Rivers, who will finish his career as the second leading passer in NCAA history, had a spectacular senior campaign, completing 71 percent of his throws for 4,016 yards, 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Rivers and the Wolfpack will meet Kansas in the Mazda Tangerine Bowl in Orlando on December 22.
While he actually had better overall statistics than the three quarterbacks that finished ahead of him in the final Heisman tally, Rivers was obviously done in by NC State's 7-5 record. The other three quarterbacks - White, Eli Manning of Mississippi (3rd in voting), and USC's Matt Leinart (6th) - played on teams that had combined records of 31-5.
Heisman Voting Breakdown
1. Jason White, quarterback, Oklahoma (1,481 points)
2. Larry Fitzgerald, wide receiver, Pittsburgh (1,353)
3. Eli Manning, quarterback, Mississippi (710)
4. Chris Perry, running back, Michigan (341)
5. Darren Sproles, running back, Kansas State (134)
6. Matt Leinart, quarterback, USC (127)
7. Philip Rivers, quarterback, NC State (118)
8. Mike Williams, receiver, USC (78)
9. Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, Miami (Ohio) (47)
10. B.J. Symons, quarterback, Texas Tech (38)
