Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2024 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back every week as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. All odds via BetMGM.
It wasn’t until Week 7 last year that preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Caleb Williams was no longer the frontrunner for the award at sportsbooks.
It only took until Week 3 for the 2024 preseason favorite to suffer the same fate.
Dillon Gabriel’s relatively slow start at Oregon has knocked him back to the middle of the pack, but the season is still incredibly young. There’s plenty of reason to feel optimistic the Ducks will figure things out. In the meantime, these are now the players with the 10-best odds to win college football’s most prestigious individual award.
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Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Colorado’s Swiss Army Knife is back where he started the season at +3500 odds. This has less to do with his own abilities than it does the Buffaloes’ overall performance. This team is now 1-1 after getting manhandled by Nebraska and has another rivalry game this week against Colorado State that could get messy. More to the point, Hunter has 242 yards and three touchdowns on 17 receptions and is still playing as much defense as possible.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Kansas State and LSU both survived scares last weekend.
The Wildcats were on Upset Alert pretty much from the opening kickoff at Tulane before escaping with a win while the Tigers found themselves in a 23-21 battle in the third quarter against Nicholls before putting it away with three straight touchdowns.
Johnson’s offseason hype was mostly worn off, but that doesn’t mean he can’t win the Heisman. In fact, he might have one of the more straightforward paths to the award thanks to Kansas State’s schedule. But it’s about time for him to deliver on the tools that made Wildcats fans completely comfortable with losing Will Howard to Ohio State.
LSU, frankly, needs to beat someone real before Nussmeier can be taken seriously here.
Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty has been the most exciting player in the FBS this season bar none. In two games against Georgia Southern and Oregon, the tailback has posted 459 yards and nine touchdowns on 45 carries. He just might be enough to push the Broncos the the playoffs.
Moss barely had to do anything for USC to roll Utah State, 48-0.
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Ohio State’s schedule won’t pick up until Week 5 versus Iowa, but in the meantime Howard has passed every test so far, passing for 520 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against Western Michigan and Akron. He’s also rushed for another 24 yards and score on five carries.
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This might be a buy low situation if Gabriel can get the offense rolling.
Milroe, meanwhile, has started looking like himself again but it may be best to wait to fully judge him until after this week’s matchup against Wisconsin, in what will be his first big road test this season.
(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
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Furman and Middle Tennessee haven’t provided the toughest tests for Ole Miss through two weeks, but Dart has done his absolute best to take advantage. He’s thrown for 795 yards and six touchdowns with no picks while adding another two scores on the ground.
Dart’s competition only gets slightly stronger this week with Ole Miss visiting Wake Forest.
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Ward ranks second in the FBS in QBR (94.9) and he’s completed 75 percent of his passes through two games for 689 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
He’ll likely keep padding those numbers in Week 3 against Ball State.
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
As long as Georgia keeps putting up 34+ points every game, Beck will remain in contention. That might be the case this week at Kentucky, but it’ll soon get significantly more difficult with Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss in the middle of the Bulldogs’ schedule.
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Nico has done everything and more to keep the hype train rolling in Tennessee. Through two games against Chattanooga and No. 24 N.C. State, the freshman has posted 525 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Say a prayer for 0-2 Kent State this week.
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
Ewers becomes the first Heisman candidate to see his odds get better than 6-1 this season. Putting on a clinic against the defending champions at the Big House will tend to do that.
At Michigan, Ewers’ posted 246 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. A feisty UTSA team comes to Austin this week, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem the way Texas’ offense is humming.
