Daniels, Harrison Jr., Nix, four Penix Jr. are the Heisman Trophy finalists.

Daniels, Harrison Jr., Nix, four Penix Jr. are the Heisman Trophy finalists.

On Monday night, Ohio State wide Marvin Harrison Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., and transfer quarterback Jayden Daniels of LSU—all of whom had participated in at least five college seasons—were named the Heisman Trophy finalists.

The Heisman Trophy has been awarded annually since 1935 to the best collegiate football player in the country. This year’s victor will be revealed in New York on Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

For the first time since 2010, after Stanford’s Andrew Luck trailed Auburn’s Cam Newton in the Heisman Trophy voting and Oregon quarterback LaMichael James finished third, the Pac-12 has two Heisman candidates in Nix and Penix.

The Pac-12’s current membership is expiring this season, as ten schools—including Oregon and Washington—are leaving to join the Big Ten.
A group of over 870 voters, comprising media representatives and past Heisman Trophy winners, choose the top four candidates to advance as finalists.

Daniels, an additional transfer quarterback to his second year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is attempting to become the third player from LSU to win the Heisman Trophy and become the first following Joe Burrow in 2019.

For the 13th-ranked Tigers (9-3), Daniels enjoyed one of the most productive seasons in SEC history. It was his second at LSU and sixth overall after beginning his career at Arizona State. He ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns and passed for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns.

The 2023 Heisman Trophy finalists were revealed on Monday night, and this group includes some of the best players in college football. Unlike last year, where Caleb Williams of USC sprinted away from the pack, this is among the most interesting races we’ve seen in a long time.

For the event on Saturday night in New York, quarterbacks Jayden Daniels of LSU, Bo Nix of Oregon, Michael Penix Jr. of Washington, and Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State will be traveling.

These players have all dazzled the college football world with different ways, such as their exceptional play, influence on the team’s overall performance, and inherent worth based on what their team’s performance may suffer in their absence.

After three years at Arizona State, Daniels returned to lead the LSU offense in his second season. In 12 games, he picked up 1,134 yards and ten touchdowns on the ground in addition to 3,812 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and only four interceptions.

Harrison recorded 67 receptions for 1,211 receiving yards with 14 touchdowns in 12 games. Harrison is the son of former Indianapolis Colts player Marvin Harrison. He added one score on the ground.

In 2022, Nix left Auburn after three seasons to attend Oregon. He completed his passing for 4,145 yards, 40 touchdowns, with just three interceptions in 13 games. One year after scoring fourteen touchdowns on the ground, he added 228 yards as well as six more.

In addition to leading Washington to a 13-0 record with the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff, Penix passed for 4,218 yards, 33 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. The Huskies defeated Oregon twice in a row, including last Friday in the Pac-12 title game.

Caleb Williams, the Heisman winner from last season, and Jordan Travis, the quarterback from Florida State who scored 20 throwing touchdowns and seven running touchdowns before missing the entire season due to a leg injury on November 18, were two of the players who were cut.

The only finalist that has advanced to the CFP is Penix. Before moving to Seattle, he spent portions of four seasons as a player at Indiana. On November 18, he scored eight touchdowns in a game against Georgia State.

Throughout the 2023 season, all three quarterbacks racked up impressive stats, and the betting odds seem to favor Daniels to win the honor.

When you take into account that sacks are deducted from a quarterback’s overall amount of rushes, the number is astounding.

At BetMGM, he is the clear favorite at -1400, with Nix at +2200 and Penix at +900. Harrison, who excelled as wide receiver as well, is far behind at +20,000.

The only quarterback across the nation to have both thrown and rushed for more than 3,000 yards this season is Daniels. With just four interceptions, he completed 236 of 327 passes for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns.

He was far and by the best in college football with 11.7 yards per attempt. Just three quarterbacks averaged more than ten yards per pass, with Alabama’s Jalen Milroe ranking second in the category with a 10.4 average.

Daniels also gained 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on 135 rushes. That is the greatest average of any college football player with in excess of 100 rushing attempts—a startling 8.4 yards per carry.