Weeks 0, 1, and 2 featured some legit Heisman Trophy candidates and my top five candidates have changed slightly from Week 2.
Last week, I had five quarterbacks leading the way. This week, I also have five quarterbacks, but there’s a new addition to the list after he led his team to an upset win.
So without further ado, who are my top five Heisman Trophy candidates heading into Week 3?
Cameron Ward is the new addition to my list as an honorable mention after yet another solid performance. This time, he led the Cougars past No. 19 Wisconsin in upset fashion and he looked like a star.
No, he didn’t throw for over 400 yards for the second straight week like someone else on this list, but he was a solid 21-for-33 for 208 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed for another 43 yards. He finished with over 250 yards against one of the best defenses in the country and didn’t turn the ball over.
This comes after a huge Week 1 performance against Colorado State in which he passed for 451 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for another score on 40 yards.
I was waiting to see how he played against Wisconsin to put him on this list, and he clearly looked the part of a legit Heisman threat.
The only worry here with Ward is the fact that he plays for a team that likely won’t be a contender at the end of the season so that would likely eliminate him from contention.
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.
Does anyone else feel like Michael Penix Jr. has been in college for about a decade? No? Just me? Well, that would make sense as I’m a Michigan State alum and Penix has done nothing but dominate my school dating back to his days as an Indiana Hoosier.
Things did not change last season as he torched the Spartan defense en route to an upset win in Seattle which turned out to be a win over a five-win Michigan State team. He’ll have a chance to run up his numbers against Michigan State again this week and pad those stats. But the Spartan defense has looked improved.
So far this season, however, he has looked even better than he was a year ago and he passed for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdown passes in 2022.
In fact, through two games, he has 859 yards and eight touchdowns with one blemish as he threw a pick against Tulsa in Week 2. He did have over 400 yards for a second straight week to start the season to go along with three touchdowns and a 74 percent completion rate.
Penix should have gotten an invite to New York last year, but I have a feeling that changes in 2023.
I considered moving Shedeur Sanders up one spot after he impressed in front of a national audience once again but the No. 2 guy earned that spot with the biggest win of the season. In Week 1, he passed for over 500 yards against No. 17 TCU in a road upset win and this past weekend, he had nearly 400 yards against Nebraska.
No one expected Colorado to start the season 2-0, but here the Buffaloes are and it’s due, in large part, to the rise of Sanders at quarterback.
Sanders had a slow start against Nebraska last week, struggling to even break 100 yards in the first half, but when the Buffaloes needed him most, he stepped up. He finished with 393 yards and two touchdowns with a completion rate of 74 percent. He got stronger as the game went on and he torched a strong Nebraska defense.
Through two games, Sanders has 903 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions and a completion rate of 78 percent. He has been a revelation at the FBS level after coming over from Jackson State with his father.
As long as Colorado keeps winning, Sanders will likely continue to appear on this list.
It’s hard to believe that some people thought that Texas had a legitimate quarterback battle this offseason with five-star Arch Manning coming in to challenge 2022 starter Quinn Ewers.
Through two weeks, the notion of a quarterback battle in Austin is pure comedy.
While Manning might have an elite college career, he’s going to have to wait until Ewers moves on. The second-year starter for the Longhorns has earned that starting job and he looks like one of the best players in all of college football with a clear clutch gene.
Ewers had a solid first game against Rice, completing 19-of-30 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns in a sleepy win, but his performance in Week 2 opened everyone’s eyes. I was a doubter before, but after he marched into Tuscaloosa and beat Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, I am buying in. Ewers is legit.
Not only did he beat the No. 3 team in the country, he passed for 349 yards and three touchdowns while completing 24-of-38 passes.
The last time a young quarterback looked this good in a road win over Alabama was over a decade ago and he went on to win the Heisman (Johnny Manziel).
It’s almost shocking to see four players from the Pac-12 on this list, but the conference is better than it’s been in years. Hard to believe that this will be the last year for the league as we know it.
But this wouldn’t be a Heisman Trophy watch list without Caleb Williams.
Like Sam Hartman, Williams has played three games thus far and he, too, has avoided any interceptions to start the year. He has 12 touchdowns to zero picks and he looks at least just as good as he was a year ago. Heck, Williams may be even better.
Although Williams has completed fewer than 20 passes in each of his three games so far, he’s still managed to pass for 878 yards with an astounding 12.5 yards per attempt. He’s not even throwing the ball a ton and yet he’s still one of the nation’s top passing leaders in most categories.
The competition so far hasn’t been elite, but Williams is still showing just why he won the Heisman Trophy last year and why he should be the favorite this season.