Heisman Trophy Power Rankings 2023, Week 8: Penix struggles, McCarthy keeps climbing

The good news is that Caleb Williams had a slightly better game this week than his brutal performance against Notre Dame last week. The bad news is that USC lost their second game in a row and is essentially eliminated from College Football Playoff contention.

Williams didn't put up multiple touchdowns like he did in previous games. But he did pick up one when it mattered most. With the team trailing 31-26 late and lined up at the 11-yard line, Williams ran it in for a touchdown to give USC a 32-31 lead.

There was one issue. With a little under two minutes remaining, he left too much time on the clock for Utah, who kicked a game-winning field goal. With that, Williams is now 0-3 against Utah in his career.

In the 34-32 loss, Williams threw for 256 yards while completing 24-of-36 attempts while running for 27 yards and a touchdown.

Last week, Michael Penix Jr. had his Heisman moment leading Washington to a win against Oregon. This week, Penix struggled mightily against the one-win Arizona State Sun Devils. College football, everyone.

This season, Washington has boasted one of the more productive offenses in the nation. Entering Week 8, the team averaged 543.7 yards per game. Against Arizona State on Saturday, the Huskies could only put up 288 yards. Penix was unable to lead Washington into the end zone. They were 3-for-11 on third-down attempts. The Sun Devils just had their number.

Penix was unable to lead the offense into the end zone for the second time this season. The other game that happened was against another Arizona team -- the Wildcats. This is also the first game of the season that Penix threw multiple interceptions. Overall, Penix completed 27-of-42 pass attempts for 275 yards.

This is the kind of game that would normally cause a Heisman candidate to fall. But Penix is in a tier with Williams compared to other candidates as of this writing. Penix still carries the edge in the Heisman rankings despite the bad showing. But the quarterback can't afford to have another game like this one.