On3 Midseason Heisman Trophy Top-10 Poll

The college football season has officially hit the midway point, and while our On3 national experts have given you a glimpse at their Heisman Trophy ballots each week, it’s time to take an even deeper dive into the race for college football’s most coveted award.

Today we’ve polled each of our national experts to get their top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates. Using their results, we’ve awarded points for each vote and compiled a cumulative Top 10 ranking with the results. The maximum number of points a player could earn was 50.

The leader likely won’t shock you at this point, but some of the other inclusions might catch your eye. Let’s dig in.

1. QB Caleb Williams, USC (50 points)

The USC quarterback was a unanimous pick at No. 1, with all five experts taking him in the top slot to repeat as the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner. Williams has put up absurd numbers and it’s been crystal clear exactly how important he is to his team thanks to a once-again-shoddy defense.

Williams is coming off an escape act in a triple-overtime win over Arizona. On the season he has thrown for 1,822 yards with 22 touchdowns and one interception. He’s also run for six scores already, including three this week against Arizona.

T-2. TE Brock Bowers, Georgia (40)

Bowers got off to a bit of a slow start to the season, recording only 13 catches for 135 yards and no scores in the first three games. He’s since come on and re-established himself as the dominant threat in the Georgia passing game.

Each of the last three weeks Bowers has gone for at least seven catches, 120 yards and a touchdown. That has put his season totals as a tight end now, halfway through the season, at 37 catches for 545 yards and four touchdowns. A strong favorite to win the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end.

T-2. QB Jayden Daniels, LSU (40)

Though his team is almost certainly out of the College Football Playoff hunt barring complete chaos, Daniels is getting Heisman Trophy talk thanks to his gritty play. He almost single-handledly willed LSU to a win over previously unbeaten Missouri this weekend.

Daniels is posting absurd numbers, too. He’s got 1,969 passing yards with 19 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He’s also already run for 422 yards and four touchdowns, establishing himself as arguably the biggest dual-threat prospect at the Power Five level.

4. QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington (39)

Washington was on a bye this weekend, which simply underscores how absurdly productive Penix has been early in the campaign. He’s been virtually unstoppable with his arm, aided by a few of the nation’s most talented receivers.

To date, Penix has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game of the season. He’s sitting right at 1,999 passing yards, with 16 touchdowns against two interceptions. Better, his team is undefeated, which will put Penix on bigger and bigger stages as the year progresses.

5. QB Bo Nix, Oregon (27)

Speaking of Pac-12 quarterbacks with the stage to really impress going forward, Oregon and Bo Nix also chime in. Nix has gotten less press than his Pac-12 peers Williams and Penix but has put up arguably just as good numbers… and his team’s unbeaten too.

Nix hasn’t quite gotten rolling on the ground the way he did last year, when he ran for 14 touchdowns. but he’s thrown for 1,459 yards and leads the country in completion percentage. He’s thrown for 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions, while rushing for 87 yards and a score.

6. WR Luther Burden III, Missouri (21)

Four of the five On3 expert ballots had the talented Missouri receiver on the list, and he checks in as only the second non-quarterback to make the list so far. Burden has made offense look like a cheat code at Missouri this season.

He’s already logged 54 catches for 793 yards and five touchdowns, figures that have to make him one of the favorites to win the Biletnikoff Award if he can continue on the current trajectory. And if not for Daniels’ heroics on Saturday, he’d still be playing on an undefeated team.

7. QB Drake Maye, North Carolina (15)

After a bit of a slow start to the season, Maye might have gotten his Heisman Trophy campaign back on track with a big outing in a dominant win over a solid Syracuse team on Saturday. He threw for 442 yards and three touchdowns (with no interceptions) and also ran for 55 yards and a score. It was his first four-touchdown outing of the season.

But the numbers are also pretty good overall for Maye, though he can’t compete with some of the top signal-callers on touchdown-to-interception ratio just yet. He’s thrown for 1,629 yards in five games, with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s also run for four scores.

8. QB Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (14)

Like the Pac-12 quarterbacks, Gabriel is playing his way onto bigger stages. Saturday’s win over Texas was a huge one, and Gabriel was a big part of it. He threw for 285 yards and a score and also ran for 113 yards and another score.

On the season Gabriel has thrown for 1,878 yards and 16 touchdowns, against two interceptions. He’s also run for 208 yards and five scores. Importantly, he’s now piloting the favorite to win the Big 12.

9. WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State (12)

The Ohio State standout has had some quieter weeks here and there this year, but he remains a threat to take it the distance any time he touches it. And he keeps proving over and over he’s the kind of wideout that can make life easy on a quarterback.

In five games, Harrison has 25 catches for 499 yards and four touchdowns. He’s coming off his best game of the year, too, with eight catches for 163 yards and a score. It’ll be a long shot for Harrison to make the Heisman Trophy ceremony, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

10. QB Jordan Travis, Florida State (8)

The Florida State quarterback doesn’t have the kind of passing yardage as others on this list, but as far as resume when it comes to big moments, he might have the best. His performances in wins over LSU and Clemson were gritty.

With the Seminoles 5-0 and likely to face some easier competition here and there, Travis could begin to catch up numbers-wise. In any case, he has thrown for 1,198 yards and 12 touchdowns, with one interception. He’s also run for 119 yards and two scores and is capable of doing a lot more damage with his legs.

Honorable Mention

QB JJ McCarthy, Michigan (7)
LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma (3)
QB Quinn Ewers, Texas (1)
EDGE Dallas Turner, Alabama (1)
QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (1)

A couple of the quarterbacks on the honorable mention list would have been higher a few weeks ago, before their teams suffered a loss and exposed them a little bit. Still, Ewers and Sanders command at least some attention in the Heisman Trophy race at the midway point. McCarthy could also make a case, but he’ll probably need the right combination of clutch plays in big moments in games against Ohio State and Penn State to get to New York.