| 2002 Heisman Trophy |
 |
Carson Palmer: 2002 Heisman Trophy Winner
After three seasons of underachieving at the University of Southern California, Carson Palmer came into his own during his senior year, becoming one of the nation's best college quarterbacks. And just one day after accepting the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given annually to the nation's top senior quarterback, Palmer became the fifth Trojan to win the Heisman Trophy.
He received 242 first-place votes and finished ahead of Iowa quarterback Brad Banks who had 199. Palmer is the fifth winner from USC, joining Marcus Allen (1981), Charles White (1979), O.J. Simpson (1968) and Mike Garrett (1965).
The Southern California quarterback may have pushed himself into the forefront with a stunning performance late in the season against a stingy Notre Dame defense on national television. For the season, Palmer completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,639 yards and 32 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He led USC to a 10-2 record and a spot in the Orange Bowl, ironically, against Banks and Iowa.
| Voting Results |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Total |
| Carson Palmer, Southern Cal. |
242 |
224 |
154 |
1328 |
| Brad Banks, Iowa |
199 |
173 |
152 |
1095 |
| Larry Johnson, Penn St. |
108 |
130 |
142 |
726 |
| Willis McGahee, Miami |
101 |
118 |
121 |
660 |
| Ken Dorsey, Miami |
122 |
89 |
99 |
643 |
| Byron Leftwich, Marshall |
22 |
26 |
34 |
152 |
| Jason Gesser, Washington St. |
5 |
22 |
15 |
74 |
| Chris Brown, Colorado |
5 |
11 |
11 |
48 |
| Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech |
6 |
2 |
11 |
33 |
| Quentin Griffin, Oklahoma |
1 |
8 |
9 |
28 |
