Heisman Watch 2023: Ranking Top Favorites in the Race Entering Week 13
The Heisman Trophy race is as hot as it has been in years, with four dynamic, young players competing not only for the playoff lives of their own teams but for the most coveted individual award in college football.
Three quarterbacks and one wide receiver remain in the discussion for the Heisman.
Where do Jayden Daniels, Marvin Harrison Jr., Bo Nix, and Michael Penix Jr. land in these rankings ahead of pivotal Week 13 games?
Find out with this preview of where things stand ahead of their penultimate games of the season.
4. Marvin Harrison Jr.
Marvin Harrison Jr. may be the best overall player in college football. If not, he is definitely a game-changer, who can take over and dominate when the time calls for it.
After a so-so game against Minnesota in which he scored, but only caught three balls for 30 yards. That game notwithstanding, Harrison is one touchdown away from his mark a season ago and will have the opportunity to record it on Saturday.
In Ann Arbor.
Against Michigan in what might be the game of the year.
A big game for Harrison will boost his stock but unfortunately, he is facing an uphill battle, mostly because he is a wide receiver competing for a Heisman Trophy that has only ever been awarded to three wideouts: Troy Brown (1987), Desmond Howard (1991), and DeVonta Smith (2020).
The second-generation wideout may be the best at his position of this generation, but he will likely have to settle for not winning the best individual honor in the game.
3. Michael Penix Jr.
Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. slots in at No. 3 on this list, despite leading the nation in total passing yardage.
While impressive, he ranks behind the two players ahead of him in total touchdowns and leads them in interceptions with seven.
There is no denying how important he has been to the success of the 11-0 Huskies. Penix has been outstanding and the leader of a team that has far exceeded expectations as the No. 1 team in the Pac-12.
He has scored three-plus times in nine of Washington's 11 wins this season, making him the pulse of Washington's offense.
At one point, he may even have been considered the frontrunner in the chase for the Heisman.
Unfortunately, the two players ranked above him at this point have surged while Penix has remained steady and consistent.
2. Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels did everything he needed to do in Week 12 in order to leapfrog into the top spot.
Against an outmatched and overpowered Georgia State team, Daniels led the LSU Tigers to a 56-14 win while scoring six times through the air, twice on the ground, and amassing 509 total yards.
It was as one-sided an individual performance as any in this college football season and any other year it would have propelled him to the top of the list.
This is not any other year.
Daniels has thrown for 3577 yards, 36 touchdowns, and four interceptions, and is completing 72.6 percent of his passes. On the ground, he added 1014 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 8.2 yards per rush.
It has been an extraordinary season but Daniels entered last week needing the No. 1 player to falter and he did anything but.
Maybe Daniels can make that jump with a big day for his 8-3 Tigers against Texas A&M, but it will almost certainly be dependent upon the player ahead of him slipping up.
1. Bo Nix
With Daniels surging behind him, Nix needed a standout game in Week 12 to retain his spot atop the Heisman favorite list.
He delivered.
The fifth-year senior tossed six touchdowns, with no interceptions, against Arizona State. In his last three starts, he has scored 14 touchdowns to a single INT and is completing 78.1 percent of his passes on the season.
In a lengthy career that started at Auburn, when Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was still the Oregon signal-caller, it is the best season of his career.
The Ducks will have a legitimate challenge on their hands in Week 13 via a showdown against rival Oregon State, a team that slowed Penix Jr. and the Huskies down a week earlier.
A win, though, would set them up with a Pac-12 title berth. Another strong performance by Nix would solidify his spot as the Heisman favorite and, as importantly, elevate his stock for the NFL Draft next spring.