Heisman Trophy watch 2023: Michael Penix Jr. soars up the top 5

Sam Hartman has been a staple of this list from Week 1 on and it’s because he got a bit of a head start in Week 0 against Navy. He’s been fantastic since the start of the season and it’s hard to believe that he just had his first 300-plus passing yard game in Week 3 against Central Michigan.

I considered flipping Cameron Ward and Hartman, but the quality of opponents for each just wasn’t enough to make a sweeping declaration after Week 3.

Hartman’s Irish were playing a surprisingly close game with Central through the first half and the Fighting Irish relied heavily on him and Audric Estime to pull away. They did just that, winning 41-17 and Hartman had 330 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-26 passing. No one thought the game would be this tight, but Hartman didn’t panic and just led the Irish to a rout.

The Wake Forest transfer has been a godsend at quarterback for the Irish and he feels like the missing piece to the College Football Playoff puzzle.

We’ll see just how far the offense has come under Hartman in Week 4 against Ohio State.