Play of the 2023 college football season has been some elite college football, but one player stands above the rest as the favorite to win the coveted Heisman Trophy. Michael Penix Jr. is the clear frontrunner after a big win at home on national TV over the top 10-ranked Oregon Ducks.
Aiding in Penix’s fight for the trophy, last year’s winner and front-runner through six weeks, Caleb Williams threw three interceptions against Notre Dame in the Trojan’s *Trojans’ -JG first loss.
Washington QB – Michael Penix Jr.
In Washington’s big College Gameday win, Penix Jr. had 302 yards and four TDs, as well as leading a clutch game-winning drive in the final minutes of the game. His performance was good enough to pick up the win, but it was from all sunshine and rainbows.
He only completed 59.5% of his passes and threw an interception, but it was overall a solid performance and as previously mentioned, left as the front runner for the trophy.
He broke 2,000 yards on the season with the win, totaling 2,301 yards, 20 TDs and just three interceptions. He has the second-highest ESPN QB rating at 91.7, making his season-long performance on pace to be on the best in Pac-12 history.
Oregon QB – Bo Nix
Despite coming up short on the road against Washington, Oregon is ranked No. 9 still and Nix had a fantastic performance against the Huskies. Nix completed 75.0% of his passes for 337 yards and two TDs without throwing an interception.
His rushing has been weaker the entire season but still has the Ducks set up to make a run to the College Football Playoff. With 1,796 yards and 17 TDs to just one interception, he remains one of the most consistent and efficient passers in the country.
Oklahoma QB – Dillon Gabriel
The Sooners are back and Dillon Gabriel leads them. With the third-highest QB rating at 91.2, the senior from Mililani, Oahu, Hawaii, has 1,878 yards and 16 TDs to two interceptions. In his defining win over Texas, he had 285 passing yards and an additional 113 yards and a score on the ground to pick up the win.
If he can have more big games on the ground, his 208 yards and five TDs rushing will continue to improve and he will have a unique skill over the rest of the Heisman field.
North Carolina QB – Drake Maye
Maye is one of the most pro-ready QBs in the nation, and he has the Tar Heels looking like a legitimate sneaky contender for the national championship. With 1,902 yards, he is in the top rankings of all QBs regarding yardage.
His downfall has been the fact that he has just 12 passing TDs and four rushing TDs while also throwing four interceptions. After throwing 38 TDs in 2022, it is possible that he can get his lackluster numbers up and thrust himself to the top of the conversation.
Michigan QB – J.J. McCarthy
If Nix is one of the most efficient passers in the country, the Michigan signal caller controls the flow just as well as anyone can. In contrast, the flow of the Wolverines’ offense does not lend itself to major statistical output. McCarthy’s 92.6 QB rating leads the nation.
Stats-wise, he has 1,512 yards and 14 TDs with three interceptions, impressively completing 78.2% of his passes. All three of his interceptions came against Bowling Green. Without that game, he would dominate the QB rating battle more than he already is.
