Week 6 of the college football season once again provided the entertainment factor that fans look forward to on a yearly basis. There were plenty of big games on the schedule, with upsets galore and shocking moments.
When it comes to the Heisman Trophy race, there were two top candidates on byes. That gave the rest of the field a chance to try and help build their case.
While the names on the list remain relatively intact, we must inform you that one player is no longer on the list -- Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman. Notre Dame lost their second game in three weeks, putting up a dud performance against the Louisville Cardinals in a 33-13 loss. Hartman hasn't put up extravagant performances in the big matchups against Louisville, Duke, and Ohio State. With that, he falls out of the power rankings.
With Hartman out, there is a new name that makes the list. But where does this player rank? Well, let's take a look at the Heisman Trophy power rankings after Week 6.
Heisman Trophy Power Rankings 2023, Week 6 edition
The last time the Florida State Seminoles played, they defeated the Clemson Tigers in overtime to maintain their undefeated season, thanks in part to quarterback Jordan Travis' overtime touchdown to Keon Coleman. They returned this weekend to take on the 2-3 Virginia Tech Hokies.
Florida State and Travis were able to walk away with an easy 39-17 victory. Travis did the majority of the damage against Virginia Tech in the first quarter, throwing seven- and 18-yard touchdown passes to wide receiver Johnny Wilson. Travis' second touchdown pass put the Seminoles up 22-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Travis ended his day completing 18-of-24 pass attempts for 170 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
There is a new name added to our Heisman Trophy Power Rankings, and it is well deserved. That is none other than Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who helped beat the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in a thrilling Red River Rivalry game.
Gabriel had his legacy-defining moment at Oklahoma against the program's most hated rival. With the team trailing 30-27 with a little over a minute remaining, Gabriel stepped up and led the team down the field and into the end zone in about 60 seconds. The quarterback was four-for-four on his pass attempts, gaining 58 yards and throwing a touchdown, and what a touchdown it was. Gabriel saw his pocket collapse and with pressure in his face, found Nic Anderson standing in the back of the end zone for the eventual win.
In the 34-30 victory, Gabriel completed 23-of-38 pass attempts for 285 yards and a touchdown, while running for 113 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Entering the game, Gabriel had thrown for 1,593 yards, 15 touchdowns, and two interceptions, while completing 75.2 percent of his passes.
Last week, the LSU Tigers suffered their second loss of the season, when they fell to the Ole Miss Rebels in an offensive duel. It was a shame, considering how well quarterback Jayden Daniels played in the game. Daniels is a threat when throwing and while on the run.
On Saturday, LSU had the opportunity to end a team's undefeated season in the Missouri Tigers. This was a tense, back-and-forth game between both schools. Late in the game, with under three minutes remaining, Daniels connected with Malik Nabers for a 29-yard touchdown to give LSU the late 42-39 lead. A pick-six returned for a touchdown by Major Burns helped clinch the victory.
When it comes to best plays, it had to be his game-tying, 35-yard touchdown run to give LSU the 35-32 lead.
Daniels completed for 15-of-21 pass attempts for 259 yards and three touchdowns while running for 130 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
The Michigan Wolverines started off the season with the second overall ranking in all of college football. They have done what they needed to do to start off the year, including quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The junior hasn't exactly been putting up video game numbers like Caleb Williams or Shedeur Sanders, but he has shown why he's not just a Heisman candidate, but also a top quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
McCarthy and the Wolverines faced off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and cruised to a 52-10 victory. The quarterback threw for 219 yards and one touchdown while completing 14-of-20 pass attempts.
The junior signal caller also picked up two rushing touchdowns and 17 yards on four carries.
Quinn Ewers had a big game ahead of him in Week 6, taking on Oklahoma. Fans waited to see if Ewers could have a similar performance like he did in Week 2 against Alabama.
While Ewers did keep Texas in the game, he did have three brutal turnovers. There was the bad throw on the opening drive that was in the vicinity of multiple Oklahoma defenders, the tipped pass that was picked off on the second drive, and the fumble on Texas' first drive in the second half.
Ewers finished the game by throwing for 346 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, while completing all but six of 37 pass attempts.
With one loss on their record, Texas is undoubtedly going to fall in the AP Top 25 next week. But, it's up to Ewers to keep the Longhorns afloat and make it to the Big 12 Championship Game.
Drake Maye and the North Carolina Tar Heels returned from the bye week, looking to improve to 5-0 on the year. They faced off against the Syracuse Orange, who were handed their first loss of the season the week prior against Clemson.
It was an easy day for Maye and the Tar Heels. In fact, the offense never had to punt the football away the entire game! Maye accounted for nearly 500 yards from scrimmage, 442 coming through the air and 55 yards on the ground. Maye completed 33 passes and threw three touchdowns on 47 attempts, including a beautiful pass to tight end Bryson Nesbit.
Next week, Maye and the Tar Heels face the Miami Hurricanes, who would have been undefeated had they not decided to run the football late in the fourth quarter instead of kneeling out the clock against Georgia Tech.
Last week, Shedeur Sanders nearly completed an incredible comeback against the USC Trojans. The thing is, they had no timeouts, ran out of time, and failed to pick up an onside kick to get a chance to tie it. Even so, Sanders showed that the Oregon disaster in Week 4 was an anomaly.
This week, Colorado looked to avoid falling to .500 against the Arizona State Sun Devils, the very team that gave USC issues last week. It was a close game and far from the prettiest, but Sanders was able to lead the team to a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, set up on a 43-yard pass to a wide open Javon Antonio. Four plays later, Alejandro Mata kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the team a 27-24 lead, enough for the victory.
Sanders threw for 239 yards and a touchdown while completing 26-of-42 throws, and ran for a touchdown of his own.
Next Friday, Sanders will look to be the latest Heisman candidate to have a big game against Stanford.
Bo Nix and the Oregon Ducks did not play this week, as they were on a bye week. Even though he wasn't active this week, it's hard to knock him out of the top three, given how well he's played and how much he has contributed to Oregon's success.
On the season, Nix recorded 1,459 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, and one interception while completing 80.4 percent of his throws. Nix also ran for 87 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Next week, Nix has a huge game against the Washington Huskies and fellow Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr. in what could very well be the game of the season.
Michael Penix Jr. was on the bye week and will return to take on Bo Nix and the Oregon Ducks in Week 7. So far this season, Washington looks like the most dangerous offense in all of college football, and Penix is a reason why. He can uncork deep passes with relative ease and his throws are on target. Simply put, the Huskies are a threat to opposing defenses, and they are fun to watch.
This season, Penix has thrown for 1,999 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions on a 74.7 completion percentage. His passing yard total is the most in the entire nation entering Saturday.
Penix is a legitimate threat to take the Heisman away from Caleb Williams this season. If he keeps it up after the bye, would it necessarily be shocking? Absolutely not.
Caleb Williams may have been a part of the most chaotic game of Week 6. It wasn't pretty at all for the team and the quarterback.
The team fumbled away the opportunity to end the game in regulation. Instead, Williams dropped the football on the snap while trying to make a play, while a high snap prevented USC from kicking the game-winning field goal. Three overtimes later, Williams and the Trojans picked up the 43-41 victory.
Williams completed 14-of-25 throws for 219 yards and one touchdown, while running for 41 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries.
The Trojans are lucky that Williams is probably the best playmaker in college football right now, or they would have lost this game. Williams did have fault in this game, such as holding onto the football for far too long looking to make something happen. But, considering Penix and Nix didn't play this week and that Williams carried the team to victory in triple overtime, he remains in the top spot on the Heisman Trophy power rankings.
