There is a wide-open race for the Heisman Trophy this year that includes Stetson Bennett of Georgia, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, Caleb Williams of USC and Max Duggan of TCU. On the surface, a case can be made for any of these candidates. However, when all the intangibles are included, Bennett must win the vaunted trophy.
Unlike his three rivals, Bennett did not come to the Bulldogs as a highly regarded prospect. Instead, he started his career as a walk-on.
Bennett led Georgia to the National Championship a year ago, and they are the No. 1 seed in this year's College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs will meet Ohio State in one of the semifinal games December 31, and he will have a chance to compete against Stroud.
The Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday in New York City.
Stetson Bennett's 2022 season
Bennett had a memorable regular season as he completed 269 of 396 passes for 3,425 yards with 20 TD passes and 6 interceptions. He completed 67.9 percent of his passes, and that's the best mark of his career. He also ran for 7 touchdowns.
While those numbers are not overwhelming for a Heisman Trophy contender, the notable part is that Bennett regularly achieved all his numbers in the first 3 quarters of every game he played. The Bulldogs were usually so far ahead in nearly all of their games that head coach Kirby Smart was able to rest Bennett much of the time.
The Bulldogs have won 9 games by 20 points or more, and they only had 1 close game. They defeated the Missouri Tigers 26-22 in Week 5, and no other opponent was able to come closer than 10 points.
Bennett had just 321 passing yards in the 4th quarter of all games, and that's less than 25 yards per game.
Bennett has a chance to become the first Georgia player to win the Heisman Trophy since Herschel Walker won the award in 1982. He is the first player nominated for the award since Garrison Hearst was named one of the finalists in 1992. No Georgia quarterback has ever won the Heisman Trophy.
SEC Title game performance
The quarterback was at his best in the SEC title game against LSU. Bennett completed 23 of 29 passes for 274 yards and 4 touchdowns without an interception. That performance allowed him to record a passer rating of 204.2
Bennett also had another outstanding game when the Bulldogs took on No. 2 Tennessee during the regular game. The quarterback led the Bulldogs to a 27-13 victory, as he completed 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards with 2 touchdowns.
Bennett was under duress in the days prior to that game, as his personal cell phone number got leaked to the public. He received between 600 and 700 phone calls that day, and he made a phone call gesture directed at the Tennessee fans on a couple of occasions during the game.
“I'm sure everybody else knows what it was about, but I was just in the moment,” Stetson Bennett said.
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