Although Rifenburg finished fourth among midwestern Heisman voters in 1948 , he did not finish among the top eight . By comparison , Notre Dame end Leon Hart won the Heisman Trophy in 1949 but made only eight of the 11 All @-@ American teams . It is not clear why Rifenburg did not finish higher . However , it is fairly clear that sportswriters of that era had a bias against Michigan . In the Associated Press poll at the end of the 1947 season , the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were ranked ahead of the University of Michigan , though both teams were undefeated . Some noted that every Southern AP voter had voted for Notre Dame , which had yet to integrate , whereas three of Michigan 's star players ( Bob Mann , Gene Derricotte , and Len Ford ) were African @-@ American . The Southern schools refused even to schedule games against schools that played African @-@ American players .