With all due respect to Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, by most accounts, the 2012 Heisman Trophy will go to either Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M or Manti Te'o of Notre Dame.
In either case, history will be made. Manziel would be the first freshman to win it. Te'o would be the first defense-only player to win it.
But will the voting between the winner and runnerup be the closest in Heisman history?
Kari Chisholm, a political consultant who operates StiffArmTrophy.com, breaks down which years featured the tightest balloting, based on the percentage of possible voting points. For example, last year Robert Griffin III won by receiving 60.66 percent of the voting points possible for him. Andrew Luck finished second with 50.59 percent of the voting points possible for him. The differential was 10.07 percent, which put it in the middle of the pack historically.
The smallest margin was 1.01 percent. When did that happen? Check out the slideshow for the answer:
The Closest Races In Heisman Trophy History Slideshow
10. 1962: Baker-Stovall
Terry Baker (Oregon State QB): 21.25 percent Jerry Stovall (LSU RB) 18.58 percent. Differential: 2.68 percent
9. 1989: Ware-Thompson
Andre Ware (Houston QB) 38.96 percent. Anthony Thompson (Indiana RB) 36.42 percent. Differential: 2.54 percent.
8. 1978: Sims-Fusina
Billy Sims (Oklahoma RB): 26.25 percent. Chuck Fusina (Penn State QB): 23.81 percent. Differential: 2.44 percent.
7. 1964: Huarte-Rhome
John Huarte (Notre Dame QB): 30.98 percent. Jerry Rhome (Tulsa QB): 28.74 percent. Differential: 2.23.
6. 2001: Crouch-Grossman
Eric Crouch (Nebraska QB): 27.75 percent. Rex Grossman (Florida QB): 25.51 percent. Differential: 2.23 percent.
5. 1956: Hornung-Majors
Paul Hornung (Notre Dame QB) 26.96 percent. John Majors (Tennessee RB) 25.14 percent. Differential: 1.82 percent.
4. 1961: Davis-Ferguson
Ernie Davis (Syracuse RB ): 25.18 percent. Bob Ferguson (Ohio State RB): 23.56 percent. Differential: 1.62 percent.
3. 1953: Lattner-Giel
John Lattner (Notre Dame) 49.14 percent. Paul Giel (Minnesota) 47.65 percent. Differential: 1.49 percent.
2. 1985: Jackson-Long
Bo Jackson (Auburn RB): 47.90 percent. Chuck Long (Iowa QB): 46.48 percent. Differential: 1.43 percent.
1. 2009: Ingram-Gerhart
Mark Ingram (Alabama RB): 46.99 percent. Toby Gerhart (Stanford RB): 45.98 percent. Differential: 1.01 percent.
