Who’s in the hunt for the 2022 Heisman Trophy? Are there any other candidates than Caleb Williams now?
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Heisman Watch: Top Candidates, Championship Week
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Rankings CFN 1-131 Rankings | AP | Coaches
Bowl Eligible Teams | Week 13 Scoreboard
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Bowl Projections, CFP Predictions | CFP Chase: 6 Teams Alive
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Last year at this time we still didn’t really know who the Heisman finalists were, much less the possible winner.
Alabama QB Bryce Young put together a drive for the ages to get by Auburn, but whatever – his candidacy was about to run into a hard wall with Georgia coming up next.
And then he threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-24 SEC Championship win. That made it easy, and it’s simple this year, too, unless Caleb Williams has a disastrous day against Utah in the Pac-12 Championship.
Full disclosure, I’m a Heisman voter and can’t reveal my vote, preferences, or potential ideas for my ballot under penalty of death, or something far, far worse – like being forced to watch some sort of country music holiday special. With that said …
Can anyone provide any sort of a challenge to Williams?
The USC star did what he had to against Notre Dame, taking the Carson Palmer 2002 Heisman playbook and stepping up when the world was watching. However, Palmer didn’t have to play in a Pac-12 Championship with a College Football Playoff spot on the line.
There might be an opportunity for someone other than Williams to take the cheese with one monster performance this weekend.
Here are the five top realistic candidates for the 2022 Heisman Trophy.
Player(s) of Week 13
RB Donovan Edwards & QB JJ McCarthy, Michigan
But … but … Blake Corum?
After a week of speculation about whether or not Corum could play against Ohio State, he only ran twice for six yards. Edwards stepped up behind a great day from the Michigan offensive line, running 22 times for 216 yards and two scores. McCarthy ran six times for 27 yard and a score, and he hit half his passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns without a pick in the shocking 45-23 win.
5 Other Players On The Heisman Watch List
Reality check – if you’re not playing this weekend in one of the conference championship games, you’re not winning the 2022 Heisman Trophy.
You might be a finalist, but it’s going to take something amazing just to be close to the pin if you’re not doing something Heismaney with everyone paying attention.
Next week will be the list of finalists, and again, a few of these guys could be on it. None of them will win the trophy, though.
In alphabetical order …
QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
QB Drake Maye, North Carolina
QB Bo Nix, Oregon
RB Bijan Robinson, Texas
QB Bryce Young, Alabama
5. RB Blake Corum, Michigan
Unstoppable throughout the regular season, he wasn’t needed much in the first three games – he still managed to crank up five touchdown runs against UConn. Once the lights came on, he was fantastic averaging close to six yards per carry with 18 scores before suffering a knee injury late in the year against Illinois. He ran for 108 yards against the Illini as part of a run of eight straight 100-yard days.
Why Blake Corum Will Win the Heisman: He was the signature star for what’s turning into the signature team of the college football regular season. Seriously, Georgia was fun and all, but does it have wins as good as Michigan has over Ohio State and Penn State?
Why Blake Corum Won’t Win the Heisman: Shhhhhhh. You’re not supposed to say this out loud, but … 1) Blake Corum isn’t the best running back in college football – Bijan Robinson probably is. 2) Blake Corum isn’t the best running back in the Big Ten. He’s not even in the top two – Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim and Chase Brown of Illinois had better seasons.
All that, and he – TOTALLY unfair, but it’s part of the Heisman deal – didn’t do much against Ohio State, and he’s hardly a lock to be a big factor in the Big Ten Championship with his knee injury still a concern.