Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson (21) runs the ball against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at the Rose Bowl. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Can Emmett Johnson Really Crash the Heisman Party?

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By TJ Birkel | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 9:03 AM ET

At 7-3, the Nebraska football team is preparing for its final two games of the season: at Penn State on Saturday, and vs. Iowa at home on Black Friday. These two games plus the bowl game will go a long way toward informing how fans feel about whether or not Matt Rhule’s rebuilding project is on track in Lincoln.

Mitch Sherman joined the Common Fan Podcast this week to discuss a wide range of issues; make sure to check it out here. For this article, we’ll look at Mitch’s comments about the possibility of Emmett Johnson winning the Heisman Trophy.

People are talking about Emmett Johnson having a realistic shot at being considered for the Heisman Trophy. Is there any reality to that at all?

No, he’s not going to win the Heisman this year. The Heisman is a weird award. The other award that goes to…like the most notable one that goes to what’s supposed to be the best player in the country, is the Maxwell Award. It’s way more realistic that he could finish in the top three in that voting because it’s a smaller pool of voters, and it’s more people who are actually watching college football. There’s nothing he can do, short of running for 400 yards in each of the last two games against Penn State and Iowa, to even come onto the radar of like 50% of the Heisman voters out there. That’s just the way it is. The aura of the Heisman is bigger than what the Heisman actually is. The criteria is so vague on what the voters are supposed to look for, that it allows voters to not even tune into the sport on an intense level. For most people, it’s just a popularity contest among the quarterback who is in charge of the team that looks like a national champion when the voting is conducted in early December.

The other thing going against Emmett is that this campaign started in November. And the campaign is great. I commend Nebraska for doing it because it’s going to get him notice among the people who vote for All-American teams. It’s going to lock him up, I think, as a first-team All-Big Ten running back, which is great for Nebraska. And if he does choose to come back, it gives him a start for next year when, sure, he could be a legitimate candidate, a realistic candidate. He’s a legitimate candidate now, but he’s not a realistic candidate. It’s too late in the process, and there are too many quarterbacks who are out there.

Nebraska said, we’re going to go big on this. And some of the Heisman stuff, a lot of the Heisman stuff crosses over. If you’re picking the Doak Walker (award for the best running back in the country), you’re aware of what Nebraska is doing here in the Heisman space.

This article first appeared on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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