Heading into week 7 of the college football season, here is our latest update on the 2022 Heisman Trophy race.
The 2022 Heisman Trophy race has already had a fair amount of twists and turns. New contenders seem to be emerging by the week, while others are starting to fall off.
In last week’s rankings, Michigan’s Blake Corum made an appearance for the first time. He followed that up with another 100-yard game on the road against Indiana. Hendon Hooker has been rising in our Heisman Trophy rankings for the past two weeks and did nothing to slow his momentum.
However, preseason favorite (to repeat) Bryce Young is falling due to an injury and some less-than-spectacular numbers, while Caleb Williams has also faded a bit. It’s still too early to count those guys out though.
We also have a newcomer for the first time — TCU’s Max Duggan and he’s breaking well into the top five. This week, we are actually going to have six as we have a tie for the fifth spot in our 2022 Heisman Trophy contender rankings for Week 7.
T5. Caleb Williams and Bryce Young
The thing about Bryce Young is that if he is able to play this weekend against Tennessee and has a great game, he’s going to rocket back into the top three. But if the Heisman Trophy vote was taken today, it’s hard to see him finishing in the top five.
Against Vanderbilt and Utah State he looked like the Bryce Young that dominated in 2021 but he’s 76th in passing yards and is 17th in touchdown passes. It looked like he was going to play last week before missing the game against Texas A&M so we could see him Saturday.
As far as his Heisman hopes are concerned, he needs to get on the field, because knocking off the Vols and Hendon Hooker would be a great way to jumpstart things.
Caleb Williams is going through something similar. Not the injury but not getting huge numbers. He threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns in his last game. He also doesn’t rank in the top 10 in passing yards, touchdown passes, or QBR. A win over Utah and a big game would help. The opportunity is there, he just needs some gaudy numbers and a Heisman moment.
4. Blake Corum
If Michigan hadn’t played such a soft schedule in its first three games and Blake Corum had actually played in the second half, his numbers would be even better and his hopes of winning the 2022 Heisman Trophy might be too.
Yet, in three Big Ten games, Corum has gone over 100 in each against Maryland, Iowa, and Illinois. He’s fourth in college football in rushing yards and the three guys ranked ahead of him all have at least 11 more rushing attempts. Corum is also second in rushing touchdowns with 11.
Winning the Heisman as a running back is going to take some special moments though. Corum has delivered a few incredible runs this season and he’ll need more of that. A huge opportunity awaits Saturday against No. 10 Penn State.
The Nittany Lions are strong on defense and if Corum is able to have a big game, as well as an eye-opening juke or two in the process, he could become a real factor in this race down the stretch.
3. Max Duggan
The ascent of TCU quarterback Max Duggan in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race has been pretty incredible, especially since he didn’t even start the opener against Colorado.
TCU turned the offense over to Duggan in Week 2 and it hasn’t looked back. The former four-quarterback from Iowa is taking the Big 12 and the college football world by storm with an average of 359 total yards per game and 17 total touchdowns in four starts.
Duggan has 14 touchdown passes in four games, including at least three in each start. He’s accounted for nine touchdowns during the past two weeks and just one interception.
TCU has notched back-to-back wins over ranked teams in Oklahoma and Kansas. Oklahoma State, a top-10 team that is also undefeated awaits, and if Duggan can have another stellar night in front of what’s sure to be a more national audience, and get a win, it will be time to really take him seriously as a contender for the Heisman Trophy.
2. Hendon Hooker
The revival of the Tennessee Volunteers has been fun to watch and Hendon Hooker deserves as much credit as anyone. Josh Heupel deserves credit too, especially seeing how productive is under his watchful eye.
Hooker was solid at Virginia Tech but nothing like this. He was really good last season and threw over 30 touchdowns compared to four interceptions. This season, he’s taken his game to another level and has 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Vols QB also ranks 3rd in QBR according to ESPN. Beyond that, he leads the nation with the fewest interceptions (tied with everyone at zero) and has been at his best in big games.
The old adage that you need to be at your best when your best is needed perfectly describes Hooker, who had 461 total yards against Florida, 295 total yards against LSU, and over 350 total yards against Pitt.
If Hooker does that in Neyland Stadium on Saturday against Alabama, he might just become the Heisman Trophy frontrunner. Or at least 1B to C.J. Stroud’s 1A.
1. C.J. Stroud
Just like last season, C.J. Stroud is putting up crazy numbers and leading an Ohio State offense that might be the best in all of college football.
Stroud hasn’t even had his full complement of weapons so far during the 2022 season and he still leads all of college football in touchdown passes with 24, an average of six per game. He has also thrown for over 300 yards three times and had six touchdown passes last Saturday against Michigan State.
Stroud has the top QBR in all of college football and if the Buckeyes keep cruising the way they have been, it’s going to be hard for anyone to pass him.
I still believe Stroud would have had a 50/50 shot to win the Heisman in 2021 if the Buckeyes had beaten Michigan and Aidan Hutchinson didn’t take a bunch of his votes.
We’ll never know but if the Buckeyes beat Michigan this year and win the Big Ten, my bet is on Stroud to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy.