By: William Smythe

Blink twice and you’ll miss the apex of the college football season: it’s that time to create a Heisman moment. We’ve been blessed by a lack of compelling candidates this year – thank you Georgia, Northwestern and Iowa for making Hendon Hooker and CJ Stroud look mortal.

Rarely can I remember a race for CFB’s coveted prize so closely fought, and at the same time so frighteningly boring. It may depend on the position you take…were you also captivated by Joe Burrow’s 2019 season, or were you equally entranced by the two-headed monster of Alabama’s Derrick Henry and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey in 2015 – the year of the running back?

Let’s get into the candidates – yes, I’ll choose a frontrunner – and dive into the best possible chances for each to create their Heisman moment.

Frontrunner: CJ Stroud, junior quarterback, Ohio State

2022 Stats: 2,453 passing yards, 29 passing TDs

It hasn’t exactly been the year that many have predicted from Ohio State’s junior gunslinger. The quarterback runner-up to Alabama’s Bryce Young last season has surely starred, yet is his pace worthy enough of the Heisman? Let’s begin with the wide receiving corps, composed of the dominant Marvin Harrison Jr. and an equally potent threat in Emeka Egbuka – a duo that’s combined for 1,628 yards and seventeen touchdowns in 2022.

Sure, Stroud has led the Buckeyes to an undefeated 8-0 record without the services of what was arguably the best WR in 2021 in the injured Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but that’s like saying that Tua Tagovailoa’s production would have significantly dipped if he didn’t have one of his four NFL-caliber talents three years ago.

I’ll give Stroud some credit, he’s tossed a whopping 29 touchdowns – good for second in the nation – and he’s weathered some bouts against Iowa and Northwestern.

All eyes will turn – however – on the rematch against the Wolverines next Saturday. If Stroud were to run away with it, this is his chance – his only chance – to make his claim to the Heisman throne. 

Heisman moment: against no. 5 Michigan, Nov. 26

2. Drake Maye, freshman quarterback, North Carolina

2022 Stats: 2,964 passing yds, 513 rushing yds, 35 total TDs

Isn’t he the brother of that guy who nailed the game-winner against Kentucky in the 2017 Elite Eight? No, he’s more than that. Suffice it to say that many – myself included – couldn’t have predicted what is looking to be a record-breaking season from one member of North Carolina’s beloved, royal family.

Cementing his identity as more than just Luke’s brother, Maye has gone above and beyond to catapult the Tar Heels to a 8-1 record and a no. 15 national ranking. When I say the burden falls on his shoulders and his alone, I mean it.

The Tar Heels’ defense has allowed an average of 31 points per game – not a number to be proud of – yet it simply doesn’t matter when your quarterback is second in the nation in total touchdowns and is not blessed with Stroud or even Hooker’s wide receiving corps.

That’s not to say that junior pass-catcher Josh Downs isn’t tremendous – he is – but Maye has proved that he can do damage both on the ground and through the air. Despite the age-old question of whether the ACC is a respectable football conference (thanks to Boston College and Georgia Tech for damaging this reputation), Maye’s production is off-the-charts and certainly worthy of serious Heisman consideration. He’ll need to bring his team to the ACC Championship to leave no shadow of doubt, and he’ll have to slay the Clemson Tigers to do so. 

Heisman moment: ACC Championship Game vs. no. 12 Clemson

3. Blake Corum, junior running back, Michigan

2022 Stats: 199 carries, 1,187 yds, 17 total TDs

Blake Corum is the model of consistency for running backs in college football. He was the guy – yes, I know Hassan Haskins scored five touchdowns against Ohio State – before suffering from an injury in 2021. Understandably, Corum had a chip on his shoulder coming off of an up-and-down year concluding in a thrashing against Georgia in the CFP semifinal.

He has emerged, or should I say pressed on, and is fourth nationally in rushing yards and tied for first in rushing touchdowns – having notched sixteen through 9 games.

In all six Big Ten contests, Corum has rushed for over 100 yards and has tallied at least one touchdown. What more could you want from a guy playing on a top-five team in a big boy conference? The question here is how much of this comes from Corum’s game-breaking ability itself, or how much rests on the vaunted Michigan offensive line and a game plan that is heavily bent on establishing the run.

After all, the Heisman committee doesn’t seem to consider running backs to be the sexy candidates in the race. It’s a quarterback v. quarterback world, I’m afraid, yet Corum could make things interesting with a Haskins-esque effort against Ohio State in three weeks. 

Heisman moment: @ no. 2 Ohio State, Nov. 26

4. Hendon Hooker, senior quarterback, Tennessee

2022 Stats: 2,888 total yards, 25 total TDs

You were the chosen one, Hendon! It was said that you would destroy the Dawgs, not let them waltz to the playoff! In a deafening loss to Georgia, the presumed frontrunner for the Heisman has fallen from grace in his best shot to secure the Heisman crown.

Hooker, who has burst onto the scene in Tennessee’s best season since ‘98, just had to find a way to win in Athens to keep the hype train moving on a playoff run for the Volunteers and a Heisman bid.

It’s not over yet, as Tennessee could slip into the playoffs on the heels of an undefeated SEC finish and a TCU loss, yet the window is closing for Hooker to make his move. The rest of the schedule consists of the likes of Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt – all bottom-dwellers in the SEC – but the playoff scenario exists.

It will be hard for the committee to write off the Virginia Tech transfer completely, as his twenty-five total touchdowns in America’s grittiest conference is no small feat. But when considering that the Heisman is decided prior to the playoff, the redeemer of Tennessee football may have been doomed by the Dawgs. 

Heisman moment: 400+ yards and 3+ touchdowns in each of the Volunteers’ last three games

5. Bo Nix, senior quarterback, Oregon

2022 Stats: 2,495 passing yds, 457 rushing yds, 35 total TDs

Bo Nix – nearly 2,700 miles from his former home at Auburn – has been reborn. The doubters stood strong after a 48-3 defeat at the hands of the defending national champions in week 1, yet Nix has emerged in an unprecedented way in the Pac-12.

Perhaps this new home is coincidentally without the yearly foes of Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, etc. who made life a living hell for a quarterback tabbed as “Bo Pix” in his time down south. But here he is, first in the nation in total touchdowns for an Oregon team that is riding an eight-game win streak following the loss to Georgia.

He’s already eclipsed all three of his season touchdown totals from the Auburn days in only nine games and doesn’t seem to be stopping soon.

Nix, who has thrived as a Cam Newton-esque red zone rusher, is on the brink of becoming a Heisman finalist even despite the Ducks’ uphill battle to gain a playoff spot. A rough schedule looms, featuring what should be a ranked Washington team to go along with no. 14 Utah and no. 23 Oregon State in his first Civil War contest, but Nix has done enough at this point to at least shed the ghost of his SEC self in Autzen.

Don’t count out Bo and a surging Oregon team just yet, a roster that could – if all goes well – find that no. 4 spot in the CFP. If he can outduel USC’s Caleb Williams in the Pac-12 Championship, the road may be easier than expected to Heisman weekend. 

Heisman moment: PAC-12 Championship vs. no. 9 USC