Heisman Trophy leaders after Week 8 of college football

Following another week of college football action with multiple ranked teams going down, the Heisman Trophy race has taken some more twists and turns.

USC‘s Caleb Williams picked up a second loss, with North Carolina‘s Drake Maye took his first. There were also a handful of other games that provided some interesting feedback on Heisman Trophy hopefuls.

Without any further delay, let’s dive into what happened this weekend that shook up the experts’ ballots for the Heisman Trophy in 2023.

Matt Zenitz

1. Jayden Daniels, LSU
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Daniels: Joe Burrow’s QB rating during his record-setting Heisman season in 2019 was 201.96. Daniels’ current QB rating? 204.32. He ranks first nationally in not only QB rating but also with 25 touchdown passes. He has also already run for 521 yards, has five rushing touchdowns and only has three interceptions.

Harrison: In Ohio State’s last three games, Harrison has 25 catches, 430 yards and three touchdowns. That includes the 11 catches, 162 yards and touchdown he accumulated during the Buckeyes’ win over Penn State.

Penix: Penix is still a top Heisman candidate, but his play — and the play of Washington’s offense — during a 15-7 win over one-win Arizona State was surprisingly subpar. Washington failed to score a single touchdown on offense against a defense that allowed at least 24 points in each of its first five games against FBS opponents. In addition to finishing without a touchdown and with a season-low 275 passing yards, Penix also had three turnovers.

Jesse Simonton

1. Jayden Daniels, LSU
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
3. JJ McCarthy, Michigan

Daniels: LSU’s quarterback now is tops nationally in QB rating after carving up Army’s secondary for 279 yards and three scores — all in the first half as he watched the rest of the game from the sidelines. Daniels is also averaging a nation’s-best 11.5 yards per attempt and 25 passing touchdowns. The fact he’s also chipped in 521 yards rushing and five scores only adds to his value. He’s been the best player in the country on a week-to-week basis thus far.

Harrison: Ohio State’s wideout was a cheat-code in the win over Penn State, proving to be the difference between two teams with gnarly defenses, bad OLs and inconsistent quarterbacks. Harrison had a career-high 11 catches for 162 yards and the touchdown that ended any upset hopes. The All-American is on torrid three-week run, averaging eight catches for 143 yards and a touchdown.

McCarthy: It’s time to stop sleeping on J.J. McCarthy. The junior has developed into the prince who was promised for the best team in the country, ranking No. 2 nationally in completion percentage, yards per attempt and QB rating. He has 21 total touchdowns to just three picks, and is living up to all the lofty preseason praise Jim Harbaugh bestowed on him this offseason.

Andy Staples

1. Jayden Daniels, LSU
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Daniels: So far, Daniels has been the most consistent of all the top performers. (Unfortunately for LSU, he can’t play defense.) Now he has a week off before a game at Alabama that likely will determine the SEC West and possibly his Heisman chances.

Harrison: The Heisman is supposed to go to the most outstanding player — not necessarily the player with the gaudiest stats. Harrison made his case against Penn State as the nation’s most outstanding player. In a game between two teams with excellent defenses and offenses that weren’t necessarily firing on all cylinders, Harrison was THE difference. If he had played for Penn State, the Nittany Lions would have won. Instead, he carried the Buckeyes to a win.

Penix: Bad games will happen, but at least Penix shook out of his slump late against Arizona State. He’ll have to find the kind of consistency he showed in the early season to prove Saturday was the anomaly and not something to worry about down the stretch.

Charles Power

1. Jayden Daniels, LSU
2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
3. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

Jayden Daniels continues to play at a very high level and after this weekend, is having the best season of any quarterback nationally to date. No quarterback is carrying a bigger load with his arm and legs than Daniels. He leads the nation in passing efficiency and has rushed for 521 yards and five touchdowns. His numbers are tracking like that of a Heisman Trophy winner. LSU has a bye before a huge matchup at Alabama – one that could be a deciding factor in his candidacy.

A week removed from Washington’s huge win over Oregon, Michael Penix had the worst game of his season on Saturday as the Huskies offense failed to score a touchdown in a 15-7 win over Arizona State. Penix was not himself, averaging 6.5 yards per attempt and throwing two interceptions. Penix and Washington have several big tests in the coming weeks with games against USC, Utah and Oregon State.

Marvin Harrison Jr. showed why he’s considered to be one of the best wide receiver prospects in years on Saturday with a dominant outing against Penn State. Harrison looked like the clear best player on a field that featured several future pros. He was a high volume target for quarterback Kyle McCord, catching 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Harrison has made a strong case he’s the best non-quarterback in college football, with competition from Brock Bowers.

JD PicKell

1. Jayden Daniels, LSU
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

At No. 1 Jayden Daniels, he’s accounted for 30 touchdowns. He’s just what makes this whole system go. Was 11-for-15, three touchdowns, zero interceptions. He’s just consistently week in and week out you know what you’re going to get from him, and LSU depends on him to be that guy week in and week out. Huge, huge stage for ‘Bama after this bye week for them. They both get a bye week, does LSU and Alabama and then they play in Tuscaloosa and that’s going to be the stage for me to see if he can’t elevate himself to being the guy in this Heisman Trophy conversation.

At No. 2 I’ve got Marvin Harrison Jr. The way that he just took over that game yesterday, like Ohio State just said very, very clearly, ‘We’re getting the ball to Marvin Harrison, he’s our best player, he’s the best player on the field, try and stop him.’ I was super impressed. I think also you talk about the Heisman Trophy you talk about spots. That spot from Marvin Harrison Jr., I think he deserves a ton, a ton of credit. I know he’s a wide receiver, so that may be held against him. But very, very real case for the best in college football.

At No. 3 I have Michael Penix Jr. Could have very easily, I think, also put Jordan Travis here, very nearly did. I just have a hard time dropping Michael Penix Jr. from No. 1 to out of the top three. Statistically he’s still phenomenal this season. Didn’t have a great showing yesterday but still threw for almost 300 yards. The two picks was a bad look, but they found a way to win against Arizona State in Seattle. So regardless I don’t think you can just totally take away all that he did leading up to that game, but probably lost the Heisman mulligan if you will, if that’s even a thing. 275 is still not a bad day at the office and over the course of this season he’s still producing at a really elite level.

So there you have it, a pretty tight consensus after Week 8 of the college football season, centering around four players. More could certainly emerge in the mix going forward, but the Heisman Trophy race remains a pretty tight contest as we get past the midway point of the season.