Heisman tracker: Final votes from our writers

December 10, 2023 E Jazz Reporter

A season-long look at ESPN’s voting
for college football’s most coveted award

It’s all over but the countin’.

After years of moaning over meh Heisman Trophy races, some began to question the relevance of an 88-year-old award “to the most outstanding player in college football” in this ever-changing world of NIL, the transfer portal and an impatient rush toward becoming NFL 2.0.

But look at that bronzed New Yorker, spending this entire 2023 season stiff-arming all that chatter about his demise. How? By joining forces with a roster of young teammates located coast-to-coast and conference-to-conference, throwing and running and catching footballs at a rate so rapid that it has had our Heisman Tracker graphic climbing and falling like the Griswolds on the Screaming Mimi.

From defending Heisman winner Caleb Williams and a sudden gaggle of would-be Pac-12 successors to SEC and Big Ten superstars, most of whom kept their teams in the CFP scrum all season long, who among them do our ESPN panelists believe will be having their photo taken onstage in Manhattan? We asked. They answered. Just as we’ve done every month of this season. Now you can see our final result while we wait for the final final result on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Points awarded: 5 for first-place votes, 4 for second, 3 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth. Odds by ESPN BET.

Player Stats

passing yards 3,812 235	total tds 50 4
rushing yards 1,134 120	interceptions 4 0

Total votes by Week

Wk 0: 9 pts (0 first, 2 second, 0 third)
Wk 6: 4 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 7: 25 PTS (0 first, 2 second, 0 third)
Wk 8: 47 PTS (6 first, 2 second, 3 third)
Wk 9: 51 PTS (4 first, 5 second, 2 third)
Wk 10: 65 PTS (9 first, 4 second, 1 third)
Wk 11: 69 PTS (11 first, 2 second, 2 third)
Wk 12: 70 PTS (11 first, 3 second, 1 third)
Wk 13: 69 PTS (9 first, 6 second, 0 third)
Heisman trophy wk: 66 PTS (9 first, 3 second, 3 third)

Heisman-worthy moment

Florida at LSU:

Jayden Daniels throws three touchdowns and runs for two more.

Player Stats

passing yards 4,218 319	total tds 36 1
Comp. Pct. 65.9% 69.2%	interceptions 9 1

Total votes by Week

Wk 0: 32 pts (0 first, 2 second, 4 third)
Wk 1: 40 pts (0 first, 5 second, 3 third)
Wk 2: 53 pts (2 first, 7 second, 5 third)
WK 3: 65 PTS (6 first, 8 second, 1 third)
WK 4: 74 PTS (14 first, 1 second, 0 third)
Wk 5: 66 PTS (6 first, 9 second, 0 third)
Wk 6: 70 PTS (10 first, 5 second, 0 third)
Wk 7: 75 PTS (15 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 8: 58 PTS (4 first, 8 second, 0 third)
Wk 9: 61 PTS (7 first, 4 second, 2 third)
Wk 10: 54 PTS (3 first, 7 second, 2 third)
Wk 11: 43 PTS (1 first, 4 second, 2 third)
Wk 12: 39 PTS (0 first, 2 second, 8 third)
Wk 13: 43 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 13 third)
Heisman trophy wk: 59 PTS (4 first, 7 second, 3 third)

Heisman-worthy moment

Oregon vs. Washington:

Michael Penix Jr. connects with Jalen McMillan for a 45-yard reception in the Pac-12 title game.

Player Stats

passing yards 4,145 239	total tds 46 3
comp. pct. 77.2% 61.8%	interceptions 3 1

Total votes by Week

Wk 0: 2 pts (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 1: 5 pts (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 2: 6 pts (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
WK 3: 20 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 2 third)
WK 4: 37 PTS (0 first, 2 second, 6 third)
Wk 5: 33 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 8 third)
Wk 6: 30 PTS (0 first, 1 second, 5 third)
Wk 7: 25 PTS (0 first, 2 second, 5 third)
Wk 8: 7 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 1 third)
Wk 9: 23 PTS (0 first, 3 second, 1 third)
Wk 10: 21 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 2 third)
Wk 11: 42 PTS (1 first, 5 second, 2 third)
Wk 12: 60 PTS (4 first, 7 second, 4 third)
Wk 13: 66 PTS (6 first, 9 second, 0 third)
Heisman trophy wk: 52 PTS (2 first, 4 second, 8 third)

Heisman-worthy moment

Oregon State at Oregon:

Bo Nix throws two touchdowns and runs for another in the first half against rival Oregon State.

Player Stats

passing yards 2,718 192	total tds 35 2
rushing yards 468 29	interceptions 6 0

Total votes by Week

Wk 11: 1 PT (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 13: 1 PT (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Heisman trophy wk: 18 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)

Heisman-worthy moment

Alabama at Auburn:

Jalen Milroe finds Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-31 to save Bama’s season.

Player Stats

receiving yards 1,211 118	total touchdowns 15 1
receptions 67 5	yards per catch 18.1 23.6

Total votes by Week

Wk 0: 27 pts (1 first, 1 second, 2 third)
Wk 1: 5 pts (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 2: 3 pts (0 first, 0 second, 1 third)
WK 3: 1 PT (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 7: 2 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 0 third)
Wk 8: 39 PTS (2 first, 2 second, 4 third)
Wk 9: 41 PTS (3 first, 1 second, 6 third)
Wk 10: 41 PTS (3 first, 2 second, 5 third)
Wk 11: 49 PTS (2 first, 4 second, 7 third)
Wk 12: 32 PTS (0 first, 3 second, 2 third)
Wk 13: 13 PTS (0 first, 0 second, 2 third)
Heisman trophy wk: 16 PTS (0 first, 1 second, 1 third)

Heisman-worthy moment

Michigan State at Ohio State:

Marvin Harrison Jr. scores three touchdowns — two on receptions, another running.

Looking ahead

As Marvin Harrison Jr. mulls over that last request, we now look ahead to the Heisman Trophy race of 2024. Will Jalen Milroe indeed be the favorite to bring Bama its fifth Heisman since 2009 after going 0-for-72? Will Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who spent a huge chunk of this season on the Tracker, return to Ann Arbor with an eye on joining Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson and Tom Harmon in the Blue Heisman club? Will Dillon Gabriel make a Heisman run from what is expected to be his third FBS school? Or will someone we haven’t even thought of be making a climb up our fancy digital Heisman Tracker hill one year from now? If 2023 has taught us anything, it’s that we have no idea what might happen. Reports of the bronze footballer’s demise were most definitely exaggerated. Not only is Mr. Heisman not outdated, he would appear to be just getting started.

Best of the Rest: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas; Carson Beck, QB, Georgia; Rome Odunze, WR, Washington; Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State