College Football Awards 2023: Odds, Betting Tips, Final Predictions Before Ceremony
Jayden Daniels could pick up two awards in two nights to finish off his spectacular season with the LSU Tigers.
Daniels is the Heisman Trophy favorite at the moment, but before he potentially claims that award, he could win the Maxwell Award during Friday's college football awards show.
Daniels, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are the three nominees for the player of the year award that has also been won by the Heisman winner in all but one year since 2014.
The top players at all positions will be honored throughout Friday's ceremony. All three Heisman finalist quarterbacks are also up for the Davey O'Brien Award given to the nation's best quarterback.
Heisman finalist Marvin Harrison Jr. is one of three nominees for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's best wide receiver.
The top defensive honor, the Chuck Bednarik Award, is down to UCLA's Laiatu Latu, Alabama's Dallas Turner and NC State's Payton Wilson.
The Pac-12 Championship Game may have settled the Maxwell and Heisman in favor of Daniels.
The Maxwell has been a good indicator of which player will come away with college football's most prestigious award on Saturday night for the last decade.
The only difference between the two awards since 2014 was in 2018 when Tua Tagovailoa won the Maxwell and Kyler Murray captured the Heisman.
Daniels' 4,946 total yards and 50 total touchdowns are better numbers than Nix and Penix each have.
Daniels was at a disadvantage in that he could not play on conference championship weekend, but he received the result he needed for his Heisman hopes, as Penix and the Washington Huskies beat Nix and the Oregon Ducks.
Nix struggled at the start of that contest and Penix did not have a tremendous second half of the season to compare to Daniels.
Daniels should be awarded as the nation's best overall player on Friday with the Maxwell Award, and if history repeats itself again, he will take home the Heisman one day later.
Prediction: Jayden Daniels
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the lone Heisman finalist up for the Biletnikoff Award, but voters will have a tough decision between himself, LSU's Malik Nabers and Washington's Rome Odunze.
Harrison is the best overall talent of the group, but he had fewer receiving yards than the two other Biletnikoff finalists.
However, Harrison tied Nabers with 14 touchdown catches and he had a slightly better yards per catch at 18.1 yards than Nabers and Odunze.
Nabers led the FBS with 1,546 receiving yards, while Odunze was second on that list with 1,428 yards.
Nabers and Odunze both finished their seasons with extended 100-yard streaks. Nabers hit the century mark in his last five games, while Odunze had four straight 100-yard outings.
Both Nabers and Odunze played with Heisman finalists at quarterback, which might end up hurting them in voting.
Harrison did more with less inside the Ohio State offense with quarterback Kyle McCord.
Harrison also had 16 catches for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' two most important games against the Michigan Wolverines and Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Biletnikoff voting should be incredibly close, but Harrison has a slight edge because of how well he performed with an average quarterback at his disposal.
Prediction: Marvin Harrison Jr.
Payton Wilson was constantly involved in the NC State defense all season.
The senior linebacker recorded 138 total tackles, 69 solo tackles, six sacks, six passes defended and three interceptions.
He may not have been in the national spotlight much, but those who saw Wilson play for the Wolfpack know how dynamic of a defensive presence he was.
Dallas Turner and Laiatu Latu are deserving finalists for the Chuck Bendarik Award as well.
Turner had nine sacks for Alabama's defense and Latu produced his second straight double-digit sack season at UCLA.
Neither Wilson or Latu was as active in their defense as Wilson was, and the NC State player should be recognized for his efforts with an award on Friday night.
Prediction: Payton Wilson
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