After another historic Saturday Night in Death Valley, Jayden Daniels rewarded himself with a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings with family and friends. There was even a Tiger Stadium security guard sitting at a distance, although it’s unclear if he was there for Daniels or on his own.
The quarterback for the LSU Tigers had 500 or more total yards of offense for the second straight game, throwing for 413 and rushing for 99 against Georgia State while having eight total touchdowns in a 56-14 victory.
On the season, he now has 4,591 total yards and 46 total touchdowns, both of which lead the country. According to multiple sportsbooks, he is now the betting favorite to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy, an award given annually to the most outstanding player in college football.
However, regardless of the numbers or statistics, there are still fans and media personalities who believe that Daniels shouldn’t win the Heisman.
My question to that is simply: how?
“We’re just so efficient on offense,” Brian Kelly said in the postgame press conference. “Jayden Daniels was great again, eight touchdowns, accounted for six touchdowns and two more rushing. What else was amazing was 25 for 30. The efficiency of that gentleman when you see 25 to 30 with short passes, screens, flares, things of that nature. Just a dominating performance from the offensive side.”
“I think you guys are starting to see how assertive and decisive I think that that’s the word that I will use more than anything else decisiveness and throwing the football. When you’re 25 for 30 throwing the football, the decisiveness, and the decision-making have to be that way. And that’s what you’re seeing.”
Daniels has been on a special run over the last several games, playing well in games the Tigers have lost and putting up magnificent numbers in victories.
After the Florida game, Daniels really started to place himself in the Heisman conversation along with Oregon’s Bo Nix, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., and Ohio State’s WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
After Week 11, Daniels currently leads the nation in the following categories:
- Total yards (4,591)
- Michael Penix Jr (3,690)
- Bo Nix (3,667)
- Total touchdowns (46)
- Passer rating (208.34, on pace to be highest in CFB history)
- Plays of 20+ yards (82)
- USC also has 82, meaning that Daniels has more plays of 20+ yards than any team in the country
- 70 of the 82 have come against P5 teams
- 1,694 total yards and 13 TDs against four Top-12 teams on the road in 2023
- Has led LSU to a touchdown on each of its last 13 possessions
Add all of those numbers with the record-breaking performance against Florida last weekend, where he became the first player in FBS history to throw for 350+ yards and rush for 200+ yards in the same game. He was also just the second SEC player to have 200+ yards in both passing and rushing, joining Johnny Manziel, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner.
Daniels’ head coach has had a ton of great things to say about his quarterback that he brought to Baton Rouge shortly after taking over the program.
“When I have the opportunity to talk about my players, I’m going to do it,” Kelly said following the 56-14 win over Georgia State. “I think in this case, I’m going to use my opportunities to talk about my player. I think he’s the best player in college football and at every opportunity that I get, I’m going to make sure that people understand his efficiency and the way he takes over the game. It’s special. I mean, if you’re on the other sideline, you just kind of think ‘How do you defend them?’ They tried to blitz him and that didn’t work. They dropped eight in the fourth quarter and that didn’t work. “We’ve seen virtually everything this year, from trap coverages to every kind of configuration, and it just hasn’t worked. So I’m going to talk about him and our team as much as I can.”
Daniels has one more opportunity to showcase his skills to the Heisman voters when the Tigers host Texas A&M the Saturday after Thanksgiving. One benefit that Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr will have is that they will battle against each other once again in the Pac-12 Championship Game the first weekend in December.
One of the major arguments about why Daniels shouldn’t win is because the Tigers have three losses on the season. However, Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin III, and Tim Tebow all won the award during a three-loss season, so that should not hinder Daniels. Besides, the Heisman is an individual award, so team performance shouldn’t affect it.
Daniels has orchestrated the best offense in the country during the 2023 season while silencing a lot of his doubters from the offseason. There’s always a possibility that he doesn’t win, but Jayden Daniels deserves to be the third Heisman Trophy winner from LSU.
Matt Miguez is the host of the Miguez Mindset Podcast on ESPN Southwest Louisiana’s YouTube channel and is a digital contributor to ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.