Week 8 of the 2023 college football season brought about some massive results when looking at the bigger picture, and that includes changes in the Heisman Trophy race. Here’s a look at which players are trending up and down after the latest week of games in college football.
Stock Up
JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
Michigan dropped the hammer on rival Michigan State in a 49-0 shutout on Saturday and McCarthy played a big hand in the big victory. He went 21-27 for 287 yards with a smooth four touchdowns in the victory. The junior has been near untouchable through eight games as he’s completed 78.1% of his passes with 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions on the year.
Following that effort, McCarthy now sits atop the Heisman Trophy odds board with +180 odds to win the award. Michigan will enjoy a bye this upcoming week.
Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
Daniels continued to add onto his stat total as LSU hammered Army in a 62-0 shutout on Saturday. He went 11-15 for 279 yards through the air and tallied for touchdowns total in the first half before being pulled in the second half of the blowout victory. The fifth-year senior has been an elite dual-threat this year with over 2,500 passing yards and over 500 rushing yards through eight games.
Daniels made a massive jump on the Heisman odds board, currently sitting at third with +600 odds. He and his LSU teammates will get some rest with a bye this week before their big clash with Alabama the following Saturday.
Stock Down
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
If you went to bed, you missed Penix and Washington narrowly avoiding a disastrous upset loss when pulling past Arizona State in a 15-7 victory. This was the definition of a letdown spot following last week’s high stakes win over Oregon as the team trailed 7-3 in the fourth quarter and needed a pick-six and a pair of field goals to win. Penix himself had a forgettable day through the air, going 27-42 for 275 yards and two interceptions of his own.
That performance slightly dinged the Huskies QB in the Heisman race as he’s down to +300 and sits just behind McCarthy in second. Penix and UW will head down to the Bay Area this Saturday to meet Stanford.
Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Williams and USC suffered their second straight loss on Saturday, getting clipped by Utah in a 34-32 loss at the gun. Following his three interception performance against Notre Dame the week prior, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner had a decent night, going 24-34 for 256 yards through the air and punching in a rushing touchdown on the ground. Unfortunately he doesn’t play defense, as the Trojans allowed Utah backup QB Bryson Barnes to march his team down the field in the final two minutes and set up kicker Cole Becker for a game-winning field goal as time expired.
It’s looking less and less likely that we’ll get a back-to-back Heisman winner as Williams has plummeted down the odds board to +6000. He and the Trojans will try to get back on track when visiting Cal on Saturday.
We’ll update this with the latest odds to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy from DraftKings Sportsbook.