Heisman Trophy power rankings: Bo Nix tops odds as Pac-12 championship showdown awaits
The 2023 Heisman Trophy race has reached its final week.
With championship weekend kicking off Friday, college football fans should have a good idea shortly about who will be the favorite Dec. 9.
In a season when there's been no clear favorite, the Heisman has become a two-man race with just a few days remaining before the College Football Playoff is set.
Let's take a look at three players with the best odds to take home the most prestigious individual award in sports, according to Caesars Sportsbook.
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Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix once again has the best odds of taking home the Heisman Trophy.
The fifth-year senior has had a fascinating college career resulting in an NCAA record for most career starts (59 and counting). After three years at Auburn, Nix transferred to Oregon in 2022, and the rest is history.
Nix has Oregon one game away from the CFP as the Ducks prepare for Washington in the Pac-12 championship game.
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Nix has led one of the top offenses in the country, averaging the second-most yards (541.1) and points (45.3) per game in the country. He leads the country in passing yards (3,906) and has thrown 37 touchdowns and just two interceptions. His completion percentage of 78.6 is far and away the best in the nation.
And he’ll have the advantage of showcasing his skills in primetime once more Friday. The Ducks will square off with the Huskies for the Pac-12 title in Las Vegas Friday night.
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It’s an opportunity for Oregon to avenge its lone loss of the season, with the winner almost assuredly securing a spot in the CFP and snapping a six-year playoff drought for the conference.
If Nix is able to get his team into the playoff while continuing to play well, he’ll have the resume to win the Heisman.
"Right now, we’re down to just the final two. It’s Jayden and Bo. If Bo loses, it’s probably going to go to Jayden," Caesars Sportsbook college football lead Joey Feazel told Fox News Digital.
"If Washington goes out and wins, it’s Jayden Daniels' trophy," Feazel added. "If it was just Bo Nix to win, we would see it reflected in the odds the same as the money line for Oregon-Washington. But it’s not. It’s shorter because there’s still room for opportunity. This is all how humans vote. This is all how a Heisman voter is going to view who the best player is."
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has been bucking the odds all season.
Despite three regular-season losses, Daniels has been in the thick of the Heisman race the past several weeks. Following Week 12, Daniels had the best odds of winning the award, heading into LSU’s final regular-season game with -125 odds.
While Daniels sits behind Nix, many observers think Daniels should win the award Dec. 9.
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Daniels’ numbers are eye popping. He's thrown for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, Daniels has rushed for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He’s led the Tigers to a 9-3 record despite having a defense that has allowed the second-most yards and third-most points per game in the SEC.
The problem for Daniels? His opportunity to make his case for the Heisman has come to an end because LSU will not be playing in the SEC championship game.
"Right now, if Bo Nix goes out and covers the spread, it should be his trophy," Feazel said.
"Obviously, if you look at the box score, he had numbers," Feazel said of Daniels' last game against Texas A&M. "But if you actually watch the game, which I'm sure all Heisman voters hopefully should have been watching, they saw that it wasn't as dominant of a performance that Bo Nix put on against Oregon State. Especially against an Oregon State team that we saw battled really hard with Washington in the previous week."
The Michael Penix Jr. train has slowed despite the Washington Huskies continuing to win on a march toward the CFP.
Penix leapfrogged USC quarterback Caleb Williams in the Heisman race after Week 6 and solidified his position after Washington defeated Oregon in Week 7. But mediocre performances by the Huskies against Arizona State and Stanford slowed his momentum.
In a Week 12 win over Oregon State, Penix threw for a season-low 162 yards, dropping him to third in the Heisman odds.
But Penix is playing for the biggest prize of all after defeating Washington State in Week 13.
The Huskies were voted the No. 3 team in the country by the CFP committee Tuesday ahead of their matchup with No. 5 Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game.
The winner of the Friday night rematch will be in the CFP.
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