Oregon Football: How Royce Freeman Can Enter Heisman Contention in 2015

The Oregon Ducks may have lost their Heisman Trophy winner, but there may be another contender in Oregon’s backfield next season.

Marcus Mariota, Oregon’s first ever Heisman winner, will be taking his talents to the NFL next season. Mariota, if he had chosen to return next season, would have had a chance to become the second player ever to win two Heismans.

The next Heisman contender up for the Ducks wears No. 21. His name is Royce Freeman.

As a true freshman in 2014, Freeman quickly established himself as Oregon’s most powerful running back. On the season, Freeman ran for 1,365 yards—ranked No. 27 nationally—and scored 19 touchdowns, an Oregon freshman record. In fact, Freeman’s 19 touchdowns rank No. 3 all-time at Oregon behind Kenjon Barner and LaMichael James, each of whom scored 21 touchdowns.

Oregon running backs have found tons of success in the “blur” offense, first introduced by former offensive coordinator and head coach Chip Kelly in 2007. The Ducks have ranked in the top 22 of rushing offense each of the past eight years, including seven consecutive top-10 finishes from 2007-2013. 

The only time that the Ducks didn’t finish in the top 10 in rushing offense was this past season. While that may jump out at you, remember that Oregon’s offense revolved around a Heisman-winning QB in 2014.

Now, with Mariota out of the picture, the Ducks should put more of an emphasis on the ground game. If they don’t, they may not continue to be one of the best programs in the country.

"

Can we just give Marcus Mariota the Heisman and start working on Royce Freeman's campaign for next year?

— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) November 4, 2014"

Oregon’s QB situation next season is cloudy at best. If Oregon wants to once again win the Pac-12 title and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff, the Ducks must make Royce Freeman the star of the show. 

The odds are steep, but it’s not impossible for a team to have back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners. Four schools have accomplished this feat before, though only three schools have accomplished it with two different players. 

In 1936 and 1937, Yale accomplished the feat with Larry Kelley and Clint Frank. Nine years later, Army pulled off the back-to-back with Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. In 1974 and 1975, Archie Griffin of Ohio State became the first and only player to repeat as the Heisman. Lastly, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush of USC won the award in 2004 and 2005, though Bush’s award was eventually stripped and vacated by the NCAA.

So, what does Freeman need to do in order to become a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and pull off the first back-to-back in a decade?

Well, based on how running backs have won the award in the past, he’s going to need to have a season for the ages, and the Ducks are going to have to be one of the best teams in the country.

Heisman Running Backs

Since 1994, only six running backs have been awarded college football’s highest honor. Moreover, only two running backs have won the Heisman Trophy since the turn of the century.

It’s becoming much more difficult for running backs to win the award; however, it’s not impossible.

Here are the stats of the six running backs who have won the award over the past 20 years:

Name	Year	Total Yards	TD	Record	Final AP Rank
Mark Ingram	2009	1,992	20	14-0	No. 1
Reggie Bush	2005	2,218	18	12-1	No. 2
Ron Dayne	1999	2,043	20	10-2	No. 4
Ricky Williams	1998	2,386	28	9-3	No. 15
Eddie George	1995	2,344	25	11-2	No. 6
Rashaan Salaam	1994	2,349	24	11-1	No. 3
AVERAGE		2,222	22.5	11-1.5	No. 5

Every Heisman-winning running back since 1994 has eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark, except for Mark Ingram in 2009. What Ingram had going for him was that Alabama was undefeated and he was clearly the best player on the team.

Based on these statistics, it's reasonable to say Freeman is going to need run for around 2,000 yards and score more than 20 touchdowns, and the Ducks are going to need to be a Top Five team.

Winning the Heisman Trophy requires a little bit of luck, especially as a running back. You not only need to be on a fantastic football team, as evidenced by the record of the Heisman Trophy running backs, but you also need to be at your best in a year in which there are no quarterbacks who stand above the rest.

There have also been some running backs who’ve come close to winning the award in recent years. In fact, some of these backs have had seasons for the ages and still fallen short of winning the Heisman Trophy for one reason or another.

Here’s a look at four running backs who finished second in the Heisman voting over the past 10 seasons:

Name	Year	Total Yards	TD	Record
Melvin Gordon	2014	2,740	32	11-3
Toby Gerhart	2009	2,028	28	8-5
Darren McFadden	2007	1,994	17	8-5
Adrian Peterson	2004	1,937	15	12-1

Melvin Gordon's season from 2014 clearly stands out here. Gordon lost the award for two reasons. One, his team wasn't truly in contention for a spot in the CFP, and two, there was some guy named Mariota who had one of the best seasons in college football history and happened to play on a team destined for the College Football Playoff. 

Freeman faces some stiff competition next year, as the group of quarterbacks who may be in contention for the Heisman looks pretty deep. Players like TCU's Trevone Boykin, Ohio State's Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett, USC's Cody Kessler and others are more likely to get preseason Heisman buzz.

In order to win the award, a running back must unequivocally be the best player on a team that is one of the best in the nation. 

If Freeman is to be in contention for the award in 2015, the Ducks must win the Pac-12 title and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff, and he must be absolutely dominant in each and every game.

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The Future

Freeman is a gifted, powerful runner who absolutely tore up Pac-12 defenses in 2014 once he was given the role as Oregon’s primary back.

After Oregon lost its only regular-season game to Arizona on Oct. 2, Freeman was handed the reins to the starting job. In each of the next eight games, all played against Pac-12 opponents, he registered 98 or more yards in every game, averaging over 119 yards per contest. In those eight games, he scored 11 rushing touchdowns.

However, something happened to Freeman after the Pac-12 Championship Game. While the emergence of sophomore Thomas Tyner certainly played a part in Freeman’s diminished role, it is also worth noting that Freeman, a true freshman, had never played as much football in one season as he did in 2014. Fifteen games is a lot to ask from any player, let alone a kid right out of high school.

In Oregon’s two bowl games—the Rose Bowl and CFP National Championship—Freeman only rushed for 66 yards on 22 carries, though he did score twice against Florida State.

In order to become a legitimate Heisman contender, he is going to need to find a way to have a more consistent year. He’s also going to need to save his most impactful performances for the big stage against top opponents.

There will be no shortage of national stages for him to shine on. Oregon’s 2015 schedule is littered with highly regarded opponents and nationally televised games. For starters, Oregon will travel to Michigan State on Sept. 12, their second game of the season. 

Freeman burst onto the scene last year against the Spartans, as he rushed for 89 yards on 13 carries, including two touchdowns—one of which clinched the game for the Ducks. That’s the game in which he proved he was ready for the spotlight. 

This time around, he’ll be looking to show he’s a Heisman contender.

As the season progresses, Oregon will have to face the likes of Utah, Washington, Arizona State, Stanford and USC. All five of those games will present Freeman with the opportunity to strut his stuff, especially the late-season games against the Cardinal and Trojans.

If he can carry the Ducks through that late-season gauntlet and into the Pac-12 title game, he may find himself with a ticket to New York.

The odds of Royce Freeman capturing the second Heisman Trophy in school history are likely astronomical. However, there’s little doubt he is talented enough to be considered for the award.

Freeman is going to need to put up monster numbers along the way and get a little help from other candidates around the country. If he is able to lead the Ducks to a Pac-12 title and a second consecutive berth in the College Football Playoff, all bets are off.

Another Oregon Heisman run may be improbable, but it’s most certainly not impossible.

Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise stated. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.