Did you see any of the College Football awards handed out over the last couple of days. Congratulations to the winners. Among them: LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, and Texas Interior defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat.
Daniels, Washington QB Michael Penix Jr., Oregon QB Bo Nix and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. were Heisman Trophy finalists Saturday evening. That’s the order I think they’ll finish.
Daniels had already won the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s 2023 Player of the Year Award and the Davey O’Brien Award. Daniels led the nation and the Tigers this season in total yards, total touchdowns and passer rating. LSU, though, finished 9-3 with losses to Florida State, Alabama and Ole Miss.
A transfer from Arizona State to LSU, Daniels would join QB Joe Burrow (2019), a transfer from Ohio State, and RB Billy Cannon (1959) the only previous Tigers to win the Heisman if he does win it.
A Heisman fact: 19 of the 23 winners since 2000 have been quarterbacks. That’s in Daniels’ favor. The trophy has gone to 11 players from teams with at least three losses. Maybe not so much.
Another interesting fact, since 1986, only three winners have played on teams with three or more losses: Lamar Jackson (2016) Louisville, Robert Griffin III (2011) Baylor, and Ricky Williams (1998) Texas.
Gordon II of Oklahoma State led all FBS rushers with 1,580 yards, but in the Big 12 Championship game, the Texas defense, anchored by Sweat and Byron Murphy II, limited him to 34 yards on 13 carries.
Sweat, the 362-pound behemoth, was Texas football’s fourth OTW, joining Scott Appleton, Tommy Nobis and the first since Brad Shearer in 1977.
Business is picking up with the transfer portal open and players coming- and-going. Oregon is losing Bo Nix at quarterback, but have already filled his spot on the Ducks’ roster with Dillon Gabriel, who has already played five seasons between Central Florida and Oklahoma, looking to finish on a team with national championship aspirations.
Gabriel has started 49 games and thrown 42 touchdown passes. Born on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, he’s suffered a run of injuries at both UCF and OU, but has mobility in rushing for over 1,000 yards to go with all his other stats.
Have you noticed Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and his school apparently are back on good terms, trying to figure out a contract extension for the veteran coach, not the school.
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