Heisman Trophy watch 2023: Top 5 candidates heading into Week 3

Through three contests, Sam Hartman has the fifth-best QBR in the country. On top of that, he has 731 yards and 10 touchdowns without a single interception. He’s been an incredible addition for Notre Dame and he helped the Irish stay calm, cool, and collected on the road against NC State when it looked like the Wolfpack were on the verge of an upset.

The game was tight in the third quarter and the momentum was on NC State’s side, but the Irish ran away with a 45-24 win thanks to four touchdown passes and no picks from Hartman. He added 286 yards while completing 63 percent of his passes.

We’re beginning to see how elite Hartman is when he’s actually surrounded by top-tier talent. He had some good receivers at Wake Forest, but not like the ones he has at Notre Dame.

Plus, Audric Estime, the nation’s leading rusher, has taken a ton of pressure off his shoulders.

Hartman is completing 75 percent of his passes and averages over 11 yards per attempt. He’s on pace for over 3,000 yards, 40 touchdowns, and no interceptions. The yards — and interceptions — will likely be higher than those projections, so I expect Hartman to be in the Heisman conversation all year long.