If you look at the latest betting odds for the winner of the 2023 Heisman Memorial Trophy, there is one name at the very top. Bo Nix saw a bump after his game against USC as the clear favorite. Not far behind him are fellow quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr and Jayden Daniels. Up until a string of tough losses over the last month, Caleb Williams of USC was among the favorites. He won the trophy last year.
Among the other contenders, we have Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. For argument’s sake, our focus will remain on the quarterbacks but we will circle back to Harrison soon enough.
The definition of the Heisman Trophy according to the Heisman Trust the trophy is “annually awarded to the outstanding college football play in the United States whose performance epitomized great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.”
With that being said, I wanted to look at how each player was performing against top-tier opponents. Here is the breakdown for each passer when facing AP top 25 teams.
Passing Stats
| Quarterback | Games | Comp % | Yards | YPA | TD-INT |
| Jayden Daniels | 4 | 66.9 | 1,238 | 10.5 | 10-2 |
| Michael Penix Jr | 3 | 62.38 | 890 | 8.2 | 8-2 |
| Bo Nix | 3 | 78.7 | 861 | 7.97 | 7-1 |
| Caleb Williams | 5 | 64.8 | 1,277 | 7.7 | 6-3 |
If you look at the numbers as a whole, no quarterback is performing better than that of Jayden Daniels. He is just on another level when the lights are brightest. This doesn’t include his rushing numbers.
Rushing Stats
| Quarterback | Games | Rushes | Yards | YPA | TDs |
| Daniels | 4 | 56 | 456 | 8.1 | 3 |
| Penix Jr | 3 | 9 | -23 | -2.6 | 2 |
| Nix | 3 | 16 | 31 | 1.9 | 2 |
| Williams | 5 | 53 | 71 | 1.3 | 6 |
The other big name among the contenders is Marvin Harrison Jr, who has been the best wide receiver in terms of his impact. Here is how he played this season against AP top 25 teams.
14 Receptions | 194 Yards | 13.9 YPA | 1 TD
He will have an opportunity for his Heisman moment against the Michigan Wolverines to close out the regular season. No one has had success against that defense this year but I think we can all agree that Harrison is on another level.