2023 Heisman Trophy Finalists Statistical Comparison: H2H Comparison of Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr, Marvin Harrison Jr and Jayden Daniels

The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner will be decided on Saturday night, and it should be an exciting race to see who is crowned the top player for the 2023 college football season. With three quarterbacks and a wide receiver in the mix, there is a lot of debate over how the voters compare the four players.

Today, we will look at the statistics and resumes of all four Heisman Trophy finalists and determine which player should get the award.

Heisman Trophy Finalist #1: Marvin Harrison Jr.

The only non-quarterback on this list is Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison. He had an excellent season as the top threat in the country, finishing with 67 receptions for 1,211 yards (18.1 yards per catch) for 14 touchdowns. Despite being a finalist, he did not lead in any of those statistical categories.

Heisman Trophy Finalist #2: Bo Nix

Bo Nix has shown to be an elite quarterback for the Oregon Ducks this season, coming second in college football with a 91.0 QBR. He led the nation with completion percentage (72.2), tied for first in touchdown passes (40) and second in passing yards (4,145). He lost two games to another candidate on this list, as that is the only head-to-head matchup between finalists.

Heisman Trophy Finalist #3: Michael Penix Jr.

Washington QB Michael Penix was the favorite later in the season but has dropped a bit in the last few weeks. He led the nation in passing yards, 10th in QBR and third in touchdown passes. Penix went 307 of 466 (65.9 completion %) for 4,218 yards with 33 touchdown passes to nine interceptions in 2023.

One advantage he has over any other finalist is that he had two head-to-head wins over Bo Nix as they played in the regular season and Pac-12 championship. The Huskies were the only team to win their conference championship and go undefeated to make the College Football Playoff.

Heisman Trophy Finalist #4: Jayden Daniels

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is currently the betting favorite to win the 2023 Heisman and has had incredibly strong numbers. With a QBR of 95.7, he led college football with almost a perfect quarterback rating.

Daniels also was deadly accurate as he went 236 of 327 (72.2 completion %) for 3,812 yards with 40 passing touchdowns to four interceptions. The lack of turnovers and a 10:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio make him a top choice to win the award.