Tag: 2022 Heisman Trophy

The case for each 2022 Heisman Trophy finalist

Here’s the best argument for all four players to win the award.

With championship weekend in the rear-view, it’s time for one of college football’s time-honored traditions: Being upset with at least one of the finalists chosen to appear in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Though ostensibly an award for the most valuable player in the country, in practice, that generally translates to “the quarterback (or, sometimes, running back) with the best numbers.” No defensive player has won the award since Charles Woodson in 1997, and in 2020, DeVonta Smith became the first receiver to win since Desmond Howard in 1991.

This year reflects the Trophy’s perceived bias more than most, as all four of the finalists — USC’s Caleb Williams, TCU’s Max Duggan, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud — are signal-callers.

This year was certainly not free from controversy, but all four of these finalists have an argument for being there — yes, even Bennett. With that in mind, I’m going to briefly put on my PR hat here and make the best possible case each has to win this year’s award.

C.J. Stroud of Ohio State vs Caleb Williams of USC: Heisman Trophy comparison

Get game-by-game 2022 stats for #OhioState’s C.J. Stroud and #USC’s Caleb Williams, the two men left standing in the #Heisman chase.

Hendon Hooker struggled, got hurt, and lost big to South Carolina.

Drake Maye improbably got shut out in the second half by Georgia Tech and blew a 17-0 lead (though his receivers didn’t help him out).

Dorian Thompson-Robinson drowned in a sea of turnovers.

Bo Nix was gritty, but Oregon won on the strength of defense in an ugly, turnover-filled game against Utah.

This past Saturday was a very bad day for every major Heisman Trophy contender except for three, and one of them — Max Duggan — still didn’t have a great game against Baylor.

There are two clear leaders in the Heisman Trophy chase: C.J. Stroud of Ohio State and Caleb Williams of USC.

Follow our friends at Buckeyes Wire for full coverage of Stroud and the Ohio State-Michigan game.

We will have plenty more on Stroud and Williams this week, leading into their big rivalry games. For now, though, here are the two candidates’ game-by-game stat lines in 2022, with Caleb’s games first and Stroud’s second:

Top 4 remain unbeaten, Oregon stumbles: College Football Power Rankings after Week 11

The top four teams in college football remained undefeated, while Oregon saw their playoff hopes dashed in their 37-34 loss to Washington. From @john9williams

Entering the home stretch of the college football season, there’s little margin for error for the nation’s top teams.

The Oregon Ducks saw their playoff hopes dashed at the hands of border rival Washington in a 37-34 loss that was arguably the best game of the weekend. Bo Nix and Michael Penix went blow for blow, but an untimely illegal touching penalty killed Oregon’s attempt to get into field goal range and send it to overtime.

Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan won in blowout fashion; their average margin of victory was 33 points. TCU played a close defensive battle on the road with the Texas Longhorns and looked on their way to a 14-point win before Texas picked up a botched mesh-point handoff between [autotag]Max Duggan[/autotag] and [autotag]Kendre Miller[/autotag]. The Longhorns returned it for a touchdown. Still, the Horned Frogs showed a defensive element that they hadn’t leading into their matchup with Texas.

Tennessee continues to make a strong case for inclusion in the College Football playoff with its 66-24 win over Missouri. However, with four undefeated teams in front of them, they’re going to need some help. That could come when the Buckeyes and Wolverines go to battle in two weeks, but a close game between the Big Ten rivals could spell doom for the Volunteers.

LSU clinched a berth in the SEC title game and looks headed for a showdown with top-ranked Georgia. Could the Tigers throw everything into disarray and make a case for playoff inclusion even with two losses?

USC had an impressive win over Colorado, but its strength of schedule took a hit with UCLA’s loss to Arizona.

We’re in for another fantastic finish to the season. Let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings.

Top 70 players’ odds for the 2022 Heisman Trophy per Tipico Sportsbook

Where does your school’s star stand in terms of Heisman Trophy odds per Tipico Sportsbook? Take a look at the top 70 players here.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young won the 2021 Heisman Trophy after passing for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns against just four interceptions in the regular season and the SEC championship game win over Georgia combined.

It was Young’s close to the regular season and that aforementioned SEC championship game win over the Bulldogs that helped him cinch college football’s highest honor.

In a 42-35 win over Arkansas on Nov. 20, 2021, Young completed 31-of-40 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns. Then, he directed a late comeback and subsequent four-overtime victory at Auburn where he finished with 317 passing yards and a pair of passing touchdowns against the Tigers.

Again, it was the 6-foot, 194 pound signal-caller’s performance in the Crimson Tide’s 41-24 SEC championship game triumph over Georgia that clinched it. Young completed 26-of-44 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns and ran in another score to send Alabama to yet another College Football Playoff.

As a result, Alabama now has back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners. Young joined 2020 Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. The Crimson Tide’s all-time list of Heisman Trophy winners also expanded to four following Young’s win.

All of those Crimson Tide Heisman Trophy winners have come under Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. The others were Alabama running backs Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derrick Henry in 2015.

Only one player, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, has ever won the award in back-to-back seasons. That will be the task for Alabama’s Young. As the odds from Tipico Sportsbook indicate, he’s one of the big favorites to do just that.

What does the full top 70 players’ odds to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy look like? Let’s examine the landscape as college football enters the summer below.

Dillon Gabriel opens with fifth-best odds for the 2022 Heisman Trophy per Tipico Sportsbook

According to Tipico Sportsbook, Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel has the fifth-highest odds to win the Heisman trophy in 2022.

Heisman contention is a familiar place for the Oklahoma Sooners. [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag], [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Hurts[/autotag] set an incredibly high standard for the quarterback position at Oklahoma in recent years.

Mayfield and Murray both won the Heisman and Hurts was a finalist. Heading into 2022, Spencer Rattler was expected to contend for the prestigious award and even after Caleb Williams took over, there were times it looked like he might interject himself into the Heisman discussion.

Though the Sooners experienced turnover at the most important position in football, they aren’t far off at the position from where they were in 2021.

The optimism that surrounds the Oklahoma Sooners heading into the 2022 season has a lot to do with the guys Brent Venables brought in to replace the key figures of the offense from 2021.

In order to keep the offense humming, Venables brought in Jeff Lebby as the offensive coordinator and Dillon Gabriel committed to Oklahoma just hours after Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal in January.

Gabriel, who was a highly-productive player at UCF may not be the favorite for the Heisman like previous quarterbacks for the Sooners, but coming in with the fifth-best odds certainly says something about the way Tipico Sportsbook feels about the Oklahoma offense.

The new starting quarterback for the Sooners comes in with the fifth-best odds to win the [autotag]Heisman Trophy[/autotag] at +3000 according to Tipico Sportsbook. That puts him tied with Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei, TreVeyon Henderson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Ohio State, Tyler Van Dyke of Miami, and Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss.

Gabriel comes in behind C.J. Stroud of Ohio State at +240, Alabama’s Bryce Young at +350, [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] at +750, and Texas‘ Bijan Robinson at +2000 and just ahead of [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag], who lands at +4000.

[autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], who’s expected to lead the Sooners in receiving in 2022 currently sits at +20000.

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

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