Michael Penix Jr. was named the MVP of the Pac-12 Championship Game and chants from his teammates quickly turned to calls for a different award.

Washington’s star quarterback entered Friday night’s contest as the No. 3 guy in a perceived two-man race for the Heisman Trophy. But after engineering a 34-31 win over Oregon to cap a perfect 13-0 season heading into the College Football Playoff, Penix’s Heisman stock is soaring.

With Oregon losing, it seems unlikely Bo Nix would win the award now. So does it go to LSU’s Jayden Daniels, who has been the most prolific quarterback in the country this season?

Or should the award go to Penix? LSU has three losses and will sit at home this weekend during the conference championship game. Washington was 4-8 before Penix came to town. He has since gone 24-2 as the UW starter.

Penix completed 27 of his 39 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown on Friday night. He had some absolutely spectacular throws throughout the game, and he iced the win with a 6-yard completion on third-and-4 with two minutes to play in the game.

For the season, Penix is up to 4,218 passing yards with 33 touchdowns. Daniels has 3,812 yards through the air, 1,134 yards on the ground, and 50 total touchdowns.

The numbers just aren’t comparable.

But while LSU was running a multi-faceted marketing campaign to secure the Heisman for its quarterback, Penix and Washington were preparing for a title fight. And many fans are asking if Penix’s impact on winning should matter just as much as the box score.

Just based on the Playoff committee’s own ranking, Washington has the best win of any team in the country. It has earned that win twice. Penix has been instrumental in both.

The 2023 Heisman Trophy will be awarded on Dec. 9 live on ESPN (5 p.m. PT). Finalists will be announced on Monday.

Here’s some of the reaction to Friday night’s game: