As the college football schedule enters November in Week 10, the race for bowl bids and College Football Playoff spots are heating up. The same can be said for the hunt for the Heisman Trophy – the top individual honor in NCAA football.
The Heisman race is very tight entering the home stretch of the season. Here’s a look at the sports betting trends oddsmakers’ have as favorites to hoist the Heisman at the end of the year.
Joe Burrow, LSU Tigers +150
Burrow added another impressive performance to his Heisman resume with a victory over a very tough Auburn defense this past Saturday. The Ohio State transfer passed for 321 yards with a touchdown and an interception, bringing his season total to 2,805 yards with 30 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.
Burrow has a week off to prep, plan and recover from a physical meeting with Auburn, looking to a huge SEC showdown with Alabama in Week 11. If Burrow can lead the Tigers to a win at Tuscaloosa, the Heisman Trophy is all but his – regardless of what happens in the final weeks of the season.
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma Sooners +175
Hurts has impressed in his one and only year at Oklahoma, picking up where he left off with Alabama before being replaced by Tua Tagovailoa. The Sooners’ upset loss to Kansas State this past Saturday does hurt his Heisman campaign, but that defeat was of no fault of Hurts. He threw for 395 yards and a touchdown, adding 96 yards and three rushing scores to that stat line.
If the Heisman voting simply weighed on stats, Hurts would be a no-brainer pick. However, team success and quality of opponent does play a factor and the senior grad student isn’t facing much resistance versus bad Big 12 defenses. If he does “strike a pose”, Hurts would be the third straight Oklahoma transfer quarterback to win the Heisman, following Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Crimson Tide +200
Tagovailoa was the Heisman front runner for most of the season, but an ankle injury suffered in Week 8 has knocked him down the board. Tagovailoa’s stats speak for themselves, and are a bit tempered due to the Tide crushing opponents and not need Tua to take over in the second half: 27 touchdowns, just two interceptions, and 2,166 yards passing.
After sitting out Week 9 and getting a bye in Week 10, Tagovailoa should have adequate time to recover from this injury. The Week 11 matchup with Louisiana State will be a massive swing vote in the Heisman race, as Tagovailoa goes head-to-head with current Heisman betting favorite Burrow. He should have more chances to impress after that, including the Iron Bowl against rival Auburn in the season finale.
