Jayden Daniels isn’t going to win the Heisman Trophy.

He might be invited to New York as a finalist for the prestigious award, but he won’t be returning to Baton Rouge with the hardware in hand.

His strong Heisman candidacy is now limited to place or show status in the wake of No. 14 LSU’s 42-28 loss to No. 8 Alabama on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.

The end of Daniels’ candidacy has little if anything to do with the fact that he missed nearly all of the fourth quarter after entering concussion protocol. His Heisman hopes – like the game – were pretty much already done at that point.

In fact, the end of his candidacy had less to do with Daniels – who remains 1 of the very best players in the country – than it had to do with the Tigers’ shortcomings as a team, just as LSU’s pedestrian 6-3 record (4-2 in the SEC) is a result of those shortcomings.

Heisman Trophy winners generally don’t come from teams that have 3 losses 1 week into November, or teams that are middle of the pack in their division/conference.

Daniels’ numbers against Alabama were really good, as they almost always are. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did throw an interception (his 4th in 9 games) on a ball that an Alabama defender batted into his own helmet, turning the throw into a lazy pop-up.

Last Monday, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban acknowledged that Daniels “killed us” in LSU’s 32-31 overtime win in Tiger Stadium last season. Undoubtedly Saban emphasized to his defense the importance of preventing a repeat performance by Daniels, especially in terms of his running.

And yet Daniels had 163 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Bama knew how important Daniels is to the Tigers’ success, and it surely designed its game plan to slow him down. And yet he was extremely effective.

But it certainly wasn’t helpful to Daniels that his counterpart – Jalen Milroe – matched his productivity and ultimately surpassed it.

The biggest potential advantage that LSU had going into the game was a decided advantage in quarterback play. Milroe is a talented but erratic young player who figured to have a challenge in trying to keep up with Daniels.

But to Milroe’s credit, quarterback play wound up being an advantage for the home team as Milroe had 4 of the Tide’s 6 rushing touchdowns.

He finished with 155 of Bama’s 288 rushing yards and added 219 passing yards to his team’s 507 total yards.

The Heisman Trophy isn’t won when a candidate’s counterpart matches or exceeds his performance in a game with championship implications – even if the candidate plays extremely well.

Daniels’ performance this season has warranted comparisons to Joe Burrow’s Heisman-winning season during the Tigers’ 2019 championship run. The Tigers’ top-rated offense going into Saturday’s game also warranted comparisons to that championship offense.

But the loss at Alabama on Saturday confirmed what already was apparent, that Daniels isn’t the equal of Burrow and Daniels’ offense isn’t the equal of Burrow’s.

The 2023 quarterback and offense might be the next-best thing to the 2019 quarterback and offense, but this team isn’t close to being a national-championship contender or an SEC champion — and is now a non-factor in the West race.

Daniels is still having a fine season and presumably he will have additional opportunities, perhaps as soon as next Saturday against Florida in Tiger Stadium, to further enhance his resume – depending on how quickly he emerges from the concussion protocol.

From here on out, what Daniels accomplishes will enhance his standing in the LSU record book as well as contribute to his NFL resume.

And neither is insignificant.

But when it comes to the Heisman, someone else will be accepting the award while Daniels either applauds from the stage in New York or observes from afar.

He won’t be a factor in the final selection, just as the Tigers won’t be a factor when the biggest games of the college season are played in December and January.

Ultimately those 2 realities are intertwined.

Daniels didn’t lose his Heisman candidacy as much as his teammates lost it for him.