We are at the midpoint of the college football regular season. The midseason Heisman race features a pair of quarterbacks who wear purple, a trio of Louisiana stars stepped up in a big way, and a look at three marquee games for this coming weekend.
3 HALFWAY HEISMAN CANDIDATES
With half the season in the books, there are a few clear strong candidates for the Heisman Memorial Trophy and they both wear purple and both began their careers elsewhere. Washington senior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and LSU senior quarterback Jayden Daniels are the two front runners.
Penix has been outstanding for the undefeated Huskies throwing 2,301 yards, completing 72 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. Penix is coming off a thrilling win over Oregon but there are still plenty of tough games left on the schedule, with USC, Utah, and the annual rivalry game against Washington State.
If Penix keeps up his pace, and the Huskies win the Pac-12 and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, he will hoist the Heisman. That would make him the first Huskie player to do so, as the program has never had a player finish higher than fourth in the voting. That was defensive tackle Steve Emtman in 1991.
Daniels meanwhile is putting together a remarkable season for the Bayou Bengals.
Through seven games, Daniels is putting up video game numbers. He has thrown for 2,294 yards, completing 73 percent of his passes, while also rushing for 515 yards and scoring 26 total touchdowns. Daniels is only the third FBS player since 2000 to have 2,000-plus passing yards and 500-plus rushing yards in seven games. The other two are Heisman winner Lamar Jackson and Heisman finalist Jalen Hurts.
In short, Daniels is on pace to have the second-best season ever at LSU only behind Joe Burrow — who won the Heisman and national title in 2019.
Daniels has carried an LSU team that has a defense that has hindered them greatly and was a huge factor in the team’s two losses. There will be some voters that won’t vote for Daniels due to the losses but the overall Heisman voters have not shied away from giving the Heisman to players on teams that are not playing for national titles, such as Robert Griffin III, Johnny Manziel, and Jackson all come to mind.
If Daniels keeps up his monstrous season, it will be hard to deny him as a finalist.
Both Penix and Daniels would also keep up the recent trend of Heisman winners who win the sport’s most prestigious award while playing for their second team. In 2017 it was Baker Mayfield (Texas Tech to Oklahoma), the following year it was Kyler Murray (Texas A&M to Oklahoma), then in 2019 it was Burrow (Ohio State to LSU), and last year it was Caleb Williams (Oklahoma to USC).
Speaking of Williams, the Trojans quarterback’s bid to become only the second player to win the Heisman twice (Ohio State running back Archie Griffin did so in 1974-75) took a huge blow in a 48-20 loss to Notre Dame. Williams threw for less than 200 yards, only one touchdown, and had three interceptions.
Williams will have plenty of chances to get back on track and he will likely end the season as a finalist, but he will need the other contenders to have some bad games. Also, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers would have been in the mix as not only the best player on a title contender but maybe the best player in college football. Bowers’ ankle injury which will sideline him now for the rest of the season, removes him from contention.
3 LOUISIANA STARS
KEON COLEMAN: The former Opelousas Catholic star had another monster game in Florida State’s 41-3 win over Syracuse. Coleman had a game-high nine receptions for 140 yards, including a sensational one-handed 27-yard grab and a 58-yard touchdown catch. He also had a 72-yard punt return.
KAM PEDESCLEAUX: The former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun four-year letterman came up in a big way in Tulane’s 31-21 victory at Memphis, which was the Green Wave’s first road against the Tigers since 1998. Pedescleaux recorded three tackles, one pass deflection, and one interception in the win.
KYREN LACY: The former Thibodaux High and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns star wide receiver had a breakout game in LSU’s 48-18 drubbing of Auburn on Saturday. Lacy had four receptions, including a 57-yard catch, and a game-high 111 yards, with a 25-yard touchdown reception.
3 GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY
No. 7 Penn State (6-0, 3-0) at No. 3 Ohio State (6-0, 3-0), 11 a.m., FOX
No. 17 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) at No. 11 Alabama (6-1, 4-0), 2:30 p.m., CBS
No. 16 Duke (5-1, 2-0) at No. 4 Florida State (6-0, 4-0), 6:30 p.m., ABC
Raymond Partsch III is the co-host of “RP3, D-Loh & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.