Each week, I’ll be diving into the Heisman Trophy odds to try and help you find some in-season opportunities to get involved in this market. I’ll do that by highlighting some of the players that are trending up or down. Two weeks ago, Jalen Milroe and Alabama beat Georgia, pushing the quarterback to the top of the oddsboard. However, Milroe then struggled in an extremely disappointing loss to Vanderbilt last week. This race is now wide open. Nothing drives that home like seeing two position players at the top of the board. With all of that in mind, keep reading for my Week 7 Heisman Trophy betting market update.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for college football best bets from all of our analysts
***Top College Football Betting Resources***
*Join thousands of other sports bettors and unlock access to picks, public betting spits data, & the VSiN live video broadcast by upgrading to VSiN Pro. Grab your first month for less than $10.*
- NCAAF Expert Picks
- NCAAF Betting Hub
- NCAAF 2024 Week-By-Week Schedule
- Parlay Calculator
- NCAAF Betting Splits
- NCAAF Betting Odds
(All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook)
Heisman Trophy Odds
These are the Heisman Trophy odds going into Week 7:
- Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (+225)
- Travis Hunter, Colorado (+300)
- Cam Ward, Miami (+400)
- Jalen Milroe, Alabama (11-1)
- Dillon Gabriel, Oregon (15-1)
- Cade Klubnik, Clemson (16-1)
- Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (18-1)
- Quinn Ewers, Texas (20-1)
- Carson Beck, Georgia (25-1)
- Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (35-1)
For the entire list of Heisman Trophy odds, go to DraftKings Sportsbook!
Trending Up: Jeanty is now the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Last week, the electric runner handled 13 carries for 186 yards and three touchdowns against Utah State. He’s now up to 1,031 yards and 16 touchdowns on only 95 carries this season. It might seem crazy for a Group of Five running back to be getting this much respect in a market that is generally reserved for Power Four quarterbacks, but what Jeanty has done this year has been unfathomable. And there’s a real chance the Broncos will end up making the College Football Playoff. So, Jeanty has to be taken very seriously as a contender in this race. I noted a few weeks ago that he was too good of a value at anything 20-1 or better. Well, it’s probably too late to grab Jeanty now.
Hunter was another big winner in Week 6, even though Colorado didn’t have a game. Milroe’s lousy performance opened up the door for a lot of players, and Hunter is one of them. The two-way star is PFF’s fifth-graded cornerback this season, and he’s also averaging over 100 receiving yards per game. There’s nobody in college football like him. And outside of Shohei Ohtani, there aren’t many players in sports like him. So, Hunter is naturally garnering more Heisman buzz, and it’s hard to argue there’s anybody in the nation that means more to their team than him. However, Hunter does have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation on his team, with Shedeur Sanders stealing some of the spotlight. The Buffaloes also happen to be a bit of a question mark moving forward. Can Colorado win enough games for Hunter or Sanders to really be factors in this race? Last year, Jayden Daniels won this award on a three-loss LSU team. But that was also an SEC program. Colorado probably can’t afford to lose more than one more game.
The last name that is worth mentioning heading into Week 7 is Ward. Miami nearly lost as a double-digit road favorite against Cal, as the Hurricanes were down 35-10 in the third quarter. But Ward really took over from there, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. One of the passes was a game-winning touchdown to Elijah Arroyo with 26 seconds remaining. In the end, Ward finished with 437 yards, two touchdowns and one pick, while also rushing for a score. Ward leads the nation in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and he’s also fifth amongst starters in passer rating. On top of that, Ward is PFF’s second-ranked passer and second-highest graded quarterback. He has Heisman-worthy numbers and plays for an undefeated team. And if the Hurricanes finish the regular season without a loss, he’s likely going to take this thing home.
Trending Down: This felt like Milroe’s award to lose after an insane performance against Georgia. And while Milroe didn’t quite lose it yet, he didn’t do himself any favors by losing to Vanderbilt. Milroe’s numbers from that game weren’t terrible, as he threw for 310 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he also rushed for a touchdown. However, the interception was a pick six. He also lost a fumble when Alabama was down 33-28. If the Crimson Tide scored on that drive, the team might have won. All in all, Milroe had a forgettable day. But he’s not out of this yet. In fact, perhaps this is a good buying point for the dual-threat signal caller. If he leads Alabama to wins over Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and Oklahoma, all will be forgotten. But that’s a big “if” considering what we’ve seen from the Tide defensively.
Another player that should be mentioned here is Miller Moss, who is now down to 75-1. Moss was a trendy pick to win this award, especially after throwing for 378 yards and a touchdown in a big win over LSU in Week 1. But USC has lost two of its last three games, and Moss was miserable in last week’s loss to Minnesota.
Week 7’s Biggest Games
Texas at Oklahoma – 3:30 pm ET
I’m not sure Ewers will end up playing enough to win this award. The junior only played half of the game against UTSA a few weeks ago and then missed Texas’ wins over Louisiana Monroe and Mississippi State. However, Ewers can definitely help himself quite a bit by lighting up Oklahoma this week. Texas then takes on Georgia on October 19th, giving Ewers a big platform to prove he belongs in the conversation.
Ole Miss at LSU – 7:30 pm ET
Dart’s play in a loss to Kentucky was unacceptable, but I did warn people against ruling the Ole Miss star out. The reason for that was that the Rebels still have a high-octane offense, and they have a couple of high-profile matchups coming up. It starts with this meeting with LSU. Dart, who is PFF’s top-ranked passer this year, is facing a beatable Tigers secondary. He’s also doing so in Death Valley. If Dart puts up big numbers in a win over a good LSU team, I just don’t think you can rule out the possibility of him making a late push for the Heisman Trophy.
I’m also looking forward to seeing Garrett Nussmeier here. He has quietly put up some massive numbers this season, as he has thrown for 1,652 yards with 15 touchdowns and four picks. He also had two rushing touchdowns in last week’s blowout win over a good South Alabama team. Nussmeier probably can’t win this award, but I can see him making a late push to be invited to New York. He’s a baller and LSU’s Week 1 loss to USC wasn’t on him.
Ohio State at Oregon – 7:30 pm ET
I have been talking about this game for weeks now, calling it a poor man’s version of Georgia versus Alabama. This game could very well decide the Big Ten, and the winner of this one will likely end up being one of the top seeds in the College Football Playoff. That said, this is a huge stage for Will Howard and Dillon Gabriel, who are both alive in this race. Howard’s odds weirdly dropped from last week, despite the fact that he threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another in a win over a good Iowa team. He’s available at 65-1 and probably shouldn’t be. Ohio State is undefeated and he’s the quarterback in an offense that has churned out Heisman contenders. Meanwhile, Gabriel has been a little disappointing to start the year, but he was the favorite heading into the year and has thrown for 1,449 yards with 11 touchdowns and three picks. He has also rushed for three scores.
The winning quarterback in this game should shoot into the Top 3 on the oddsboard. So, this is a matchup that is worth watching for a lot of reasons, but the Heisman implications are fascinating.
Kansas State at Colorado – 10:15 pm ET
If Hunter is going to be a real player in the Heisman race, Colorado has to find a way to win this game. If the Buffaloes doesn’t win this one, how can you feel good about the team beating Arizona, Texas Tech and Kansas on the road? The Buffaloes also host very good Utah and Oklahoma State teams. For as special as Hunter is, it’s going to be hard to win the Heisman without playing for a team that finishes 9-3 or better. So, we’re going to learn a lot about Hunter’s candidacy this week. And the same goes for Sanders, but to a much lesser extent.
Boise State at Hawaii – 11:00 pm ET
I’ll continue to put Boise State here until the Broncos pick up another loss. Jeanty has just been shredding opponents on the ground, and there’s no reason not keep an eye on him. Hawaii is also just 114th in the nation in Rush EPA per play allowed (0.080), so this could get really ugly for the Rainbow Warriors. Jeanty is +225 at DraftKings now. He could be short of +200 next week.
Players To Watch
Riley Leonard (80-1): A couple of weeks ago, Adam Schein mentioned Leonard as a potential Heisman bet in my appearance on Make It Rain. I was talking up Klubnik as a 50-1 bet and Adam made the astute observation that a play on Leonard could be similar. Well, Leonard is still out there at 80-1 and there could be some value on him moving forward. Notre Dame had a bad loss to Northern Illinois early in the season, but the team is now 4-1 and an 11-1 record seems very possible. The Fighting Irish have some tough games on the schedule, as they’ll face Georgia Tech, Navy, Army and USC. However, Notre Dame will be favored in all of those games. And if the Fighting Irish handle their business, they should grab a spot in the College Football Playoff. Well, that’s significant when looking at the Heisman market, as Leonard has started to find his groove. The Duke transfer threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns in a win over a good Louisville team, and he also rushed for 52 yards and a score in that game. He has now had at least three touchdowns in each of his last three games.
