Heisman Watch: USC QB Caleb Williams Still On Top, But Who's On His Tail?

It's going to be a tight nip race all season long

USC superstar quarterback Caleb Williams is picking up right where he left off from his Heisman-winning season in 2022. The dude is a stud; the numbers prove that, his play proves that, and anyone who watched college football knows it. 

Williams came out the gates guns a blazing as he already has thrown for 878 yards, 12 touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a QBR of 91.9. Oh, and he's only played in eight quarters in three games. 

Although we're all biased here and feel it's Williams' award to lose, some viable candidates for the award are real threats. Still, Willaims remains the favorite for the award, with the best odds at +325. However, many aren't behind, and many are in his conference. 

Following Williams is Washington star QB Michael Penix Jr. at +550, Texas QB Quinn Ewers at +600, and Norte Dame QB Sam Hartman at +850 to wrap up the top 4. 

Williams and the Trojans had a bye week in Week 3, allowing others to shine without Caleb in the shadows. However, did they do enough to knock him out of the top spot? 

Let's start with Hartman. He and the Fighting Irish exited Saturday with a comfortable win over Central Michigan, going 16-for-26 for 330 passing yards, three touchdowns, and a QBR of 87.6. Hartman's first pass of the game was a dot to Tobias Merriweather for 75 yards; it was like a drop in a bucket that started the scoring for the Fighting Irish. Hartman has yet to throw an INT himself and has completed 71$ of his passes. He'll have his second toughest challenge this Saturday (outside of USC) against the Ohio State Buckeyes. With a great performance, he could shoot up the Heisman list. 

Texas QB Quinn Ewers came away from Week 2 the talk of college football with their win over Alabama on the road. He followed that up with a not-so-impressive game against an inferior Wyoming football program. The scoring for Texas didn't come until the fourth quarter, scoring 21 points thanks to an Ewers TD pass and a rushing TD. He only threw for 131 yards and completed 52.4% of his passes. It's not the prettiest of starts for the sophomore QB, but we'll see how he responds from a bad week. 

And as for Williams Pac-12 counterpart, Michael Penix Jr., he continues to give Caleb a run for his money when it comes to the Heisman. Penix has already thrown for over 1K yards in three games, threw for a season-high 473 passing yards, along with four touchdowns, and completed 77.1% of his passes. The senior QB is in another zone right now, leading college football in QBR with 94.2 compared to Williams, who is fourth on that list. If the stars align for Washington and USC, their Week 10 matchup in Seattle could be the tiebreaker for the Heisman. 

Williams still leads, but hopefully, he and the team don't get too comfortable as they are hitting a tough stretch of their schedule.