In our last article, we broke down our thoughts on several players whom we thought should’ve been in the Heisman conversation who weren’t and some players who should’ve received an invite to NY on Saturday but fell just outside the top four.

In this article, we will break down the four Heisman finalists and make a case as to why each finalist should win the Heisman, as well as what they have working against them. As we stated in the last article, we did not feel like through the season there was one player who stood out so much that we were like “He’s definitely getting the Heisman this season.” That is not to say that we don’t think these four players don’t have compelling cases, but let’s just say we wouldn’t bet money on the Heisman this year.

CJ Stroud: 235/355(66.2%), 3,340 yards, 37 TDs, 6 INTs; 35 carries, 74 yards

Let’s start with Stroud who will be heading to the Big Apple for his second consecutive year. The emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the 2021 Rose Bowl had Ohio State fans ecstatic for the 2022 season. Despite losing two of the best WRs in college in 2021, Ohio State felt good about their ability to reload their weapons for Stroud. Stroud had a pretty strong season finishing 15th in passing yards and tied for first in passing touchdowns. Despite being in a few close games, Stroud and the Buckeyes were able to finish strong with an 11-0 record in the regular season, which is impressive regardless of the score of the game.

Now here’s the argument against Stroud. First off, Stroud’s stats. They are good… they are not elite; they are not Heisman numbers. He has the third most passing yards of the finalists and just barely has Duggan beat. He also has fewer passing yards than two of the three snubs we covered in the last article. Stroud is also primarily a pocket passer, so he doesn’t have the rushing stats to help balance out his Heisman case. As I said in the last article several times, this award is made for a QB who can get it done through the air and on the ground and that’s not him. Secondly, but still stat-related, many fans believe that Coach Day was doing everything he could to pad Stroud’s stats to make him look better than he played this season. Against Iowa, the Buckeyes were up 26-10 at half… Stroud started the second half. Buckeyes up 47-10 in the 4th quarter… Stroud was still in. College football fans took to Twitter to make sure they made public how they felt about the Buckeyes trying to pad Stroud’s stats. After the Buckeyes’ 56-14 smackdown of Indiana a stat came out about Stroud’s stats. Over 600 of Stroud’s 2,453 yards and 10 of his 29 TDs(at the time) came in the 4th quarter while ahead by an average of 31 points. 

Stetson Bennett: 269/395(68.1%), 3,425 yards, 20 TDs, 6 INTs; 47 carries, 184 yards, 7 TDs

Let’s move on to what some believe is the most controversial Heisman Finalist this year, Stetson Bennett. Many believe that Bennett doesn’t deserve to be a part of the final four, and I completely disagree. Some didn’t even know if Bennett would be the starting QB heading into this season as it was announced that he would have to earn his starting spot despite bringing the first National Title back to Athens for the first time in 41 years. Bennett finished the year ranked 11th in passing yards and tied for 42nd in passing TDs. Known by many as “RBU” the Georgia Bulldogs have proven that they like to rely upon their ground game to win them games. Although that still holds true this is the first time in years that I can remember UGA really opening up the offense and letting their QB sling it around. I think that shows the faith that they have in their QB, and what they believe he is capable of. Bennett did not have elite-level stats, but he fits the mold of what I’ve been saying over and over… Bennett can get the job done on the ground and through the air, and when I say on the ground I know that Bennett does not have crazy rushing stats, but if you’ve watched a UGA game you’ll understand why I say Bennett can make plays with his legs. He has pretty good pocket presence and an ability to get himself out of bad situations. He creates time for scramble drill and is a threat to run it himself or find the open receiver. Bennett can’t win the Heisman on his stats alone, so here’s a couple more reasons to create a case for Bennett. Bennett was able to win the close games they had and even led comebacks in games they were down by multiple scores. Of the finalists, Bennett is the only one who was able to lead his team to an undefeated season and conference championship. Also, everyone always wants to talk about how they do in the “big games”. Well, some may be surprised but Bennett was the best amongst the finalists in games against AP Top 25 opponents.

5 Games (T-Most with Williams) 

5 Wins (Most… next closest: Williams-3)

Completion Percentage: 73.1% (Highest… next closest: Stroud- 70.4%)

1,472 Passing Yards (2nd… Williams in 1st with 1,626)

17 Total TDs (13 passing, 4 rushing) (Most… next closest: Williams- 16)

2 INTs (T-2nd… Duggan 1st with 1)

185.21 QBR (Highest… next closest Williams- 158.25)

If you want to talk about how the finalists play when the lights are the brightest, Stetson is the best. 

Now here’s the argument against Bennett. First off, as I mentioned earlier, he does not have the overall stats to win the Heisman. His yardage is okay I guess, but his total TD count is not great. His 27 total TDs are still less than the other three finalist passing TDs. Another argument against Bennett is that despite winning them, the Dawgs were in a lot of close games that no one thought they would be in. Kent State kept it close, Missouri nearly beat them, Mississippi kept it close at half, they barely snuck out of Kentucky, and in-state rival Georgia Tech had it close for a while. Whether it was on the defense or not, they are going to look at Bennett and wonder why the offense wasn’t able to score more. Another argument I’ve heard against Bennett is that he was carried by his offensive weapons. Yes, I agree that Bennett has great weapons but so does Williams, so does Stroud, and even Duggan at the very least has Johnston. It’s not like Bennett is going out recruiting with Kirby Smart and picking his guys… No, just like every other QB in college football he is expected to lead the team he is given. The final argument against Bennett that I will talk about is his name. I understand that some people won’t like this part of the argument, much like I don’t like the weapons argument, but that’s okay. If Bennett does not win the Heisman part of it will be because of who he is. Bennett was not this superstar 5-Star recruit coming out of HS. Bennett is a 25-year-old walk-on. Bennett is not a flashy player either. Agree with me or not, I personally believe that the Heisman will go to players with the “superstar name” and flashy style of play and that’s not who Bennett is, and I think that will hurt his chances. 

Caleb Williams: 296/448(66.1%), 4,075 yards, 37 TDs, 4 INTs; 109 carries, 372 yards, 10 TDs

Moving onto the favorite to win the Heisman, Caleb Williams. What can you say about Williams other than “he’s a baller”. Williams checks all the boxes of everything I’ve talked about in a Heisman candidate. Gets the job done on the ground as well as through the air? Yes. Has the superstar name? Yes. 5-Star recruit? Yes. Does he have the stats? Yes, he absolutely does. These are Heisman winning stats: Over 4,000 passing yards, almost 50 total TDs, not many turnovers, and a solid QB rushing season. Williams was also one of the best when the lights shined brightest. Amongst finalists, against AP Top 25 opponents:

5 Games(T-1st)

3 Wins(2nd)

Completion Percentage: 64.7%(3rd)

1,626 yards (1st… next closest: Bennett- 1,472)

16 Total TDs (12 passing, 4 rushing)(2nd to Bennett-17)

2 INTs (T-2nd behind Duggan-1)

158.25 QBR (2nd to Bennett- 185.21)

Statistically, he was the second-best against Top 25 opponents behind only Bennett. The final part of Williams’ Heisman case is that he can win the close games and even win shootouts, which he did multiple times this season. Just look at the UCLA game.

Now here is the argument against Williams. Despite being a very solid 3/5 against Top 25 opponents, Williams was unable to take down the Utes in two attempts this season, which also happened to be his two Top 25 losses. One of which was in the PAC-12 Championship. Williams did get hurt in that game, but they got blown out, it makes you wonder if he would’ve been able to keep it within reason. In the first game against Utah, the Utes scored with 48 seconds left in the game and went for a game-winning 2-pt conversion… I assume because they didn’t want to go to OT with Williams. If given more than 48 seconds I would assume Williams would’ve been able to lead the offense to either a game-winning TD or FG. I think the primary thing hurting Williams right now is two losses to the same team and no conference championship, but I do think it’s interesting that Williams’s name was not connected to the Heisman (or at least not a lot) until down the stretch. 

Max Duggan: 239/368(64.9%), 3,321 yards, 30 TDs, 4 INTs; 112 carries, 404 yards, 6 TDs

Last, but certainly not least is TCU’s standout QB Max Duggan. Duggan has a pretty interesting case here. Duggan finished 16th in passing yards and 12th in passing TDs. Duggan also finished with the most rushing yards of all the finalists. Duggan finished with just over 3,700 total yards and 36 total TDs, which would place him 2nd and 3rd amongst the finalists respectively. Duggan also led his team to an undefeated 12-0 regular season until the Big 12 Championship. In that first 12-0, Duggan flashed his ability to win close games and even make comebacks when needed. In the Big 12 Championship Game against Kansas State, whom they beat 38-28 in the first meeting, fell behind to K-State. Despite losing in the end, Duggan stepped up and helped lead the Horned Frogs back into the game. Duggan put the team on his back on the game-winning drive running for 95 yards and the game-tying TD. Anyone who watched that game would know that Duggan laid everything he had on the line for his team. It is also interesting to note that Duggan led TCU to the first one-loss season in the Big 12 since 2011 Oklahoma State and the first undefeated Big 12 regular season since the 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Now here is the argument against Duggan. First off, his passing stats are good, they are not great and not Heisman-caliber numbers. His total yardage is probably close to Heisman consideration, but I still think he’s short. He has 36 total TDs which is strong, but I still feel like it’s not going to be enough. Secondly, the one loss and lack of a Big 12 Championship. Yes, Duggan ran for 95 yards and a score to send the game into overtime, but when you are making a Heisman case you must close out a game like that especially when it was that close, and you had the momentum on your side. Look, whereas Bennett’s and Williams’ performances against AP Top 25 teams helped their case, Duggan did not help himself. This is where he placed amongst the finalists against AP Top 25 teams:

3 Games(T-3rd)

2 Wins(T-3rd)

Completion Percentage: 59.3%(4th)

655 passing yards(4th)

5 Passing TDs(T-3rd)

1 INT(1st)

135.73 QBR(4th)

1 rushing TD(3rd)

If you want to win the Heisman you need to show up when the lights are brightest and statistically Duggan was not as impressive as you’d hope.

Third, Duggan’s name much like Williams didn’t really get seriously connected to the Heisman until down the stretch. Lastly, despite being a 4-Star recruit out of high school, Duggan is not a household or superstar name. I feel like Duggan wasn’t really known and especially not at this level until this year. Was Duggan flashy? Maybe at times, but I don’t think he was a big enough name or flashy enough to make a significant difference.

The Gridiron Review’s Heisman Pick:

4th- CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State

In all honesty, we aren’t quite sure how Stroud got an invite to NY other than the weight that his name carries. We are not impressed with his resume or the way he has looked this season.

3rd- Max Duggan, QB, TCU

2nd- Stetson Bennett, QB, Georgia

Second and third place was a toss-up for us. We think that Duggan and Bennett both have strong cases, but it came down to the difference between two factors for us. Statistically, Duggan has the better case, but we think their performance against Top 25 Teams is going to carry more weight than just stats. Although if you told us Duggan came in second we wouldn’t be surprised. We think Duggan and Bennett in second and third are going to be the closest vote-wise than any other places. 

1st- Caleb Williams, QB, USC

We would love to see Duggan or Bennett win the Heisman, but it’s hard to argue that Williams is not going to win the Heisman. We think his case is just too strong to be passed by any of the other finalists. Williams blows all the finalists out of the water in total yardage and total TDs. The stats are also there when he plays against AP Top 25 opponents. I don’t think a 2-pt conversion and not scoring in 48 seconds, and playing hurt are going to sink Williams as much as some may think. I mean people are comparing him to one of the best QBs in all of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes, for his style of play and the things he does. It’s hard to outplay someone like that.