Happy birthday to our nation’s leader, President (in name only?) Joe Biden.   Old Joe from Scranton is 81 today.  He’s done the people’s business for a long time.

He’s also told us that he’s taught college classes, was arrested for advocating on behalf of Black people, conducted an Amtrak train, and driven an 18-wheeler.

Heck, he even said he played football at the University of Delaware.  Was he considered for the Heisman Trophy?  Probably not.  That would have raised some hubbub.

And speaking of the Heisman Trophy and hubbub, this year’s race to the Downtown Athletic Club is as hotly contested as next year’s presidential election will likely be.

Despite Oregon quarterback Bo Nix playing lights out on Saturday, there’s a new player in his rearview mirror when it comes to winning the Heisman Trophy.

LSU QB Jayden Daniels (nicknamed JD5) made a nice move up the oddsboard Saturday night, passing up Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.  Daniels is now the new co-favorite with Nix to win college football’s most prestigious award.

Most of the wanna-be’s have fallen well off of the pace.  Thankfully, after Marvin Harrison Jr’s Saturday three-catch 30-yard performance his run seems halted.  The media tried awfully hard to pimp a really good wide receiver with pretty good stats and thought his name would help the narrative.

Harrison could go nuts in The Game, aka Michigan hosting his Ohio State squad this weekend and try to jump back in the conversation.  It’s doubtful.

Penix will get one more game than Nix and Daniels to showcase his talent in the PAC 12 Championship on 12/2.  Votes are due back on 12/4.

Nix transferred two years ago from the SEC to the PAC 12 Oregon team.  Daniels transferred two years ago from the PAC 12 to the SEC LSU team.

If statistics are the final factor, Daniels has a big advantage over Nix.  Daniels’s rushing yards added to his passing yards making his total combined yards well ahead of Nix and against a tougher schedule.   If the West Coast narrative is the final factor, Nix is playing in a beleaguered league in its last year before the PAC12, which really has 14 teams, becomes the PAC 2.

Oregon has lost once.  LSU has lost three times.  Why does that matter if you’re giving it to the best individual player?

JD5 is smoother than freshly woven Italian silk.  He runs like the cartoon character Road Runner.  He makes the chasing defense look like Wile E Coyote.  No one catches him.  Beep Beep, or is it meep meep?

His touchdown to interception ratio is a spectacular 9:1 with 36 TDs to 4 picks in 303 throws.

Old, mostly white, and mostly crotchety men of the press corp, about 850 in all, vote from coast to coast.

May the best man win fair and square like Joe Biden mostly did in November of 2020.

For this writer, it better be JD5 to avoid another J6.

Just kidding.  Sort of.