The first week of the college football season has produced some new 2022 Heisman Trophy contenders in Stetson Bennet and Anthony Richardson. Here’s our top five.
Now that every single college football team has played a game, we at least have some idea about how things will play out in the 2022 season.
On the first weekend, there weren’t any huge surprises. Florida did beat Utah but if that was a huge surprise then you should have read this article last week, where I predicted it.
Anthony Richardson came through in the clutch for the Gators and that’s given him some buzz. Stetson Bennett also created some Heisman Trophy buzz with a spectacular performance against Oregon.
And while the first week is generally filled with cupcakes, Alabama played the defending Mountain West champ, while Ohio State went toe-to-toe with Notre Dame.
At any rate, he’s the first look at our 2022 Heisman Trophy watch as we rank the top five contenders after Week 1 of the college football season.
2022 Heisman Trophy contender No. 5: Anthony Richardson, Florida QB
I’ve been saying that if Florida can get the most out of Anthony Richardson, the Gators could have something, and the 6-foot-4 quarterback delivered against the Pac-12 champs.
Richardson completed 17-of-24 passes for 168 yards (no interceptions) and then tormented Utah on the ground to the tune of 11 carries for 106 yards and three scores, including the game-winner.
The Gators are now ranked and hosting Kentucky this week. Richardson has been talked about as a possible first-round pick in the NFL all offseason and he looked like it Saturday.
We’ll see if he can do the same against Kentucky. If so, his Heisman Trophy candidacy will continue to rise.
2022 Heisman Trophy contender No. 4: Stetson Bennett, QB Georgia
Continue doubting Stetson Bennett at your own risk.
College football fans don’t want to give the 5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback any credit for last season’s national championship but he threw for an average of 268.5 yards per game in the two playoff wins and had five touchdown passes compared to zero interceptions.
Bennett absolutely deserves credit for last season and he also deserves to be given serious consideration as a Heisman Trophy contender.
Against Oregon and Dan Lanning, the former UGA DC, Bennett was flawless completing 26-of-31 passes for 368 yards and two scores. It was one reason the Bulldogs rolled to a 49-3 win over the No. 11 team in the country and one that’s super talented in Oregon.
The Bulldogs are loaded with talent at tight end, running back, wide receiver, and frankly, everywhere. But it’s time to include Bennett in that, just like it’s time to include him in the Heisman conversation.
2022 Heisman Trophy contender No. 3: Caleb Williams, QB USC
Last season, Caleb Williams emerged as a Heisman contender mid-way through the year after he took over the starting job at Oklahoma for Spencer Rattler. But the Sooners weren’t good enough for him to get there and he didn’t have enough time.
Yet, we saw enough to know that Williams was going to be a force as a college football quarterback. He transferred to USC, following former head coach Lincoln Riley, and was followed by a bunch of talented transfers including Jordan Addison, arguably the best wideout in the country.
There were questions about how it would gel. Mario Williams came from Oklahoma, so there was some familiarity but the other pieces were all new. Yet, Caleb Williams didn’t have any issues this weekend, albeit in a win over Rice.
The Trojans dominated and while Williams only threw the ball 22 times, he completed 19 of those passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns. That’s an impressive 11.3 yards per attempt.
Last season, he averaged 9.1 yards per attempt, so Williams is good at pushing the ball down the field. His 21-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio is also a sign of things to come.
Williams is going to lead one of the best offenses in the country and if he can lead the Trojans to a Pac-12 title and a playoff berth, a Heisman Trophy for Caleb seems totally reasonable. Stanford is up next though and the Cardinal have been a thorn in the side of USC.
We’ll see if that continues under Riley and Caleb Williams.
2022 Heisman Trophy contender No. 2: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State QB
When it comes to Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, the performance against Notre Dame did feel a little disappointing. That tells us something about the expectations surrounding the Buckeye signal-caller.
In a top-5 matchup, without his No. 1 wide receiver, Stroud completed 24-of-34 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame had one of the best defenses in the country last season and look to have another elite unit.
But Stroud didn’t make a mistake and while he wasn’t as productive as he was down the stretch last season when he put up insane numbers, Ohio State did lose two wide receivers to the first round of the NFL draft.
That being said, Stroud will have all season to build up stats. Jaxon Smith-Njigba could be out for a bit, but the win over Notre Dame was key to his Heisman race and as long as the Buckeyes win and he keeps throwing touchdowns, he’ll be a top contender.
2022 Heisman Trophy contender No. 1: Bryce Young, Alabama QB
Another week and another spectacular performance from Bryce Young.
While many will mistake Utah State as a cupcake, the Aggies could give quite a few top-25 teams some trouble and are fresh off a double-digit win season and Mountain West championship.
That said, Alabama dominated and it was in large part due to Young. His passing yardage wasn’t off the charts (198 yards) but he threw five first-half touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown which tied him with Tua Tagovailoa as the only Alabama player ever with six touchdowns.
Young ran five times for 100 yards as well as scoring the touchdown, giving him 298 total yards in a blowout win. That’s enough to keep him in the top spot with a high-profile matchup against Texas looming this weekend.
It’s still early but expect Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner to be in it until the very end.