Heisman hot board after Week 3: Two different QBs at the top
Heisman voters Matt Zenitz and Mike Huguenin will provide weekly updates on who leads the Heisman race for them. Here is how each has the field after Week Three.
Matt Zenitz’s list
1. USC QB Caleb Williams: Led by Williams, USC — which reached 40 points just twice last season — has scored at least 41 in each of its first three games.
+ Season stats: 64-of-86 (74.4 percent), 874 yards, eight TDs, no interceptions; 73 yards rushing, two TDs
+ Week 3 stats: 284 passing yards, two passing TDs, two rushing TDs during a 45-17 win over Fresno State
2. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud: Stroud has thrown for 718 yards with nine touchdown passes and no interceptions the past two weeks in wins over Toledo and Arkansas State.
+ Season stats: 62-of-85 (72.9 percent), 941 yards, 11 TDs, no interceptions
+ Week 3 stats: 367 passing yards, five passing TDs during a 77-21 win over Toledo
3. Alabama QB Bryce Young: The challenges – and opportunities for Young to impress Heisman voters – are coming. Next week begins a five-game stretch for Young and Alabama that includes four games against ranked opponents, including four in the top 16.
+ Season stats: 58-of-85 (68.2 percent), 644 yards, nine TDs, two interceptions; 144 yards rushing, two TDs
+ Week 3 stats: 236 passing yards, four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing), one interception during a 63-7 win over ULM.
4. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.: Penix is one of just two Pac-12 quarterbacks since at least 2000 with at least 1,000 passing yards, at least 10 passing TDs and fewer than two interceptions in a team’s first three games.
+ Season stats: 70-of-106 (66.0 percent), 1,079 yards, 10 TDs, one interception
+ Week 3 stats: 397 passing yards, four passing TDs during a 39-28 win over then-No. 11 Michigan State
5. Texas RB Bijan Robinson: Robinson has accumulated at least 110 scrimmage yards in each of Texas’ first three games.
+ Season stats: 311 rushing yards (5.7 ypc), five TDs; seven receptions for 132 yards (18.9 per catch), one TD; 147.7 all-purpose yards per game
+ Week 3 stats: 183 rushing yards, 19 receiving yards, three TDs during a 41-20 win over UTSA
6. Minnesota RB Mohamed Ibrahim: Ibrahim is the only player in the nation with at least 130 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns in each of a team’s first three games.
+ Season stats: 464 rushing yards (6.9 ypc), seven TDs
+ Week 3 stats: 202 rushing yards, three TDs during a 49-7 win over Colorado
7. Georgia TE Brock Bowers: Bowers is up to six multi-touchdown outings in his first 18 career games at Georgia.
+ Season stats: 10 receptions for 216 yards (21.6 per catch), two TDs; one rushing TD
+ Week 3 stats: Five catches, 121 yards, three total TDs (two receiving, one rushing) during a 48-7 win over South Carolina
Mike Huguenin’s list
1. C.J. Stroud: He had as many incompletions as TD passes (five) in the rout of Toledo, going 22-of-27 for 367 yards.
2. Caleb Williams: Williams looks extremely comfortable at the controls of Lincoln Riley’s offense.
3. Bryce Young: He didn’t have to do too much in the Tide’s rout of ULM, nor should he be all that busy this Saturday against Vanderbilt.
4. Stetson Bennett: Bennett has gone from “you know, he’s a former walk-on” to “you know, he’s a legitimate Heisman guy.”
+ Season stats: 65-of-88 (73.9 percent), 952 yards, five TDs, no interceptions; three rushing TDs.
+ Week 3 stats: 284 passing yards, two TDs, one rushing TD in a 48-7 win over South Carolina.
5. Illinois RB Chase Brown: He’s not going to win the Heisman because his team isn’t all that good, but he’s currently the nation’s leading rusher and a huge reason for the Illini’s 2-1 start.
+ Season stats: 496 rushing yards (6.6 ypc), two TDs; one receiving TD
+ Week 3 stats: Illinois was idle.
6. Arkansas RB Raheim Sanders: His nickname is “Rocket” because of the way he scored TDs in youth football (though he did go to high school about 20 miles from Cape Canaveral). He has one been of the SEC’s best players through the first quarter of the season.
+ Season stats: 440 rushing yards (6.7 ypc), three TDs; 117 receiving yards, one TD.
+ Week 3 stats: 167 rushing yards, 75 receiving yards, two TDs (one rushing, one receiving) during a 38-27 win over Missouri State
7. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.: Penix is off to a sizzling start for the Huskies. He shredded Michigan State after opening the season with big games against Kent State and Portland State.