LSU QB Jayden Daniels caps Heisman campaign with 4 TDs in win over Texas A&M
Daniels has thrown for over 3,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2023
LSU QB Jayden Daniels tossed four TD passes in No. 14 LSU’s 42-30 win over Texas A&M.
Daniels was spectacular after Texas A&M took a 24-14 lead early in the third quarter. He had 52 passing yards and 59 rushing yards when A&M went up 10 and quickly added a lot to those numbers as LSU showed it was the better team in the second half.
LSU took a 28-24 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 23-yard TD pass from Daniels to Brian Thomas Jr. Less than five minutes later, Daniels found Malik Nabers for a 21-yard TD that extended the lead to 11.
One of the best catches you'll see. The best receiver in football.
Give that man the Biletnikoff @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/9yXWBlLTmG— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 25, 2023
Daniels’ final TD came with less than five minutes to go when he hit Kyren Lacy for a 15-yard TD.
Daniels finished the game 16-of-24 passing for 235 yards and rushed 11 times for 120 yards. It was the fourth time all season and the third time in the last four games that Daniels had thrown for over 200 yards and rushed for 100 yards in the same game.
The Tigers star entered the final week of the season as the slight betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy over Bo Nix. The Ducks QB threw three touchdowns in No. 6 Oregon’s win over No. 16 Oregon State on Friday night as the Ducks clinched a spot in the Pac-12 title game against Washington.
LSU entered Week 13 without the opportunity to play another game before the Heisman ceremony on Dec. 9 and it was imperative that Daniels had a great game and LSU won. A player on a four-loss team hasn’t won the Heisman in over 50 years since Steve Owens won in 1969.
The victory means LSU finishes the regular season at 9-3 and Daniels enters the postseason with over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. Daniels ends the regular season 236-of-327 passing for 3,812 yards and 40 passing TDs to just four interceptions. He also rushed 135 times for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He’s the only quarterback in the country with more than 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards and has better stats than any other Heisman contender. The question now is if voters will look at what Daniels has done on a three-loss team and view it as a better accomplishment than what Nix or what Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. have done on better teams.
