The past weekend was significant in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race and here are our top five candidates going into Week 11 of the college football season.
Georgia took control of the College Football Playoff race this weekend and erased any doubt about whether or not the Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the country.
What their dominant win also did was turn the 2022 Heisman Trophy race on its head. Hendon Hooker had pulled ahead thanks to his stellar numbers and a five-touchdown performance in the win over Alabama.
Had Tennessee been able to beat Georgia, Hooker would have been the clear favorite. The Vols failed to do that and frankly, depending on how others play down the stretch, I think he missed his opportunity.
He has crazy stats help but his stats aren’t really that much different from Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Drake Maye. I still believe Hooker has a chance but he now needs help, just like Tennessee is going to need help to make the College Football Playoff.
This race is also wide open and here where we see it with one month left in the 2022 college football season.
5. Drake Maye
This might surprise some people but I think Drake Maye has a better chance of winning the Heisman Trophy than Hendon Hooker. The odds might still favor Hooker but they will update.
I just don’t see a quarterback that doesn’t lead this team to a conference championship or the playoff winning the award especially when the numbers aren’t that great. Hooker has fewer total touchdowns than Maye, Bo Nix, and Caleb Williams and each of those guys has a chance to score some elite wins down the stretch.
Hooker doesn’t have a marquee game on the schedule unless Tennessee backs into the SEC title game but Georgia isn’t losing and the loss by the Vols on Saturday, as well as a pedestrian performance by Hooker, likely ended his 2022 Heisman Trophy hopes.
Maye leads college football in touchdown passes and has 35 total. He’s also got more passing yards so he deserved to crack the top five. We’ll see if he stays and winning the award or getting to New York will take winning the ACC and beating Clemson.
Otherwise, forget about it.
4. Bo Nix
If anyone expected Bo Nix to emerge as a Heisman Trophy candidate in the 2022 college football season, they didn’t talk about it because it was basically no one.
However, in the past few weeks, Nix has been on a roll and he looks like a completely different player than the guy we saw at Auburn and in Week 1 against Georgia.
Over the last five games, Nix has 10 rushing touchdowns and has run for at least 50 yards in four of those five games. He also completed 20-of-24 passes for 274 yards and threw two touchdowns in the win over Colorado on Saturday.
He does have five interceptions and 22 touchdown passes but also has 13 rushing touchdowns. The Ducks have won eight games in a row and are going to have a good chance of making the College Football Playoff if they win out.
That would also put Nix in a solid position to win the Heisman Trophy, especially if he squares off, outplays, and beats Caleb Williams of USC.
3. Caleb Williams
A name that has been rising in these power rankings over the past few weeks is Caleb Williams of USC. The numbers have been pretty good so far this season and the only strike against him was a loss to Utah.
However, Williams threw five touchdown passes in that game and over the last five outings, Williams has a C.J. Stroud vibe from last season. He’s thrown for better than 350 yards in four of those five games and has a combined 19 touchdown passes compared to just one interception.
What’s even more impressive is that one interception is the only one Williams has thrown all season compared to 28 touchdown passes. He’s also run for four touchdowns and has nearly 300 yards on the ground.
Williams is really coming on and say he stands out in wins over UCLA and Oregon to win the Pac-12 championship, while putting up isane numbers, he would have a good case to make and seems like a Heisman finalist at the very least.
2. Blake Corum
There was no bigger in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race from College Football Week 10 than Blake Corum of Michigan.
For the sixth consecutive game, Corum rushed for over 100 yards. He also scored two touchdowns and is basically in the top-5 of every major rushing category.
The numbers he’s putting up are right in line with what Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram did when they won the Heisman Trophy for Alabama, so it’s not that far-fetched.
Corum can’t afford any slip ups. He needs to have big days against Illinois and Nebraska. As long as gets over 100 yards in those games, and has a big game against Ohio State in a potential win for Michigan and I think Corum would be the guy.
If he puts together a performance similar to Hassan Haskins last season with over 150 yards and a few touchdowns, it would be hard to vote against him. Those are all big ifs but it feels like this Heisman Trophy race could go to the winner of Ohio State and Michigan.
Meaning Blake Corum or C.J. Stroud.
1. C.J. Stroud
One game can win or lose a Heisman Trophy campaign but I don’t think that game was last Saturday for C.J. Stroud.
The wind was really strong against Northwestern and as a result, in part because of that, Stroud completed only 10-of-26 passes for 76 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown but also didn’t throw any interceptions and he picked up 79 yards on the ground which is uncharacteristic of him.
Stroud has the No. 1 QBR in college football according to ESPN and the fact is, Stroud is in the best position of anyone to win the Heisman.
Hooker was in front of him and now, in my opinion, it’s going to be hard for Hooker to hold his place. He needed to beat Georgia and play for the SEC title because his numbers aren’t all that mind-blowing.
Stroud has great numbers (29 touchdown passes) and if he has one his patented big games against Michigan and the Buckeyes win the Big Ten, he’s my bet to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy.