Heisman Watch 2023: Examining Odds and Highlights for Finalists

Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. split the majority of the college football season as the Heisman Trophy favorite.

Penix jumped into the spotlight through his first win over Nix and Oregon, while Daniels catapulted himself into the discussion with a massive close to the SEC regular season.

Nix also turned in a fantastic November, but he lost his favorite status to Daniels after his loss in the Pac-12 Championship Game to Penix and the Washington Huskies.

Marvin Harrison Jr. is the fourth Heisman finalist, but he seems like the clear No. 4 in the Heisman conversation despite his incredible season for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Updated Heisman Trophy Odds

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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 25: Jayden Daniels #5 of the LSU Tigers runs with the ball during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

For the latest Heisman odds, go to DraftKings.

Jayden Daniels (-1200, bet $1,200 to win $100)

Michael Penix Jr. (+900; bet $100 to win $900)

Bo Nix (+1500)

Marvin Harrison Jr. (+20000)

Jayden Daniels

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COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - OCTOBER 7: Jayden Daniels #5 of the LSU Tigers warms up during a timeout against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2023 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Daniels' serious consideration for the Heisman began during the LSU Tigers' loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Daniels answered everything that Jalen Milroe and the Bama offense produced until he got hurt in the fourth quarter.

The Heisman Trophy favorite threw for 219 yards and ran for 163 yards and produced three total touchdowns.

Daniels followed that up with his best performance of the season against the Florida Gators in which he threw for 372 yards and added 234 yards on the ground. He had five total touchdowns in that victory.

The 500-yard performance was Daniels' best Heisman moment of the season and it allowed him to be in the same conversation as the two Pac-12 quarterbacks.

Daniels padded his stats with 12 total touchdowns in his final two games to put his final tally at 50 total scores.

He has the most total yards and touchdowns of the three Heisman finalists who are quarterbacks, and those numbers should help him get over not playing in a conference championship game.

Bo Nix

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 1: Bo Nix #10 of the Oregon Ducks looks for an open receiver in the second half during the Pac-12 Championship game against the Washington Huskies at Allegiant Stadium on December 1, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

Nix launched himself to the top of the Heisman odds board with an incredible run of games after Oregon's first loss to Washington.

Nix had six straight games with multiple touchdown passes and a run of four consecutive 300-yard passing performances after October 14.

Nix performed better than Penix in that stretch during Pac-12 play, which led to him having a slight edge over Daniels in the odds.

However, Oregon's slow start in the Pac-12 Championship Game doomed his Heisman campaign.

Nix finished with 239 passing yards and three touchdowns in Las Vegas, but Washington was the far more dominant team and that will resonate with Heisman voters.

The Oregon quarterback had some incredible games, but he is rightfully second on the Heisman odds board because of the Pac-12 Championship Game and Daniels' November.

Michael Penix Jr.

Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 1: Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Washington Huskies celebrates a touchdown during the Pac-12 Championship game against the Oregon Ducks at Allegiant Stadium on December 1, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

Penix did not do enough in the Pac-12 Championship Game to surge past Daniels and Nix in the Heisman race.

The Washington quarterback only had one touchdown pass despite completing 69.2 percent of his passes and throwing for 319 yards.

Penix had some average passing performances during Washington's undefeated run through the Pac-12.

The left-handed quarterback only had 162 passing yards versus the Oregon State Beavers and did not have more than two touchdown passes in any November game.

The drop off during the second half of the season hurt Penix's Heisman campaign, which reached its peak after the first Oregon win.

Marvin Harrison Jr.

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PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 04: Marvin Harrison Jr. #18 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on November 4, 2023 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Harrison will likely be the highest NFL draft pick of the four Heisman finalists, but he will probably finish fourth in voting.

Harrison needed one of the best individual seasons in college football history to overtake any quarterback contenders for the Heisman.

Harrison put up 1,211 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, but that was nowhere close to DeVonta Smith's 1,800-yard, 23-touchdown Heisman campaign in 2020.

The Ohio State wide out played well in his team's most important Big Ten games. He had 118 yards and a score versus the Michigan Wolverines and 162 yards on 11 catches against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

However, Harrison did not do enough in between those games to take an advantage over any of the top quarterbacks.

A strong case could be made that Harrison is the most talented player in college football, but he did not have the best individual season and that will put him in fourth in the Heisman voting.

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