What a week of the 2023 college football season. Sure, the noon games weren't exactly nail-biting, exciting affairs. But the games afterward made up for it. From the No. 7 Washington Huskies defeating the No. 8 Oregon Ducks in a potential game of the year to the No. 21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish upsetting and embarrassing the No. 10 USC Trojans to the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels beating the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes.
We mention those three games for a reason, as they all contained Heisman Trophy candidates. For the majority of the season, USC quarterback Caleb Williams held the No. 1 spot in our power rankings. After a loss to Notre Dame, does Williams still deserve a top spot? Or is there a new player leading the way?
Let's look at the Heisman Trophy power ranking with the Week 7 games in the books.
Heisman Trophy Power Rankings 2023, Week 7 edition
The Florida State Seminoles climbed back into the College Football Playoff picture last week due in part to the Texas Longhorns' loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. Quarterback Jordan Travis had the chance to keep them afloat against a Syracuse team that struggled against North Carolina last week.
Sure enough, Travis was able to do what he needed to do to put the game out of reach. Travis completed 23-of-37 throws for 284 yards and one touchdown, a 58-yarder to star wide receiver Keon Coleman. Travis also picked up two rushing touchdowns on the day to help Florida State win 41-3.
Travis will face a big test next week in the Duke Blue Devils.
The Michigan Wolverines schedule so far this season has not been anywhere close to being difficult. But the important thing is that they are winning them. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy has done everything that has been asked of him and had an easy day at the office, Michigan Stadium.
On Saturday, Michigan blew out the Indiana Hoosiers 52-7 to improve to 7-0 on the year. McCarthy was essentially told to clock out early, as he was removed from the game midway through the third quarter with the Wolverines up 35-7.
McCarthy had just three incompletions on 17 throws against Indiana's defense. The results? 222 yards and three touchdowns. McCarthy picked up 27 yards on 10 carries, with 22 yards coming on a single run.
Again, McCarthy hasn't had to do much so far this season. Let's see how he plays when the schedule gets tougher, notably against Penn State and Ohio State in two of his last three games of the season.
The Texas Longhorns had to sit an extra week with their crushing loss to the rival Oklahoma Sooners. Quarterback Quinn Ewers had three turnovers in the game, one of which wasn't really his fault. But Ewers still put up good numbers -- 346 passing yards and 31 completions on 37 attempts.
On the year, Ewers has thrown for 1,704 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions while completing 69.6 percent of his passes. Additionally, Ewers ran for 60 yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries.
Ewers will face the Houston Cougars next Saturday, Oct. 21. From here on out, Ewers will have to play well for the rest of the season to ensure they clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.
The Colorado Buffaloes were looking to pick up their fifth win of the season at the expense of the Stanford Cardinal. They led 29-0 at halftime and ESPN gave them a 99.8 percent chance to win early on in the third quarter. But then, the Buffaloes were outscored 36-7 in the second half, had to go to double overtime, and lost 46-40 to the Cardinal.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders had a relatively good game, but he did contribute to the loss. In double overtime, Sanders looked to evade defensive pressure, ran backward, and forced a throw into the end zone. However that pass landed right in the hands of Alaka'i Gilman. Four plays later, Joshua Kartey kicked the game-winning field goal.
Sanders completed 33-of-47 pass attempts for 400 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception, while running for 37 yards on 13 carries.
Even with the good numbers, there are more viable candidates to win the Heisman Trophy this season. So, Sanders does drop down our list as a result.
Last year, the Heisman power rankings were loaded with SEC quarterbacks. This year, it's not really the case. There is really one quarterback in the conference that truly stands out, and it's Jayden Daniels of LSU. He can do it all and put up video game-like numbers through the air and on the run. Even though LSU had two losses on the year, Daniels is still a viable Heisman candidate. Let's not forget that Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016 despite Louisville losing four games that year.
In Week 7, Daniels and LSU dropped 48 points on Auburn, who could only muster 18 points. Daniels threw for 325 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception while completing 20-of-27 pass attempts. Daniels was again a threat on the run picking up 93 yards on 11 carries.
Daniels will face off against Army next week. The game after is against Alabama, whom Daniels beat last year.
Last week, Dillon Gabriel entered the Heisman Trophy power rankings with an impressive showing against the Texas Longhorns. After all, he did lead the Oklahoma Sooners to a 34-30 victory on their final drive of the game, where he completed all four pass attempts for 58 yards and a touchdown.
This season, Gabriel recorded 1,878 yards, 16 touchdowns, and two interceptions on a 72.3 completion percentage, and 208 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 48 carries.
As long as Oklahoma keeps winning games and Gabriel keeps playing the way he has this year, he will undoubtedly climb up this list and may very well get a trip to New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Gabriel does have an advantage since Oklahoma's remaining schedule isn't entirely tough on paper.
Last week, the North Carolina Tar Heels offense and quarterback Drake Maye had a huge day at the expense of the Syracuse Orange. In Week 7, the Tar Heels faced off against the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes, who last week bungled a would-be victory into a disappointing loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Maye and North Carolina did suffer a scare in the first half, as they trailed 17-14 at halftime. But in the third quarter, Maye helped the Tar Heels take the lead and pull away, notably with three touchdowns in those 15 minutes of regulation. Two of those touchdowns were thrown to Tez Walker, who put up three touchdown receptions in his first game back. The Tar Heels picked up the 41-31 victory.
In the game, Maye completed 17-of-33 pass attempts for 273 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
North Carolina is now 6-0 on the year, and look to be a lock to make it to the ACC Championship Game, likely against Florida State.
The Oregon Ducks may have very well gotten the win over the No. 7 Washington Huskies had they taken the point. Head coach Dan Lanning got a bit too cute with his play calling on fourth downs, resulting in zero conversions on three attempts. Eventually, that resulted in Washington stealing the victory away from them.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix took the football downfield on the final drive of the game, putting the team in field goal range. With the chance to force overtime, Camden Lewis shanked the kick wide right to clinch the 36-33 loss.
Despite the loss, Nix still had a great game. Nix completed 33-of-44 pass attempts for 337 yards and two touchdowns. Not to mention his ability to extend plays with his legs, something he has shown prominently in his two seasons with the Ducks.
For the first time this season, Caleb Williams is no longer at the top of the Heisman Trophy power rankings. Last week, Williams had probably the worst game of the season but still carried the Trojans to a triple-overtime victory over the Arizona Wildcats.
This week, Williams led USC to their first loss of the season.
With the Washington Huskies defeating the Oregon Ducks, the Trojans needed to win to rise in the AP Top 25 rankings. The thing is, Williams was off at South Bend against the No. 21 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The tone was set with a brutal interception on the opening drive, and Notre Dame responded three plays later with a touchdown. Williams threw three interceptions in the game, all resulting in Notre Dame scoring touchdowns.
Yes, the defense has been dreadful for the Trojans over recent weeks, but Williams played a significant role in the loss. Wiliams was off, and Notre Dame's ferocious defense capitalized nearly every time.
Williams threw for 199 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions while completing 23-of-37 pass attempts.
There is now a new leader in the Heisman power rankings, and it's another Pac-12 quarterback.
Michael Penix Jr. had his Heisman moment this season, all coming at the expense of the Oregon Ducks. Because of that and Williams' performance against Notre Dame, Penix is now the leader in the power rankings.
Penix had thrown for three touchdowns, but the Huskies were on the verge of losing 33-29 to the Oregon Ducks had they converted on a fourth-and-three. But Bo Nix failed to connect with Tez Johnson for the first down.
The senior quarterback for Washington just needed two plays to give the team the lead. He connected with Ja'Lynn Polk on a 34-yard completion and hit Rome Odunze for the 18-yard touchdown to give Washington the lead and eventually the win. He did this all while cramping up late in the game.
Penix completed 22-of-37 pass attempts for 302 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
The Pac-12 quarterbacks of Penix, Williams, and Nix all have a tough stretch for the remainder of their schedules. But it's the Washington signal caller who is in the driver's seat to take home the Heisman.
