The battle for the Heisman was a two-horse race down the stretch.
Caleb Williams began the year as the favorite, before giving way to Michael Penix Jr., who remained the front-runner through October.
Then Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy had his brief moment, but over the last month, the debate narrowed in on [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and Bo Nix.
Daniels and Nix rank first and second in nearly every key passing stat. Daniels leads the country in ESPN’s QBR and PFF grade, with Nix sitting second. The same could be said for passer rating and total touchdowns.
Both rank top 10 in yards per attempt and completion percentage, while combining for just seven picks over 762 attempts.
But Nix and Oregon remained in playoff contention, while Daniels and LSU picked up their third loss the first week of November.
Oregon’s success as a team kept Nix atop the odds board for a while, while Daniels’ name faded after leaving the Alabama loss in concussion protocol.
Nix entered conference championship weekend as the favorite. He would get his chance to lead Oregon to a Pac-12 title and playoff appearance while Daniels sat at home.
That’s not how it went. The Oregon offense got off to a slow start and Nix had a few rough series. Throughout the night, Daniels’ stock took off, shooting up the odds board. And when the dust had settled, Daniels was the heavy favorite, now -1400 to take the award home.
But it never should have been this close. It never should have come down to Oregon winning or losing on championship weekend. This was always Daniels’ award.
If the Heisman is about the most outstanding player, there was never another case. It’s fine if a voter wants to use team success as a measure on their ballot, but if that’s the case, then let’s not pretend it’s an individual award.
Daniels was far and away the most outstanding player in the sport. His national lead in yards per attempt is over a yard more than the next guy. The difference between Daniels’ and Nix’s PFF grade at one and two is the same difference that separates Nix and Williams at two and 15. His QBR is the second-best ever tracked by ESPN.
By this point, you’ve heard all the numbers. You’ve seen him play. Daniels didn’t need a Heisman moment on the national stage to win this thing, because he was good enough week in and week out to produce at a level rarely seen in the history of this sport.
It’s looking like Daniels is going to win this thing, but it never should have come down to the result of the Pac-12 title. It never should have been this close.
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