''Hopalong'' scored 37 touchdowns in 36 games and won the Heisman as a senior in 1955, the same year he was chosen Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. The nickname came after his first game at Ohio State, when sportswriters who saw him play said he ''hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy,'' a reference to Hopalong Cassady.

Runner-up:
Elroy Hirsch, RB, Wisconsin (1942)