For the rest of the college football season, Yahoo Sports will highlight the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy on a weekly basis. All odds are via BetMGM.
The season starts now for J.J. McCarthy and Michigan.
The Wolverines are 9-0 and No. 3 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, but the level of competition on the schedule to this point has been lackluster. Michigan hasn’t faced a single ranked team and its average margin of victory has been a remarkable 34 points per game.
Along the way, McCarthy has been excellent in his second season as Michigan’s starting quarterback and finds himself in the thick of the Heisman Trophy race. Other than a three-interception game back in September, McCarthy has been operating the Michigan offense at an extremely high level. While some of his statistics won’t wow you — his 2,134 passing yards ranks 39th in the nation — McCarthy has been incredibly efficient.
McCarthy, who is currently +600 to win the Heisman at BetMGM, has completed 75.7% of his passes (No. 3 nationally), is averaging 10.4 yards per attempt (tied No. 2 nationally) and has the second-best passer rating in the country (188.68). He also has a stellar 18-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) has been excellent this season, but the competition level is about to ramp up, starting with this weekend against No. 10 Penn State. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
But will McCarthy be able to operate at that level against better teams? Michigan’s entire season essentially comes down to this three-game stretch, starting with Saturday’s road game at No. 10 Penn State. Penn State’s only loss of the year came at Ohio State back on Oct. 21 and the Nittany Lions are hungry to get back in the CFP and Big Ten title hunts.
Penn State has one of the best defenses…
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