Heisman Trophy Power Rankings: Max Duggan punches his ticket to NYC

TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Max Duggan may have clinched a ticket to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City after his showing in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Conference Championship Weekend has concluded, and there was no shortage of drama. In fact, the results actually created legitimate confusion as to what the College Football Playoff could look like this year.

While not every team played this past weekend, there were some Heisman trophy candidates playing, two of which were in our top three in last week’s power rankings. Caleb Williams of USC and Max Duggan of TCU both played in the Pac-12 and Big 12 Championship Games, respectively, both of which were gutsy performances. But, both were on the losing end, as the Trojans were blown out by the Utah Utes, and the Horned Frogs narrowly lost 31-28 in overtime against the Kansas State Wildcats.

This was the final chance for candidates to make their case to win the Heisman (if they played this weekend). On Monday, Dec. 5, the finalists are announced, and the winner will be announced on Saturday, Dec. 10 during the annual ceremony in New York City.

Without further ado, here are the Heisman Trophy Power Rankings, post-Conference Championship Weekend.

Heisman Trophy Power Rankings, Conference Championship Weekend edition

Quarterback Stetson Bennett may not have the gaudy numbers like some of the others who play at his position, but he’s part of one of the lone undefeated teams in college football. That, and his performance in the SEC Championship Game has driven the narrative that he should get an invite to the Heisman Trophy awards ceremony.

Facing off against the LSU Tigers, Bennett virtually had all the time that he wanted, as he was hurried just one time in the entire game on Saturday. He completed 23-of-29 pass attempts for 274 yards and four touchdowns. Speaking of those four touchdowns passes, he threw those in the first half alone.

Georgia cruised to a 50-30 win to win the SEC championship for the first time since 2017, and have 100-percent secured a College Football Playoff spot.

Entering the game, Bennett recorded 3,151 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 67.2 completion percentage.

Bennett’s not winning the Heisman, but he gets a spot on the power rankings for the performance he had against LSU.

Drake Maye was having a great start to his season, where he looked like a legitimate Heisman contender. That was, until, North Carolina ended their regular-season with losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.

On Conference Championship Weekend, Maye didn’t exactly raise his Heisman stock. Maye watched as the Tar Heels defense get torched by Clemson’s offense led by freshman Cade Klubnik after replacing D.J. Uiagalelei after their second drive of the game. The Tar Heels scored 10 points in the first half, and they were held to that for the remainder of the game.

Maye completed for26-of-42 for 268 yards and zero touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions. He did get in the end zone on a three-yard run, but totaled 24 yards on 11 carries.

Entering the game, Maye recorded 3,847 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 67.7 completion percentage. Maye picked up 629 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on 161 attempts.