With Oregon and Bo Nix struggling a bit offensively in a 34-31 loss to Washington in the Pac-12 championship on Friday night, there became a new, definitive favorite in the Heisman race, and he resides in Baton Rouge.
[autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] saw his Heisman odds skyrocket following that game, and they’ve held firm all weekend with him remaining the heavy favorite. In On3’s final Heisman poll — which Daniels already led last week prior to Oregon’s loss — there are no surprises.
Daniels leads the way with 24 points, followed by Michael Penix Jr. with 19 and Nix with 16. Here’s what On3 said about Daniels’ case.
Daniels was absolutely spectacular down the stretch, starting with a record-setting performance in a game against Florida. In his last three outings before the Heisman Trophy vote, Daniels recorded 17 total touchdowns and accounted for 1,020 yards passing and 450 yards rushing. Those are some insane numbers.
Perhaps the lone knock on Daniels is that he wasn’t on a playoff-contending team, as LSU had picked up two losses in the first month of the season. Still, he was often the only reason LSU was winning or in games, and that has to be taken into account.
While Daniels will have to wait until Saturday night to know for sure, all signs are pointing to him becoming the second LSU quarterback to win the Heisman in the last five seasons.
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