Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2023 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back each Tuesday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. Check out preseason odds here and Week 1 here.
USC demolished Nevada, Colorado stunned TCU and Clemson is looking like the old Clemson again (and not the one that was competing for national titles year after year).
Where does that leave the Heisman race heading into Week 2? Here’s what the oddsmakers have to say about it before another massive slate of games kicks off.
Notable Movers
Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Week 2: +6600
- Last Week: +2000
Florida State WR Keon Coleman
- Week 2: +8000
- Last Week: N/A
South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler
- Week 2: +10000
- Last Week +5000
Clemson RB Will Shipley
- Week 2: +10000
- Last Week: +8000
No. 10: Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, Ohio State QB Kyle McCord, Arkansas QB K.J. Jefferson, Duke QB Riley Leonard (+5000)
Odds Last Week:
- Cade Klubnik (+1400)
- Kyle McCord (+2500)
- K.J. Jefferson (No Change)
- Riley Leonard (No Change)
Klubnik took a hard tumble after a disastrous showing by Clemson in a season-opening loss at Duke —and much of the blame belongs to head coach Dabo Swinney — but all that did was give bettors an opportunity to buy the dip on a QB who still has Top 10 odds.
No. 9: Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman, LSU QB Jayden Daniels (+4000)
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Odds Last Week:
- Conner Weigman (No Change)
- Jayden Daniels (+1000)
Daniels entered the season-opener against Florida State with the second-best Heisman odds on the board behind Caleb Williams. We knew the winner between FSU and LSU would shift the board a bit, but I’m not sure anyone imagined Daniels would complete barely half his passes (22-for-37) for one touchdown and an interception.
No. 8: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders (+3300)
(AP Photo/LM Otero)
Odds Last Week:
- (+12500)
Hey, so, Colorado has a quarterback. A really dang good one! A quarterback who just torched a defense coming off a College Football Playoff appearance for 510 yards and four touchdowns and made it all look way too easy.
No. 7: Georgia QB Carson Beck, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel (+3000)
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Odds Last Week:
- Carson Beck (+1800)
- Jalen Milroe (+5000)
- Dillon Gabriel (+5000)
What can you learn when the top college programs in the country play the likes of Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas State and UT Martin? Not much of anything, really. That is unless you pass for around 300 yards and score touchdowns both passing and running like Gabriel and Beck did against the latter two teams.
Milroe handled himself just fine, too, with 194 yards passing with three touchdowns through the air and another two on the ground.
No. 6: Tennessee QB Joe Milton, Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter, North Carolina QB Drake Maye (+2500)
(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Odds Last Week:
- Joe Milton (No Change)
- Drake Maye (+1800)
- Travis Hunter (+15000)
Hunter and Sanders are really the two players who changed everything in the Heisman race this week. At least as far as oddsmakers are concerned. Does it mean either will win? Not necessarily, as BetFTW’s Prince Grimes points out, Hunter has a tough road ahead — even if he currently owns the conversation.
No. 5: Texas QB Quinn Ewers, Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman, Penn State QB Drew Allar, Oregon QB Bo Nix (+2000)
(Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
Odds Last Week:
- Quinn Ewers (+1200)
- Sam Hartman (+1600)
- Drew Allar (+2500)
- Bo Nix (+1600)
All four were in the preseason Heisman conversation, so there’s no real surprise in this bunch. Every player saw their odds dip a tiny bit after Week 1 — with the exception of Allar, who’s line improved — making this another strong list of players worth buying on the dip. That’s especially true for Nix and Ewers, who have tough Week 2 road games against Texas Tech and Alabama, respectively.
No. 4: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy (+1600)
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY
Odds Last Week:
- (No Change)
McCarthy did everything he was supposed to for Michigan in its opener against East Carolina, completing 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns. That’s even more important considering he still won’t have his head coach back for another two games.
No. 3: Florida State QB Jordan Travis (+1000)
(AP Photo/Phil Sears)
Odds Last Week:
- (+1200)
Travis won the battle against LSU’s Jayden Daniels, but it’s not surprising his odds didn’t improve too much considering the first half was rather sloppy for FSU on Sunday. That’s the bad news here. The good news is the QB still accounted for five touchdowns, is undefeated to start the year and still has plenty to show.
No. 2: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (+850)
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Odds Last Week:
- (+1400)
If you didn’t watch Washington on Saturday you missed one of the most fun performances of the entire week. Penix Jr. was on an absolute playmaking tear and the game still looked too easy for him. He passed for 450 yards and five touchdowns against Boise State. We’ll see if he can get anywhere close to those numbers again in Week 2 against Tulsa.
No. 1: USC QB Caleb Williams (+450)
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Odds Last Week:
- (+475)
The King stays the king for yet another week. USC is now 2-0 with a 66-14 victory over Nevada. Williams passed for a nonchalant 319 yards and five touchdowns. So it goes.
Full Odds
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
