For the tenth consecutive season, the College Football Researchers Association has bestowed a Player of the Year award to the best overall player in college football, and this season Bryce Young from Alabama has taken the title by a large margin. Young bested all of his rivals by 28 points and received 10 of the 16 possible first-place votes. Seven of the previous nine winners of this award went on to win the Heisman Trophy, with Deshaun Watson (2016) and Tua Tagovailoa (2018) being the two exceptions. The full breakdown of votes is below with the number of first-place votes each player received in parentheses:
1. Bryce Young, Alabama (10)– 68 points
2. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (4)– 40 points
3. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State– 29 points
4. Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State– 22 points
5. Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan (2)– 19 points
6. Matt Corral, Ole Miss– 14 points
7. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati– 10 points
7. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest– 10 points
9. Will Anderson, Alabama– 9 points
9. Jordan Davis, Georgia- 9 points
11. John Metchie III, Alabama– 4 points
12. Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh– 2 points
13. Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky– 1 point
13. Jerome Ford, Cincinnati– 1 point
13. Caleb Williams, Oklahoma– 1 point