Ohio State will face the Heisman Trophy winner in the national championship game.
As expected, Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith was selected Tuesday night as the recipient of the 2020 Heisman Trophy, becoming the first wide receiver to win the award since Desmond Howard in 1991.
Smith wins the award for a historically great season in which he has caught 105 passes for 1,641 yards and 20 touchdowns – leading the Football Bowl Subdivision in all three categories – in 12 games. He also added a 14-yard rushing touchdown against Ole Miss and an 84-yard punt return touchdown against Arkansas.
He'll have a chance to make his season even more legendary if he can finish with a big performance in the national title game against Ohio State, whose pass defense has already had issues this season – ranking 116th in passing yards allowed per game (281.1) – without facing any receiver who quite compares to Smith.
That said, it won't be the first Ohio State faces off with the Heisman winner in the College Football Playoff national championship game. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was the Heisman winner in 2014 when the Buckeyes beat the Ducks, 42-20, to win the inaugural CFP. During that same year, During that run to the national championship, Ohio State also beat the second-place finisher (Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon) and third-place finisher (Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper) in Heisman voting.
Ohio State already beat the second-place finisher in this year's Heisman voting, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, in the Sugar Bowl, while Alabama quarterback Mac Jones finished third.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, the only other finalist finished fourth in Heisman voting. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who was not a finalist for the award, finished seventh, receiving five first-place votes.
Breaking down DeVonta Smith's win by the numbers, with complete results of the 2020 Heisman Trophy Top 10, tabulated by @DeloitteUS pic.twitter.com/uowfGshkfB
— The Heisman Trophy (@HeismanTrophy) January 6, 2021
