Jayden Daniels vs. Lamar Jackson: How LSU QB compares to Heisman winner's 2016 Louisville season

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday. 

Daniels is drawing comparisons to the last Heisman winner who played on a team with three regular-season losses. Louisville's Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016 on a Cardinals' team that finished 9-3 in the regular season. 

Daniels and Jackson put together unbelievable rushing and passing statistics in those seasons, however, and Daniels is closer to Jackson than you might think. 

Here is a statistical comparison of Jackson in 2016 and Daniels in 2023. 

Jayden Daniels vs. Lamar Jackson: Comparing regular-season stats

Jackson, who was Sporting News Player of the Year in 2016, totaled 5,112 total yards – an average of 393.3 yards per game – with Louisville in 2016. That’s more total yards than Daniels – who has 4,946 and leads the FBS with 412.2 yards per game this season. 

If you take Jackson’s bowl game out that season – where he had 179 total yards in a 29-9 loss to LSU in the Citrus Bowl – then he had 4,933 total yards – an average of 411.1 yards per game – in the regular season in 2016. That is a near mirror image to Daniels, who has not announced whether he is playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Wisconsin. 

Jayden Daniels vs. Lamar Jackson: Who had more touchdowns? 

Jackson captured Heisman Trophy voters’ attention in 2016 with 51 total TDs, including 21 touchdown runs. Jackson had four games with 300-plus passing yards and eight games with 100-plus rushing yards. 

Daniels was almost the reverse. He had eight games with 300-plus passing yards and four games with 100 or more rushing yards. 

MORE: Breaking down the four Heisman finalists

Jayden Daniels vs. Lamar Jackson:  Who had best single-game performance? 

Daniels and Jackson each had a game with eight total TDs. Jackson had eight TDs against Charlotte on Sept. 1, 2016. Daniels scored eight total touchdowns against Georgia State on Nov. 18, 2023. 

That wasn’t their respective best statistical games. 

Jackson had 610 total yards and five TDs in a 62-28 victory against Syracuse on Sept. 9, 2016. Jackson had an iconic hurdle over a Syracuse defender in that game – and he essentially took the lead in the Heisman Trophy race and never looked back. 

Lamar Jackson had 483 yards and 5 TDs in the first half vs. Syracuse. Oh, and this hurdle: https://t.co/BaSbo7Xvom pic.twitter.com/2QnoVCUjTN

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 10, 2016

Daniels had 606 total yards and five total TDs in a 52-35 victory against Florida on Nov. 11, 2023.  This vaulted Daniels into the Heisman mix with Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix. 

Jayden Daniels vs. Lamar Jackson: How many games did they lose? 

Jackson played Deshaun Watson in a top-five showdown against No. 3 Clemson on Oct. 1, 2016 – which the Tigers won 42-36. The Cardinals still ascended to No. 3 in the AP Poll before back-to-back losses to No. 11 Houston and Kentucky to end the regular season. Jackson averaged 265.7 passing yards and 122 rushing yards with eight total TDs and four interceptions in those losses. 

LSU lost a top-10 showdown to No. 8 Florida State 45-24 in the season opener. The Tigers also lost to No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 8 Alabama, which knocked LSU out of SEC championship contention. In those three games, Daniels averaged 326.3 passing yards, 108.7 rushing yards with nine total TDs and two interceptions in those losses. 

Jayden Daniels vs. Lamar Jackson: Final Heisman Trophy voting 

Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016 by a margin of 620 votes over Watson. Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook finished third and fourth, respectively that season. 

Will this year’s vote be like that? Daniels is the presumed front-runner ahead of Penix Jr., Nix and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. This is a similar cast to when Jackson won in 2016. 

Will Daniels have the same result?