Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray collected the Big 12’s seventh Heisman Trophy when he was selected for the 2018 honor at the PlayStation Theater in New York City’s Times Square.
The Sooners are tied for the nation’s lead with seven Heisman trophies and became the first school to have consecutive winners that are both quarterbacks after Baker Mayfield’s award in 2017.
The Big 12’s seven Heisman winners since the Conference’s inception in 1996 are the most among all leagues during that time span. The Big 12 has had a finalist in 15 of its seasons with two finalists in five years for a total of 20.
Named the AP Player of the Year and the Davey O’Brien Award winner (nation's top quarterback) on Thursday, Murray leads the nation in total yards (school-record 4,945), points responsible for (306), passing efficiency rating (205.7; FBS record is 198.9), yards per pass attempt (11.9; FBS record is 11.1) and yards per completion (16.8, tied). He also ranks second in completion percentage (.709; first among autonomy conference players).
The Allen, Texas, product has completed 241 of 340 passes this year for 4,053 yards and 40 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He has also rushed for 892 yards and another 11 scores. He needs 108 rushing yards to become just the second player in FBS history to throw for at least 4,000 and run for at least 1,000 in a season (Clemson's DeShaun Watson did it in 2015 with 4,109 passing and 1,105 rushing in 15 games).
Murray is the first FBS player to enter bowl season averaging at least 300.0 passing yards (311.8) and at least 60.0 rushing yards (68.6) per game. His 4,527 yards of total offense are more than 68 of the country's other 129 teams, including six squads that are ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll. He has thrown at least two touchdown passes in 12 of 13 games this season, and has thrown at least three TD passes in 10 contests. He had his school- and Big 12-record streak of eight games with at least three TD passes snapped in a win against Oklahoma State on November 10.
Murray, whose 96.1 Total QBR is the highest by a player entering bowl season since ESPN began tracking the metric in 2004, tied a Big 12 record by earning five conference offensive player-of-the-week honors this season. Former Texas running back Ricky Williams also accomplished the feat in his Heisman Trophy-winning season of 1998.
The Sooners won their 12th Big 12 Championship on December 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and were the No. 4 team in the final CFP Poll. They will face No. 1 Alabama in the CFP semifinals at the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 29.