Bruce Feldman explains voting Michael Penix Jr. for Heisman Trophy

College football reporter Bruce Feldman took a different approach than most with his Heisman vote. Feldman went with Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with his top spot for the Heisman over eventual winner Jayden Daniels.

Feldman joined The Rich Eisen Show recently and explained why.

“My top guy was Michael Penix Jr. A lot of respect to Jayden Daniels. If Jayden Daniels isn’t the quarterback there, they had a terrible, historically bad LSU defense,” Feldman said. “The only thing was, in the games that they lost, I would argue he wasn’t the better quarterback against Florida State. They were down 45-17 with a minute left in that game. … And then when they played Alabama, Jalen Milroe went off in that game.”

Jayden Daniels had better stats than Penix, passing for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 scores.

But LSU went 9-3, falling to Florida State, Ole Miss and Alabama.

Michael Penix Jr. passed for 4,218 yards and 33 touchdowns, while leading the Huskies to a perfect 13-0 record and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Ultimately, Feldman believes that the fact that Washington is undefeated and in the College Football Playoff made him worthy of being the Heisman winner.

“They were both spectacular, and Daniels had a terrific year. But to me, Michael Penix Jr., what he did at that program, I think the evolution of him from a guy who was so banged up, had so many injuries at Indiana. They were a mess when Kalen DeBoer took over and brought him in there. And I just thought, to me, he was my top guy,” Feldman said. “Now Bo Nix was deserving. I think Jayden Daniels was deserving. Anybody could’ve won that.”

Bruce Feldman explains why Washington has respect in College Football Playoff

The fact that Bruce Feldman voted for Michael Penix Jr. to win the Heisman should make it no surprise that he is also high on Washington heading into the College Football Playoff.

Despite going undefeated this season, the Washington Huskies have seemingly maintained a lower profile in comparison to the remainder of the nation’s top teams this year. With the Pac-12 champions currently set as four-point underdogs to the Texas Longhorns ahead of their CFP Semifinal matchup at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

But college football insider Bruce Feldman revealed on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ that based on his conversations with coaches across the country that Washington has gained plenty of respect across the college football landscape.

“Washington has had a lot of tough games,” Feldman said Wednesday. “But there’s a lot of respect for Washington and the coaches because they keep grinding and keep grinding and find ways to win, and there’s something to be said for that.

“Whereas Texas, obviously they had the big win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but it’s not a great Big 12 and look who they played. Played a really mediocre Oklahoma State team in the Big 12 title game. They did have to win without Ewers, we had a close game we were at for Big Noon [Kickoff] against K-State,” Feldman explained. “But I think it is a little different in terms of Washington. There’s a resilience there.”