Heisman Trophy leaders after Week 6 of college football

The 2023 Heisman Trophy race continues to have many of the familiar contenders atop each week’s ballots from the On3 experts, and this week is no different. One player continues to dominate the top spot.

But there are some new players in the mix this week, one that had emerged a couple weeks back and a new one after an exciting performance this weekend.

Who was the latest to join our experts’ ballots in the top three spots for the Heisman Trophy? Let’s dig in below.

Matt Zenitz

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
3. Brock Bowers, Georgia

Williams: Even in a game that he finished with just OK numbers by Caleb Williams’ standards, he found a way to lead USC to a win in a game that the Trojans would have lost if they had just about any other quarterback.

Daniels: Other than Caleb Williams, there may not be another quarterback nationally playing better right now than Daniels. LSU having two losses and having continued issues on defense have led to the success of Daniels and the Tigers’ offense flying under the radar to a certain degree, but Daniels has accounted for at least 356 total yards and at least four touchdowns in each of LSU’s last four games.

Bowers: Saturday’s win over Kentucky was Bowers’ third straight game with at least 120 yards and at least one touchdown.

Jesse Simonton

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Williams: Despite a “down performance,” USC loses Saturday’s game against Arizona with most any other quarterback in the country not named Caleb Williams. His late game heroics included three rushing scores and calling his own number again for the winning two-point conversion. At this point, there’s no question Williams deserves another spot in New York City come season’s end. The only question is how many wins can he single-handily drag the Trojans to?

Daniels: If not for Williams’ insane stats in 2023, LSU’s quarterback would be the most impressive player in the country this season. He too is carrying a flawed team on his back, averaging over 350 total yards and four touchdowns a game over the last month. He was rocked multiple times against Missouri, only to get up and throw another dagger down the field or run for a 35-yard touchdown.

Penix: Washington was idle this week, but Penix, along with Bo Nix, will get to make a serious statement about their Heisman Trophy chances in a showdown with Oregon on Saturday.

Andy Staples

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
3. Brock Bowers, Georgia

Williams: It’s telling that even in Williams’ “bad” game, he essentially put his team on his back and led it to a win. Did Williams struggle in the first half against Arizona? Absolutely. Did he save USC’s bacon by running for three TDs, throwing for another and running in the eventual game-winning two-point conversion in the third overtime? Yes he did.

Daniels: Like Williams, Daniels doesn’t play defense (which is his team’s downfall). Also like Williams, Daniels has to take matters into his own hands to will his team to victory. Against Missouri, Daniels averaged 12.3 yards per pass attempt and threw three TD passes while also running for 130 yards and a TD.

Bowers: Bowers won’t put up the kind of numbers necessary to win the Heisman Trophy, but he’s a unique weapon who any coach in the country would be thrilled to have. He changes the math for the Georgia offense, creating mismatches that either allow him to gain yards or open up teammates for big plays.

Charles Power

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Michael Penix, Washington
3. Brock Bowers, Georgia

Caleb Williams continues to drag a flawed USC team to tight victories, with the most recent being an overtime win over Arizona that saw Williams and the Trojans erase an early 17-0 deficit. A four touchdown outing with late heroics qualifies as a down game for college football’s best player and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Williams will need to continue his sterling level of play for the Trojans to have a shot of running the table in a historically competitive Pac-12.

Michael Penix and Washington are coming off a bye. He leads the nation in passing yards per game by over 60 yards while completing 74.7% of his passes at a crazy 11.2 yards per attempt. The Huskies have a huge tilt against Oregon coming up.

Brock Bowers continues to make a strong case as the best non-quarterback in the nation. No player laps the field at their position like the former On3 five-star. Bowers had another strong outing as the leading receiver for the back-to-back national champions, catching 7 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown in a blowout win over Kentucky. In addition to racking up the receiving stats, Bowers does critical work in the run game as a blocker.

JD PicKell

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Brock Bowers, Georgia
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Caleb Williams, I mean just gritty, gutsy, found a way to get it done. I really hope USC can field a defense so we can actually gauge his performances properly, because right now he’s just doing everything and then some. He is USC’s best defense right now, unfortunately. Didn’t look how it typically has looked last night for Caleb Williams with him doing so much with his legs, but still No. 1 in the Heisman Trophy.

No. 2, Brock Bowers, I mean if you were to just take positions off of this award I think Brock Bowers, gosh, he would have a very real case to win it. It’s probably a quarterback award but what he’s doing right now is nothing short of incredible. Another 100-yard performance. And every single week it is each team they play, each team Georgia plays, the goal is stop Brock Bowers and each week he seems to get his. So excited to see his role evolve as Carson Beck, his quarterback, gets better.

Third I’ve got Michael Penix. Had a bye week this week, but Washington being undefeated and just what he’s done statistically keeps him at three. I had Jayden Daniels at four, very, very seriously considered putting him at three. People talk about taking the next step at quarterback, he’s taken like the next two steps.

So there you have it, a newcomer on a team that is likely already eliminated from the College Football Playoff hunt. Will that be sustainable for Daniels? Time will tell, particularly as other contenders get the stage to make major statements over the next couple weeks. But that’ll do it for our Heisman Trophy ballots this week.