Every year, college football's Heisman Trophy is awarded by means of a Borda count procedure. Each voter submits first-, second-, and third-place votes, worth 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively. Thus, the Borda count point scheme used may be called (3-2-1), where the first digit is the point value of a first-place vote, the second digit the point value of a second-place vote, and the third digit the point value of a third-place vote. In 2004, the vote totals for the top five candidates under the Borda system were as follows:

Player 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Leinhart (USC) 267 211 102 Peterson (Oklahoma) 154 180 175 White (Oklahoma) 171 149 146 Smith (Utah) 98 112 117 Bush (USC) 118 80 60 83