The college football season has just concluded Week 9, and that means we are going to get a look at the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season this Tuesday. There were plenty of fallout this weekend, such as the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners losing their first game of the season to the Kansas Jayhawks, the North Carolina Tar Heels losing their second consecutive game at the expense of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and No. 8 Oregon Ducks blowing out the No. 13 Utah Utes.
As is the case, the games have an impact on our Heisman Trophy power rankings for this season. There is one new player on this list, and that's due to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers falling out of the Top 10 after suffering a grade 2 AC joint sprain last week and is essentially out indefinitely, despite the week-to-week designation given by head coach Steve Sarkisian.
So, who is the new player on this list? Is there a new favorite to win the Heisman? Take a look at our latest power rankings to find out.
Heisman Trophy Power Rankings 2023, Week 9 edition
The Colorado Buffaloes returned from the bye week, which was needed after they blew a 29-0 lead to the Stanford Cardinal and subsequently lost 46-43 in double overtime. But, their schedule is tough upon their return, starting this Saturday against the No. 23 UCLA Bruins.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders couldn't do much against the Bruins defense. By that, we mean, he didn't put up the numbers like college football fans have been used to seeing this weekend. That can be credited with the fact he was sacked seven times in the game.
The game would get out of reach for the Buffaloes in the fourth quarter after a seven-yard touchdown run by Collin Schlee to extend their lead to 28-9. Colorado would get a late touchdown on an 18-yard pass to Jimmy Horn Jr., but it wasn't enough, as they lost 28-16.
Sanders completed 27-of-43 pass attempts for 217 yards and a touchdown.
There is a new name to add to our Power Rankings, and that's Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. It's hard to deny how talented Harrison is during his entire time at Columbus. He's so highly regarded, that NFL scouts were salivating at the thought of drafting him at C.J. Stroud's Pro Day earlier this year. He has lived up to that hype throughout this season, and could very well be a Top Three pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes took on the Wisconsin Badgers, and Harrison had himself a game. Harrison caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a 16-yard reception in the second quarter to extend Ohio State's lead to 10-0. His second-scoring reception was a 19-yarder to pull the team ahead 17-10 in the third quarter.
This season, Harrison recorded 48 receptions for 889 yards and eight touchdowns.
As long as Harrison is healthy and playing at a high level, Ohio State has a chance. That has been evident through their first eight games, as they are a perfect 8-0.
After last week, the Florida State Seminoles are in the driver's seat to earn a berth in the ACC Championship Game, as they are the lone undefeated team in the conference. That's due in part to North Carolina losing to Virginia, and Florida State beating Duke. Quarterback Jordan Travis helped lead the Seminoles over the Blue Devils. In Week 9, Travis took on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Well, the game was over by halftime, as Florida State led Wake Forest by the score of 34-7. Travis opened things up with a 13-yard touchdown run on Florida State's first drive of the game. In the second quarter, Travis threw three touchdown passes, two of which were to star wide receiver Keon Coleman.
In the 41-16 win, Travis completed 22-of-35 pass attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns, while running for 29 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Another week, another undefeated team handed their first loss of the season. This week, it's the Oklahoma Sooners. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel had, perhaps, the easiest path to the Heisman Trophy, considering he was playing in the Big 12 and not the Pac-12. All he had to do was continue playing strong and win out the rest of the season.
But then they ran into the Kansas Jayhawks, a team that had not beaten Oklahoma since 1997. Welp, that streak came to an end on Saturday.
Gabriel got off to a rough start, as he threw a pick-six on the opening drive and had a turnover on downs in the following drive, which ultimately put the team down 14-0 early on. But he would play hero late in the game, putting Oklahoma up 33-32 with over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run. However, Kansas would pick up the win on a nine-yard touchdown run by Devin Neal
It was a day to forget for Gabriel in terms of passing the football, as he completed 14-of-19 attempts for just 171 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. But, Gabriel did make up for it in the running game, picking up 64 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.
Next week, Gabriel will look to get back in the win column with a win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The North Carolina Tar Heels' chances of making the College Football Playoff are officially over. Last week, they lost to the Virginia Cavaliers. This week, they had to play a trap game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who beat the Miami Hurricanes this season.
North Carolina is now 6-2 on the year after a 46-42 loss to Georgia Tech. Let's preface by saying that this loss isn't on quarterback Drake Maye, who did everything in his power to help the Tar Heels win. But a missed field goal and an unfortunate fumble causing an injury to wide receiver Tez Walker in the fourth quarter clinched the loss.
Maye completed 17 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns on 25 attempts while running for 58 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
The Michigan Wolverines were on a bye this weekend, so there is no updated on quarterback J.J. McCarthy in regard to a latest performance. What is known is that he is skyrocketing up odds boards in the Heisman voting. While that's all well and good, he hasn't exactly been putting up ridiculous numbers like Caleb Williams or Michael Penix Jr.
This season, McCarthy threw for 1,799 yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 78.1 percent of his passes.
As has been the case in years past, the top player on the top program will be a Heisman finalist. Look last year when Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was named a finalist. He didn't put up video game statistics. So, if Michigan is to remain undefeated and win the Big Ten Championship, McCarthy will receive an invite to New York.
The LSU Tigers are on their bye, but will return next week when they face the Alabama Crimson Tide in their huge annual game. It should present itself as a game for LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to show why he's a legitimate Heisman trophy candidate.
Yes, the Tigers are 6-2 on the season, but Daniels is playing at a ridiculously high level this season. Daniels threw for 2,573 yards, 25 touchdowns, and three interceptions on a 73.1 completion percentage and picked 521 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 91 carries.
Daniels should be in consideration for the Heisman. If he has a big game against Alabama, he could help his stock.
The Oregon Ducks are pushing towards an eventual rematch against the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Ducks, had they gone for the points instead of the three fourth-down plays, likely would have won. But the past is the past, and Oregon has shown that they are still a legitimate College Football Playoff contender this season.
On Saturday, the Ducks faced off against the No. 13 Utah Utes, who beat the USC Trojans last week. As it turns out, there is a significant gap between Oregon and Utah, as quarterback Bo Nix and the Ducks cruised to an easy 35-6 win.
Nix started the game with a touchdown on the opening drive, a one-yard run at the goal line. Before halftime, Nix increased Oregon's lead over Utah to 21-3 on an 18-yard pass to Jordan James in the first quarter and a three-yard pass to Troy Franklin in the second.
Overall, Nix completed 24-of-31 pass attempts for 248 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, while picking up the aforementioned rushing touchdown.
Next week, Nix takes on a California team that gave USC fits in Week 9.
Watching a USC Trojans if you are a fan of the program must be stressful. At one point on Saturday, it looked as though the Trojans would lose to the California Golden Bears. All it took was for California to fail on a two-point conversion late in the game to hand USC their seventh win of the season.
Quarterback Caleb Williams did have a pretty good statistical day, but did have some miscues. Look no further than his fumble late in the fourth quarter. But, at the end of the day, the Trojans got the win, despite the play of the defense, led by coordinator Alex Grinch.
Williams completed 23-of-40 pass attempts for 369 yards and two touchdowns, while running for two touchdowns, despite putting up -12 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Next up on the schedule for Williams? Washington and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Let's just say that the Huskies haven't been playing the best ever since their win over Oregon two weeks ago.
Ever since Michael Penix Jr. had his Heisman moment against Oregon, he and the Washington Huskies haven't been the same. Last week, they nearly lost to the Arizona State Sun Devils, and Penix had his first multi-interception game of the season. This week, the Huskies took on a Stanford Cardinal team that overcame a 29-0 deficit and beat the Colorado Buffaloes 46-43 in double overtime a couple of weeks ago.
Penix had some struggles, such as a brutal interception on an end zone throw with the team up 35-33. Yet, the Huskies would take the 42-33 lead late on a 13-yard run by Dillon Johnson.
The quarterback completed 21-of-38 pass attempts for 369 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
Penix should have a good game against USC's defense next week.
