Heisman Stock Up, Stock Down: Stroud Continues to Lead The Way

There don’t figure to be much movement in Week 9 either. Stroud’s Ohio State team, Corum and Michigan, Hooker’s Tennessee team as well as Williams and USC are all double-digit favorites.

It is still Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud leading the way in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy according to the college football betting lines.

Let’s check the latest NCAAF picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAF predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAF expert picks for you to consider.

Stroud Continues To Set the Pace

With the way Iowa was turning the ball over, Stroud could have sat out the Week 8 matchup and the Buckeyes would have still rolled to victory.

It was another solid effort for Stroud as he was 20 of 30 for 286 yards with four touchdown passes. It is even money for Stroud’s to win the Heisman Trophy,

BUCKEYE TOUCHDOWN ‼️ 🌰 @CJ7STROUD to @emeka_egbuka for @OhioStateFB ! pic.twitter.com/qFt2YKtMtf

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 22, 2022

About the only negative is that he threw an interception for the fourth game in a row.

The scary part for Stroud and the Ohio State offense is that Jaxon Smith-Njigba, last year’s leading receiver, is tied for sixth on the team with five receptions. He returned to action for the Iowa game after missing four of the previous five contests.

Smith-Njigba should have a larger role moving forward as he teams with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka to give Stroud the best trio of receivers in the country to throw to.

Hooker Volunteering to be Heisman Candidate

With a game against FCS Tennessee-Martin, there wasn’t much Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker could have done to close the gap on Stroud.

Hooker was 18 of 24 for 276 yards and three touchdowns. In the first seven games this season, Hooker has completed at least 70% of his passes five times.

In 19 games as Tennessee’s starting quarterback, Hooker has 49 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.

Hooker is completing 70.6% of his passes and has 2,093 passing yards with 18 TD passes and one interception. He also has 315 rushing yards and three more scores as his odds to win the Heisman are priced at +200.

Corum Ready For the Stretch Run

Bijan Robinson of Texas and Jahmyr Gibbs of Alabama came into the season with better Heisman odds than Michigan’s Blake Corum.

However, no running back has better odds to win the most prestigious individual award in college football.

Despite Michigan not playing over the weekend, Corum is tied for third in the Heisman race at +1200.

Gibbs is next among the running backs at +4000 even after a quiet game in Saturday’s win over Mississippi State. His odds have gone from +2000 to +2200 and now to +4000 over the last three weeks.

Gibbs ran 10 times for 37 yards and added 33 yards on four receptions.

Robinson has six straight 100-yard rushing games after finishing with 140 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown in the Week 8 loss to Oklahoma State. He is 10th among FBS players with 115 rushing yards per game.

One of the players ahead of him is Corum as he has 901 yards and an FBS-best 13 touchdown runs in seven games.

Even with Robinson’s production, his Heisman odds are at +8000.

USC’s Williams Still In Contention

Among players who didn’t have a game over the weekend was Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams.

Williams has 19 touchdown passes and one interception this season. He is completing 63.9% of his passes and that is well back of what Stroud and Hooker are doing so far this season.

The next game is against Arizona and no Pac-12 team is allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete a higher percentage of passes than the Wildcats.

Williams (+1200) is currently tied for third in the Heisman odds.

Alabama’s Bryce Young is next among the quarterbacks at +2000 as he is trying to join former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin as the only back-to-back winner of the Heisman Trophy. Young is just 17th in the national passer efficiency rankings. That is one spot ahead of Williams.

Pittsburgh’s Kedon Slovis and Bo Nix of Pac-12 leading Oregon are next at +3300 followed by Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders and North Carolina’s Drake Maye as they are all priced at +4000. Maye and Sanders were both listed by the college football odds at +3300 going into last week’s games.

Maye is a player to watch as the redshirt freshman trails only Stroud and Hooker in the national passing efficiency ratings.

Some QBs Starting to Fall Back

It wasn’t the best of weeks for Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei and Dorian Thompson-Robinson of UCLA.

Uiagalelei was pulled in last week’s tough win against previously undefeated Syracuse. He was 13 of 21 for 138 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His Heisman odds are now at +8000.

Thompson-Robinson’s numbers in Saturday’s game were solid as he completed 69% of his passes for 262 yards and two TDs with one interception. He added 38 rushing yards, but the Bruins fell 45-30 to Oregon and now his odds are at +12500.

Both Uiagalelei and Thompson-Robinson headed into Week 8 priced at +2000 in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy according to the sportsbook.

Matchup of the Week

Ohio State vs Penn State

Date, time (TV): Saturday, Oct. 29, 12 noon ET (FOX)

Penn State is up next in the quest to slow down Stroud and the Ohio State offense.

Penn State is in the middle of the Big Ten rankings in passing yards allowed per game. However, only Illinois and Michigan have better passing efficiency numbers on defense than the Nittany Lions.

Stroud was 22 of 34 for 305 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions in last year’s game against the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State leads the Big Ten with five sacks allowed so it will be a challenge from the Penn State front seven to put pressure on Stroud.

Something to consider for those who bet online: Ohio State has won its last 16 games when favored by at least 10 points. The Buckeyes are 15-point favorites.