What does Jayden Daniels need to do against Texas A&M to win the Heisman?

Saturday morning at 11am CT, Jayden Daniels will take the field in Death Valley for the final time as an LSU Tiger. Since he transferred to LSU from Arizona State, Daniels has put up historic numbers and has been a key piece in revitalizing this program. Nobody could've predicted that Daniels would become the second best quarterback in LSU history, but the kid has no doubt been one of the all-time greats to wear those three letters on his chest.

Daniels' play this season has earned him a spot in the Heisman conversation, and just last week, Daniels took firm control as the favorite to win the award. He's one great performance away from cementing himself in the college football history books, and Saturday, he'll do everything he can to hear his name called in New York.

There are a lot of people out there (mostly Oregon fans) who don't think that Jayden Daniels deserves the Heisman trophy because his team has lost three games. Well, I've got news for those people; wins aren't a quarterback stat and there have been multiple 3+ loss Heisman winners over the years.

There has been a precedent of sorts set for what it takes a 3+ loss player to win the Heisman trophy, and if that precedent remains, Daniels needs to finish the season with about 4,500 total yards and 50 total touchdowns. He's already hit the 4,500 yard mark and he's very well within reach of hitting the 50 touchdown mark as well.

Here's Daniels stats through 11 games compared to the other three-loss Heisman quarterbacks in recent memory:

If there was another player who was putting up similar stats to Daniels and had anywhere from 0-2 losses, I would understand the voters going another direction, but at this point in time, there just isn't anyone else near his level.

Bo Nix seems to be the only other guy in the race right now, and he currently has 924 less yards and six less touchdowns than Daniels. Even if he had an extra game (which he likely will with the Pac-12 championship), he still won't get close to Daniels' numbers.

And for any Oregon fan out there that may be reading this saying, "Well Bo Nix was pulled when his team was up big and LSU left Daniels on the field for most of the Georgia State game," Daniels has played 647 offensive snaps this season while Bo Nix has played 683.

So with all that said, what does Daniels need to do on Saturday to take home the Heisman?

I would say he needs a 350+ yard, 4+ touchdown game to absolutely cement himself as the Heisman. If he can hit that mark, he'd have more total yards than any other three-loss Heisman and he'd be one touchdown shy of Lamar Jackson's season total.

I think Daniels could have a worse performance and still win it, but if he wants to leave no doubts, a 350-yard, four touchdown performance should just about make him a lock to win the Heisman trophy in December.

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