We are entering the final week of the college football regular season and here’s an updated look at the 2022 Heisman Trophy race.
The 2022 Heisman Trophy race has been fascinating. There have been plenty of ebbs and flows in the race but heading into Week 13 of the college football season, we are down to a few contenders.
Hendon Hooker’s season-ending injury takes out one 2022 Heisman Trophy contender. To be fair, the loss to South Carolina was the final nail in the coffin. The first strike came against Georgia but my bet was still on Hooker to be a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Now, that doesn’t seem likely. Honestly, this feels like one of those years where just three guys could get invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy award ceremony and one guy who’s trending in the right direction is USC’s, Caleb Williams.
He put up monster numbers in a win over UCLA and the Trojans are on the doorstep of making the College Football Playoff if they can beat Notre Dame and Oregon in the next two weeks.
Injuries have impacted the race in other ways too as Blake Corum missed the second half against Illinois and his status for Saturday’s Michigan-Ohio State game is up in the air.
We’ll have more on each 2022 Heisman Trophy contender as we rank the top five heading into Week 13 of the College Football season and here’s the list after a big shakeup.
5. Jayden Daniels, LSU
When looking at 2022 Heisman Trophy contenders, we are looking for anyone with a chance to make a late run sort of like Aidan Hutchinson did last season and one guy capable of that is LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
He started to get momentum after the upset win over Alabama. He was spectacular that night and threw that game-winning two-point conversion. It was the kind of signature win and moment that not everyone on this of contenders has.
Daniels is 61st in touchdown passes in the FBS with 15 and has the No. 16 QBR. He also has 740 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Beyond that, his team has a chance to knock off Georgia and if he plays well in that game, a trip to New York might not be out of the question.
4. Bo Nix, Oregon
Look who’s back on our list of 2022 Heisman Trophy contenders — Bo Nix. He was in the top five until the loss to Washington but is back in the mix after what happened last week.
Nix didn’t have a spectacular game in the win over Utah last week but he completed 67 percent of his passes and threw for 287 yards and a touchdown, as well as an interception.
Overall though, Nix has really good numbers. He’s completing better than 70 percent of his passes and is also 15th in touchdown passes with 25. However, he’s also got 14 rushing touchdowns and has as many combined passing/rushing touchdowns as any other quarterback.
Drake Maye was in this spot last week but struggled against Georgia Tech in a loss and that probably sealed his fate. But if Nix, who is third in the college football in QBR, leads the Ducks to a win over Oregon State and a victory against USC, he should at least get consideration.
3. Blake Corum, Michigan
The biggest shakeup in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race might have come when Blake Corum took a shot to the knee last week against Illinois.
Before that, Corum had 20 touches for 157 total yards and a touchdown against one of the nation’s best defenses. He had a 39-yard run and a 35-yard reception. He looked fresh, but now, Michigan football doesn’t know if he’ll be out there for the Ohio State game.
Jim Harbaugh didn’t have any updates on Monday and it’s looking like if Corum does play, he wil be limited. While handing out Turkeys this week for Thanksgiving, Corum said he would be fine and he did play for a snap against Illinois in the second half after the injury.
So anything could happen. Maybe he plays and gets 100 yards in a Michigan win. Something like that would surely help his Heisman Trophy hopes.
Yet, there is a reason he dropped to No. 3 this week in our Heisman Trophy rankings and it’s because his chances of playing or at least being anywhere near 100 percent, don’t seem great.
2. Caleb Williams, USC
Speaking of quarterbacks that have accounted for 39 total touchdowns this year, put Caleb Williams on the list because he also has 39 with 33 passing scores and six on the ground.
Over the last three games, Williams has scored four touchdowns on the ground. He’s also been throwing the ball really well and in the win over UCLA, he passed for 470 yards, averaged 10.9 yards per pass attempt, and completed 74.4 percent of his passes. He also ran for 30 yards and a score, giving him 500 total and three touchdowns.
That’s why he moved from No. 4 in our Heisman Trophy rankings to No. 2. The win over UCLA put the Trojans in the driver’s seat for the fourth College Football Playoff berth.
And with showdowns looming against Notre Dame and likely Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, Williams will be on the big stage the next three weeks and I have no doubt that he will be one of the finalists in New York.
But can he win it? Yes, if he gets a little help from the Michigan Wolverines.
1. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
The bottom line is that C.J. Stroud is still leading the Heisman Trophy race but his lead is tenuous at best. Stroud has thrown for less than 300 yards in four of the last five games.
Stroud has also thrown one touchdown or less in three of the last four games. Ohio State keeps winning and the running game was great last week but the numbers will need to pick up, especially with Williams coming on strong.
The key game for Stroud has always felt like the Michigan game. That’s the game that lost him the Heisman Trophy in 2021 and if the Buckeyes don’t win on Saturday, he won’t win it in 2022.
If Blake Corum plays and has a big game in a Michigan win, he becomes the favorite. If not, and Stroud has a big day in an OSU win, he’ll become an even bigger favorite.
As long as the Buckeyes win and Stroud is playing well, he should win the Heisman but watch out for Williams and we’ll see what, if anything Corum can do Saturday.