Joel Klatt explains JJ McCarthy’s path to Heisman Trophy win

Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy has emerged as one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy over the past few weeks thanks to his great player and the dominance of the Wolverines. But his case is far from over.

As Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt explained on a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show, McCarthy’s best chances for Heisman moments are still ahead of him.

“This is what’s interesting for JJ is that if you look at his path, he’s going to have two monster stages down the stretch in order to impress the voters in the next six weeks,” Klatt said. “They’re going to play at Penn State in a game that will likely get over nine, 9.5, 10 million viewers. Then they’re going to play Ohio State in a game that’s going to get 15, 16, 17 million viewers. You don’t get bigger stages than what JJ McCarthy is going to have coming down the stretch.”

McCarthy actually has the best odds to win the Heisman heading into this weekend after Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. struggled in a letdown game against Arizona State following a thrilling win over Oregon.

McCarthy’s odds, according to BetMGM, from earlier in the week were +240 while Penix was at +300. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has odds at +340.

“If Michael Penix were to falter, which let’s face it in the gauntlet of USC, Utah, Oregon State and the Pac-12 Championship Game, it might even be likely that Washington doesn’t go undefeated,” Klatt said. “Well, then here’s JJ McCarthy and a team that looks to be totally dominant and he looks to be playing at a level that is above everybody else because of his efficiency, because of his accuracy. Remember, he’s completing 78% of his passes. He’s also making great plays, plays that can be on highlight reels. He’ll have the stages and he has the path. He’s second in the country right now in completion percentage and yards per attempt.”

McCarthy currently has 1,799 passing yards on the season with 18 passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and three interceptions.

The three picks all came in one game versus Bowling Green.

“If this thing keeps going the way that we all think it’s going to go for Michigan, everyone’s going to continue to be more and more impressed with JJ McCarthy,” Klatt said. “He’s sixth in than the country in passing touchdowns with 18, which you wouldn’t really expect. And he’s eighth by the way in total touchdowns because he’s run for a few so he’s got 21. He’s still only thrown — and this is what’s so wild — he’s compiling those numbers and they’re pretty good. Volume is never going to blow you away. But part of it is he’s thrown four passes — four — total in the fourth quarter, all year. All of those were against Rutgers. That’s wild.”