Heisman Watch 2022: Leading contenders, current odds and top moments
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ESPN staff
The more things change, the more they stay the same in this year’s Heisman race.
Quarterbacks Hendon Hooker (Tennessee), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State) and Bryce Young (Alabama) have all solidified their spots in the top 5 this season — while guiding their teams to a combined 21-1 record — but the final two spots have been a revolving door so far.
Early on it was Kansas‘ quarterback Jalon Daniels making the cut before an injury and a tough Big 12 slate slowed down his momentum. Next it was UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson‘s turn in the spotlight but a rough day in Eugene all but ended his Heisman campaign.
In Week 9, it’s officially USC‘s Caleb Williams and Michigan‘s Blake Corum time to shine in the Heisman top 5.
Now let’s get to this week’s Heisman standings, top Heisman moments of the week and what to watch for in this weekend’s action.
Voting methodology: 12 voters ranked their top five candidates, with five points for a first-place vote down to one point for a fifth-place vote.
Top five candidates
1. Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
Total points: 54 (first-place votes: 6)
Week 8 Notables: It might not have been quite the same as his five touchdowns performance against Alabama, but Hooker still looked like the Heisman favorite in a 65-24 win over UT-Martin. Hooker threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns against the Skyhawks to guide the Volunteers to a 7-0 start. A test against Kentucky awaits this weekend before a game at Georgia looms large Nov. 5.
Heisman odds: +200
2. C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
Total points: 51 (first-place votes: 6)
Week 8 Notables: Stroud once again dominated a Big Ten foe through the air Saturday, this time to the tune of 286 yards and four touchdowns against an overmatched Iowa team. It was the fifth time this season that Stroud has thrown four or more touchdowns and he currently leads the nation with 28 touchdown passes — with North Carolina‘s Drake Maye coming in second with 24.
Heisman odds: -105
3. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
Total points: 31 (first-place votes: 0)
Week 8 Notables: Young and the Crimson Tide bounced back after a tough loss against Hooker and Tennessee in a big way against Mississippi State. The 2021 Heisman trophy winner threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns while completing 21 of 35 passes in Alabama’s 30-6 win over the Bulldogs. He may not currently be the frontrunner, but if Young keeps guiding the Tide to wins, expect his name to be in the mix at the end of the season.
Heisman odds: +2500
4. Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Total points: 22 (first-place votes: 0)
Week 8 Notables: Williams and USC had a bye in Week 8 so it’s time to look back at what he’s done in his first season with the Trojans. He currently sits at 1,971 yards and 19 touchdown passes as USC is off to a 6-1. He’s also added three rushing touchdowns and he threw for a season-high five touchdowns his last time out in a loss at Utah.
Heisman odds: +1100
5. Blake Corum, RB, Michigan
Total points: 11 (first-place votes: 0)
Week 8 Notables: Much like Williams, Corum got to enjoy a bye in Week 8 so let’s look at his accolades this season. Corum has rushed for 901 yards and 13 touchdowns so far and Michigan is back in the College Football Playoff hunt once again. He’s tallied at least one touchdown on the ground in all of the Wolverines seven games this season, including a season-high five rushing TDs against UConn on Sept. 17.
Heisman odds: +1200
Others receiving votes (total points in parentheses): Bo Nix, QB, Oregon (4); Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (3); Chase Brown, Illinois (2); Max Duggan, TCU (2)
Make the case
Our writers split this week with half the first place votes going to Hooker and the other half to Stroud. Given the results, it’s a perfect time for the voters to explain why their candidate has earned Heisman frontrunner status and why one outside the top 5 actually has a chance this year.
The case for Hendon Hooker: There’s nothing like hard data to put together an unassailable argument, and the numbers tell a pretty clear-cut story in favor of Hooker as the best player in the country so far this season.
He’s completing just shy of 71% of his throws.
He’s accounted for more than 2,400 total yards.
He’s tossed 18 touchdown passes, run for three more and has just one interception all season.
Here’s the list of other players in the past 20 years who’ve done that in their first seven games of the season: ERROR 404, File Not Found.
Nope, what Hooker has done so far this year is unprecedented, and that, in and of itself, is Heisman worthy.
Of course, as inarguable as the numbers may be, statistics can be a bit dispassionate. Indeed, it’s understood that the Heisman requires more than numbers. It’s about heart. It’s about narrative. It’s about a Heisman moment.
Well, who has a bigger Heisman moment this year than Hooker? Five touchdowns, 385 yards and a win over Alabama would be enough regardless, but add in the context of a 15-year losing streak against the Tide and the dramatic finish, with Alabama missing a field goal only to see Hooker connect with Bru McCoy in the final seconds of the game to set up the Vols’ winner, the celebration, the goal posts in the river … that, my friends, is as big as Heisman moments get.
There will be other signature moments in the season’s final six weeks. That’s the beauty of college football, the way it twists and turns and upends destiny just when we least expect it. But it’s hard to imagine a scenario where we reach the Heisman ceremony in New York in December, and Hooker’s win over Alabama isn’t a critical chapter in the story of the 2022 season. Add that with the stats and it’s pretty clear: Hendon Hooker is the Heisman front-runner, and it’ going to take some real magic elsewhere to unseat him. — David M. Hale
The case for C.J. Stroud: He was No. 1 in Total QBR in 2021, and he’s No. 1 in 2022.
Quarterbacking this Ohio State offense, with this set of receivers, might be a pretty easy job, but he’s doing that job at a level we haven’t seen. J.T. Barrett averaged 7.0 yards per dropback in Columbus, Dwayne Haskins 7.8 and Justin Fields 8.0. Stroud? 9.5. He’s got Haskins’ accuracy (72% completion rate) and Fields’ big-play propensity (4.1 completions per game of 20-plus). He is the most productive QB we’ve seen in this Buckeye era, and it’s not particularly close. It would be absurd to think of him as anything but the Heisman front-runner.
Even if a Heisman voter somehow holds Stroud’s incredible supporting cast against him — we sometimes do that (Mac Jones) and sometimes don’t (Joe Burrow, Bryce Young) — that’s pretty unconvincing considering star Jaxon Smith-Njigba has barely played this year. Leading receivers Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr., blue-chippers as they may be, are sophomores who came into this season with 20 career catches. They have 17 TOUCHDOWN catches in seven games this season. Stroud has been the best quarterback in the country, and Ohio State has been the nation’s best team. Making his Heisman case is awfully easy. — Bill Connelly
The case for … Max Duggan?: Max Duggan wasn’t TCU’s starting quarterback when the season began. But since taking over for an injured Chandler Morris, Duggan has done everything he can to keep the Horned Frogs rolling.
In his fourth year as a starter, he has blossomed under new coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, throwing for 1,871 yards in just seven games (206 behind his career high for a season), 19 TDs (a career high and 8th nationally) with just one interception, on a Hail Mary attempt with 21 seconds left before halftime against Kansas. Duggan is completing 68.9% of his passes, ranks fifth nationally in passing efficiency (181.8) and leads the Big 12 in yards per pass attempt (9.7) along with that completion percentage, touchdowns and fewest interceptions.
“Max Duggan continues to play football as good as any quarterback I’ve been around,” Dykes said. “He just does everything he can to help your football team win.”
After coming off the bench in a season-opening win against Colorado, Duggan has led his team to six wins as the starter (averaging 303 passing yards per game in that span) including four straight wins over ranked opponents which has never been done in TCU history. He’s also added 274 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, drawing praise from his teammates for his resilience.
“It’s crazy the shots that Max takes,” running back Kendre Miller said. “He’s a tough dude and has earned my respect just getting back up. I feel like it helps other people. If the quarterback can do it, anybody can do it.”
The Heisman is often an award given to the best player on one of the country’s best teams. There’s no doubt Duggan is as valuable to No. 7 TCU as any player is to their team in the country.
Top Heisman moments this past week
1. Not that it was totally needed in Alabama’s blowout win but Bryce Young found a way to buy some time before throwing a dart to kickoff the scoring against Mississippi State.
0:54
Bryce Young shows a glimpse of Heisman magic as he extends the play and fires a dart to JoJo Earle to put the Crimson Tide on the board.
2. With the Buckeyes already up 40-10 Stroud decided to uncork his best throw of the day.
0:27
C.J. Stroud passes to Julian Fleming for 79-yard Ohio State touchdown.
3. Tennessee didn’t need much from Hooker against UT-Martin but he still delivered.
1:52
UT Martin Skyhawks vs. Tennessee Volunteers: Full Highlights
Heisman game of the week
Ohio State at Penn State (Saturday, noon ET, Fox)
Let’s move away from the SEC for week and focus on the Big Ten. C.J. Stroud is currently the odds on favorite in the Heisman race and, as seen by his stats and highlights above, rightfully so. This week Stroud and his high-profile wide receiver corps get a big test against Penn State in Happy Valley. Stroud will have his hands full with the talented Nittany Lions secondary led by Joey Porter Jr. But Stroud has typically saved his best games for the brightest lights so white out or not, look out Penn State fans.
Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.
Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.
“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.
Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.
“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.
Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.
Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.
“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”
Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.
“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.
Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.
Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.
Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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