LSU's Jayden Daniels and the Heisman: 5 reasons No. 5 should win

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has two regular season games remaining before conference championships begin around the country.

The Tigers won’t be back in Atlanta for the SEC Championship, but will Daniels be in New York City the following week for the Heisman Trophy presentation?

An invitation is a no-brainer at this stage. Now, the question becomes whether or not the voters circle an LSU quarterback’s name for the second time in the past five seasons.

Joe Burrow won the Heisman in 2019 with ease, taking home the trophy with the largest voting gap in the history of the award. And he did it amidst a 15-0 National Championship season.

With LSU sitting at 7-3 on the season, the Tigers have home games against Georgia State and Texas A&M still on tap. And while Daniels has put up historic numbers, he’s only getting the third-best odds to win on most betting sites.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix (+120) is carrying the best odds on a 9-1 team, while quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has the second-best odds (+300) on a 10-0 Washington team. Daniels, whose LSU team sits at 7-3, remains third on the list (+380).

Will the votes look different than the odds? Here are five reasons why Daniels should win this year’s Heisman Trophy.

1… 4,082 total yards … Daniels has now surpassed the 4,000-yard mark on the season. He’s the only college football player to eclipse the mark after 10 games, and he’s accounted for 576 more yards than Washington quarterback Michael Penix, who still holds the second-best odds to win. Daniels is also the only player in America averaging more than 400 yards per game (408.2), which is 57.6 yards per game more than Penix (who is second on the list). For perspective, 408 yards per game is more than what 80 of the 133 FBS teams have averaged on the season. As for his total of 38 touchdowns accounted for, it’s more than 81 FBS teams have scored all season. When it comes to stacking up yards and points, there’s been nobody better than Daniels.

2… The best dual-threat QB (statistically) in CFB history … No player in college football history has passed for more than 12,000 yards and rushed for more than 3,000 yards in a career. Then, Daniels hit the mark in Saturday night’s win over Florida. It’s not a career achievement award, but it’s worth noting. Now, back to the season at hand. Daniels’ SEC-record 606 yards of total offense vs. Florida is 89 yards more than the second-best performance in college football this season. In fact, Daniels has two of the three best games by any player this season, accounting for 606 yards vs. the Gators (No. 1) and 513 yards vs. Ole Miss.

3… He’s averaging a first down per play … Daniels has 4,082 total yards this season, which is an average of 10.55 yards per play. There’s nobody in the country within a yard of that mark. Most will think it’s all because of his legs, but Daniels has proven it with his arm. With 3,164 yards passing in 10 games, Daniels averages 11.6 yards per attempt – the most by any quarterback in America. Then there’s his 918 yards rushing in 10 games. That’s an average of 8.05 yards per carry, the most by any quarterback and the most (by nearly a full yard) by any player with more than 100 carries on the season. There isn’t a player in college football who has become more of a headache for defensive coordinators than Daniels.

4… The 3,000 and 1,000 Club … Daniels has already hit the 3,000-yard passing mark (3,164), and he’s inching closer to the 1,000-yard rushing mark (918). How rare is the 3,000-1,000 club? Only six quarterbacks have ever pulled it off: Vince Young (2005), Johnny Manziel (2012), Deshaun Watson (2015), Lamar Jackson (2016, 2017), Kyler Murray (2018) and Jalen Hurts (2019). Half the names on the list won the Heisman Trophy, while Young lost to Reggie Bush, Watson to Derrick Henry, Jackson (in 2017) to Baker Mayfield and Hurts in 2019 to Joe Burrow. It’s a special group of quarterbacks who were dominate in college football, and Daniels will soon become the seventh name on the list.

5… The Heisman goes to the best player – no matter the record … Daniels leads the country in total offense (4,082 yards), passing touchdowns (30), total touchdowns (38), quarterback rating (202.12), passing yards per attempt (11.6), yards per play (10.55), rushing yards by a quarterback (918) and a number of other FBS categories. He’s second in the nation in passing yards per game (316.4). So, what’s the hold up? Why does Daniels still hold the third-best odds? Simple: LSU has lost three games. That said, none of the losses are on Daniels. The Tigers combined for 101 points in losses to FSU, Ole Miss and Alabama, and Daniels put up more than 500 yards in the road loss to the Rebels. LSU has the No. 109 total defense in FBS, but that shouldn’t dock Daniels and his chances at winning the Heisman. And for the record, there are some notable three-loss winners. Florida’s Tim Tebow, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson all took home the trophy during 9-3 seasons during the 2000s. From 1980-2000, South Carolina’s George Rogers, Southern Cal’s Marcus Allen, Auburn’s Bo Jackson, Notre Dame’s Tim Brown and Texas’ Ricky Williams all won the award on a three-loss team. There’s even been a pair of four-loss winners (Steve Owens most recently in 1969), and Paul Hornung won a Heisman on a Notre Dame team that finished 2-8 in 1956. There’s still two regular season games remaining for LSU. But if the Heisman goes to the best player in college football, Daniels – to this point – is the clear frontrunner.