There has been much controversy over this year’s Heisman Trophy finalists. Whether the controversy has been that some of the finalists don’t deserve to be there, someone else deserved it more, or they’re only there because of — fill in the blank — everyone is talking about it.

Former coaches Dan Mullen and Rick Neuheisel joined Childers Radio to discuss the results of the voting, and their opinion was much of the same — the Heisman voting is flawed.

“The biggest problem in my opinion is that we have tied the Heisman to the College Football Playoff,” Neuheisel said. “You can’t win the Heisman as Doug Flutie anymore. You can’t you can’t win the Heisman as a guy that just has a remarkable season but doesn’t necessarily get to the pinnacle as a national champion.”

Their reservations have merit, too. Of the finalists — C.J. Stroud, Max Duggan, Caleb Williams and Stetson Bennett — 3 out of the 4 are in the Playoff and Williams would have been in the playoff had things gone differently in the Pac-12 Championship. Only Stroud and Williams have consistently been in Heisman talks this year, and Mullen and Neuheiser feel that it is due to recency bias.

“Well, I think it’s the immediate satisfaction of the world we live in today,” Mullen said. “It’s like ‘Oh, Hendon Hooker that was a couple of weeks ago. I don’t even remember him anymore.’ You know, it’s what happened recently.”

Neuheisel said that he has no clue who will even win the award because the betting favorite, Caleb Williams, isn’t in the Playoff and his antics involving painted fingernails may have turned voters off.