Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr. are the two clear Heisman frontrunners
Williams and Penix have combined for 34 TDs so far in 2023
The two early leaders for the 2023 Heisman Trophy combined for nine touchdowns on Saturday night after most of the country had gone to sleep.
Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman winner, accounted for five touchdowns in USC’s 42-28 road win at Arizona State, while Washington QB Michael Penix threw for four touchdowns in the Huskies’ 59-32 thrashing of Cal at home.
As Williams looks to become the first player since Archie Griffin to win back-to-back Heismans, Penix has become his most worthy challenger through the first four weeks of the season. After throwing for 31 TDs and 4,641 yards in 2022, Penix has thrown for 1,636 yards and 16 TDs through the first four games of the season.
Penix’s excellence may still be under-appreciated by casual college football fans, especially in 2023. While he threw five touchdowns against Boise State on ABC in Week 1, Washington’s last three games haven’t been in prime viewing scenarios. The Huskies’ Week 2 game was on the Pac-12 Network, their Week 3 win over Michigan State was on NBC’s Peacock streaming service and Saturday night’s game kicked off at 10:30 p.m. ET.
With a game against Arizona also on the Pac-12 Network this weekend followed by a bye week, most people are going to have to wait until Washington’s massive matchup against Oregon on Oct. 14 to get a glimpse of the Huskies’ great passing offense.
Williams, meanwhile, is at risk of having his greatness being taken for granted. He’s continued to produce highlight after highlight in 2023. He was 20-of-31 passing for 322 yards and three scores against the Sun Devils and also added two rushing touchdowns.
Overall, Williams has thrown for 15 TDs through five games and has also rushed for three TDs. He’s completing nearly 75% of his passes and hasn’t thrown an interception in 101 attempts.
Williams and Penix are currently the co-favorites for the Heisman Trophy at BetMGM at +350, ahead of Texas QB Quinn Ewers (+600) and Oregon QB Bo Nix (+1200). If you like Williams to win the Heisman again, you may want to jump on his odds now. With a road trip to Colorado upcoming in Week 5 in what could end up as the most-watched game of the season, Williams has a massive chance to show voters why he should be the first back-to-back Heisman winner in nearly 60 years before the month is over.
Penix, meanwhile, has a chance to make a serious statement in November. The Huskies end the season with four consecutive games against ranked opponents. It’s a stretch that begins with a trip to play Williams and the Trojans on Nov. 4 in a game that may go a long way to deciding both the Heisman race and the Pac-12 title.
What’s wrong in Stillwater?
Oklahoma State jumped to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 after taking down Texas, 41-34, on October 22, 2022. Since then, the Cowboys have lost seven of their last 10 games and have been outscored 270-173 in that span. Something is amiss in Stillwater.
The latest loss came in a 34-27 defeat on Saturday to Iowa State as Oklahoma State dropped to 2-2 in 2023. Iowa State entered the game with a combined 20 points in its last two games and had scored 30 points once in its last 11 games against FBS opponents.
Rocco Becht had his best game in an ISU uniform against Oklahoma State with 348 passing yards and three touchdowns. Becht was named the starter out of fall camp after last year’s starter Hunter Dekkers was accused of betting on Iowa State games as a member of the Cyclones in 2021.
Becht’s passing performance was something Oklahoma State would love to have from its quarterbacks in 2023. After Spencer Sanders transferred to Ole Miss in the offseason, Oklahoma State entered 2023 with former Texas Tech and Michigan QB Alan Bowman, coach Mike Gundy’s son Gunnar Gundy and Garret Rangel as its top three options at quarterback. All three have seen playing time in 2023 and have combined to throw for 887 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions over four games.
Oklahoma State has averaged at least 30 points a game for each of the last eight seasons but has just 22 points per game over the first four games of 2023 and its offensive woes date back to a 48-0 shellacking at the hands of Kansas State after that win over Texas.
The Cowboys failed to score more than 20 points in each of their final five games of the season after that loss as they barely squeaked past the 30-points-per-game threshold by the end of 2022.
With an off week upcoming in Week 5 before home games against defending Big 12 champions Kansas State and No. 24 Kansas, the Cowboys need to pick things up in a hurry. Otherwise, they're in real danger of posting their first losing season since Gundy’s first year in 2005.
Iowa's latest offensive embarrassment
Iowa’s offensive futility hit a new low on Saturday night in State College.
In a 31-0 loss to Penn State, Iowa could muster only 76 yards of offense. Along the way, the Hawkeyes picked up only four first downs and turned the ball over four times. Iowa battled on defense and trailed only 10-0 at halftime, but the offense’s complete inability to sustain drives — not to mention the short fields provided to Penn State via turnovers — made it impossible for a comeback to be mounted.
On a rainy night at Beaver Stadium, Penn State was content to beat Iowa at its own game. While the defense pummeled the Iowa offense, PSU ran the ball 57 times. There weren’t many big runs, but the Hawkeyes looked worn down by the midway point of the third quarter and PSU QB Drew Allar was able to pick apart the Iowa defense once PSU reached the red zone. Allar threw four touchdown passes, and they all came from inside the 10-yard line.
Iowa, meanwhile, had the ball for just 14:33 and ended up running a total of 33 plays in the game. That’s it. The combination of Cade McNamara and backup Deacon Hill completed 6 of 16 passes for just 56 yards, while the Hawkeyes collectively had just 20 rushing yards on 17 attempts. And 18 of those rushing yards came on a McNamara scramble in the first quarter.
After that McNamara run, which came on Iowa’s second drive, the Hawkeyes gained a total of 34 yards. And 27 of those yards came late in the fourth quarter vs. Penn State’s backups. It was that bad as Iowa was shut out for the first time since 2000.
Iowa’s offensive ineptitude has become a running joke in the sport. And that was only amplified by the contract stipulations given to offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, the son of longtime Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, after last season. Iowa has to average 25 points per game and win at least seven games. Under the terms of the amended contract, Brian Ferentz’s employment would end June 30, 2024, if the Iowa offense does not meet those goals.
Through four games, Iowa ranks No. 131 in the country in total offense. Only Eastern Michigan and Sam Houston State are averaging fewer yards per game than Iowa. At 21.3 points per game, Ferentz is already behind his needed 25 points per game pace. And that’s after playing just one Big Ten game.
Even after upgrading its talent this offseason via the transfer portal, Iowa could muster only 24 points against Utah State and then 20 against rival Iowa State. Iowa beat Western Michigan, 41-10, but 10 points scored in the final minutes made the game look more lopsided than it actually was.
Iowa’s offense looks as inept as ever, but the Big Ten West is still completely up for grabs. However, it’s the final season with divisions for the Big Ten and Iowa’s schedule could get significantly more difficult once the conference expands next season. A harsh dose of reality could be coming in Iowa City if things don’t change.
