Bovada Odds To Win 2017 Heisman Trophy
Bovada released its odds to win the 2017 Heisman Trophy. How close are they to being real?
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Bovada 2017 Heisman Trophy Odds
First of all, as is the annual rite of passage when it comes to all Heisman speculation, take … the … field. Heisman winners don’t always come from out of nowhere, but the obvious returning players – Deshaun Watson, Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey, for example – almost never pull it off. Remember, it’s really, really, really hard to win the Heisman. So with that in mind the February Bovada odds are …
QB Sam Darnold, USC
4-to-1 – With high-profile games against Stanford and Texas early on, the ball might get rolling right away. There’s a great mix of high-profile games and bad defenses to crank up the stats.
QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
13-to-2 – If he stays in one piece, the numbers will be through the roof. It all comes down to the beginning – Game Two at Ohio State. Win that, and it’s Game On for the Heisman.
QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville
13-to-2 – The stats might be stronger, and the team could be even better, but it’s asking a lot to make a guy a two-time winner. There might be buyer’s remorse after last year.
RB Bo Scarbrough, Alabama
9-to-1 – Nah. He’ll be amazing, and the team will be fantastic again, but he’ll lose way too many rushing stats to …
QB Jalen Hurts, Alabama
10-to-1 – Remember, there was a time in the middle of the season – like the Tennessee game – when he looked like he might be the guy in the race. He’s better than you think after the College Football Playoff issues.
QB J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
12-to-1 – He’ll have to beat Oklahoma again, but the stats need to be better, he has to be a sharper passer, and the stigma against post-Troy Smith Buckeye QBs in the Heisman race has to go away.
RB Saquon Barkley, Penn State
12-to-1 – He might be a better football player than a statistical superstar on a national scale, but he’ll also be a marked man. He’ll have to survive road games against the Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State and Michigan State run defenses.
QB Jake Browning, Washington
12-to-1 – The stats didn’t seem to matter too much last year, but he’ll come up with more than his share of big moment in firefights to generate the national attention again.
QB Trace McSorley, Penn State
14-to-1 – He’ll be magnificent, but to get anywhere near the Heisman – as the quarterback – he has to win the Big Ten title again. Can Penn State win all the tough road games and beat Michigan, too? Nah.
QB Deondre Francois, Florida State
14-to-1 – This might be your value call, but the Heisman run will be made-or-broken right away against Alabama, and with Miami coming up a few weeks later. If Florida State starts the year 3-0, and if Francois is the reason, this thing might be over before October.
QB Josh Rosen, UCLA
14-to-1 – The stats will be better than the team. He’ll put up massive numbers, but the Bruins won’t win the South.
QB Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
14-to-1 – Look out for him to be one of the hot names among the NFL types as the season goes on. Oklahoma State will be in firefight after firefight in a good run in the Big 12 title chase.
RB Nick Chubb, Georgia
16-to-1 – Nope. He’ll have to split carries with Sony Michel, and Jacob Eason might turn into the team’s biggest star.
RB Derrius Guice, LSU
16-to-1 – Leonard Fournette had an amazing 2015, and it didn’t matter a lick in the Heisman race. If Guice doesn’t rip up Alabama, and if
QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State
25-to-1 – This sounds good in theory, but Mississippi State isn’t going to be in the SEC title hunt like it was a few years ago with Dak Prescott at the helm.
RB Kamryn Pettway, Auburn
28-to-1 – This might not be a bad play. If Pettway goes off against Clemson on September 9th, with the schedule that comes after, he might be at 1,000 yards over the first six games before going to make-or-break games at LSU and Arkansas. Of course, there’s that Alabama matzah ball sitting out there at the end to deal with.
QB Shane Buechele, Texas
33-to-1 – Can Buechele be Tom Herman’s Greg Ward? Not really, but he’ll throw for a ton of yards and make Texas better at this whole college football thing. However, he needs to beat USC and Oklahoma in the first half of the season to have a shot.
QB Luke Falk, Washington State
33-to-1 – Here’s the problem: it doesn’t matter that he’ll throw for a gajillion yards. Everyone will expect him to bomb away in the Mike Leach offense, so unless Wazzu wins the Pac-12 North, forget about it.