LSU’s Joe Burrow set a new standard for collegiate quarterback play while winning the 2019 Heisman Trophy.
Burrow, an eventual No. 1 overall NFL pick and current Cincinnati Bengal, led the Tigers to a 15-0 record and a national championship while throwing for 5,671 yards, the fourth-highest single-season total in FBS history and the most in one year by a Heisman Trophy winner. He became the only player in SEC history to throw for at least 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season, and he set NCAA marks for most touchdown passes (60) and total touchdowns (65). Oh, and his 76.3 completion percentage ranks No. 2 all-time in NCAA history in one season.
But does Texas football quarterback Arch Manning have to approach those loftiest of numbers if he hopes to become the first Longhorn to win a Heisman Trophy since running back Ricky Williams in 1998?
Not quite, but Manning better come close, based on the recent performances of the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks.
Entering the season, Manning enters the season as the co-favorite to win the Heisman, according to odds released by BetMGM. Manning and Notre Dame are both tabbed at +750, followed closely by Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss at +900.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (10-1), Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (11-1) and Miami quarterback Darian Mensah (11-1) round out the top six preseason Heisman favorites.
Here are the stats for the four quarterbacks that have won the Heisman Trophy since Burrow’s 2019 record-breaking campaign:
As the last four Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks show, prodigious stats matter as much to the voters as wins. Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a perfect regular season and the Big Ten championship at the time of the final vote, and Young had Alabama poised to play for a title.
But Williams and Daniels leaned on their on-field production more than their team’s success. In 2023, Daniels topped Washington’s Michael Penix for the Heisman even though Penix led the nation in passing and guided his team to the four-team College Football Playoff.
So, what does this mean for Manning’s Heisman hopes? The senior needs to improve on last season’s numbers, and it will help if Texas has at least 10 wins and one of the 12 CFP spots when Heisman voters cast their ballots in December.
Last season as a third-year quarterback, Manning threw for 3,163 yards and 26 TDs on 61.4% passing to go along with 399 yards rushing and 10 TDs on the ground for a Longhorns team that went 10-3.
But it took Manning half a season to find his groove in his first year as a starter. Over the final six games of 2025, he threw for 1,714 yards and 14 TDs on 62.3% passing and added 206 yards rushing and five TDs on the ground.
If Manning produced those numbers over 16 games, he would end the year with 4,570 yards and 37 touchdowns passing as well as 549 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Those numbers easily eclipse Mendoza’s stats from 16 games last season.