Heisman Trophy Stock Up, Stock Down: Bo Knows Best Odds

Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. continues to make some noise in the Heisman Trophy odds. He still has a hue game against Michigan that could give him another push in the Heisman chase.

There is a pretty substantial gap between Nix, Penix, Daniels, Harrison, and the other Heisman Trophy candidates with just two games left in the regular season.

When looking at the best college football teams, Georgia (+250), Michigan (+250), Alabama (+600), Ohio State (+800), Oregon (+800) and Florida State (+900) lead the way with the best odds to win the 2023 NCAA football championship,

Here’s a look at the latest edition of the Heisman risers and fallers of the 2023 season.

No Nixing His Heisman Chances

A month ago, five players had better odds to win the Heisman Trophy than Oregon quarterback Bo Nix.

Now he has moved into the front-runner role with even odds to win the most prestigious individual award in college football according to the Las Vegas odds.

During Oregon’s four-game winning streak, Nix has 12 touchdown passes and just one interception. He is completing 75% of his passes. Throwing for 412 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions to beat USC and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams certainly didn’t hurt his chances.

There is a chance for a rematch with Washington and fellow Heisman Trophy contender Michael Penix Jr. in the Pac-12 title game. The Ducks also have a Week 13 clash with rival Oregon State that could aid Nix’s Heisman hopes.

SEC QBs Put on a Show

It is not just another week when a player throws for three touchdowns and runs for three more and it is almost an afterthought.

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe didn’t have to put up huge numbers against an overmatched Kentucky team. He was 15 of 22 passing for 234 yards and added 36 more on eight carries in the 49-21 win as Alabama punched its ticket to the SEC title game.

Another SEC quarterback had a game for the ages.

LSU’s Jayden Daniels became the first major college quarterback to throw for at least 350 yards and run for 200 in the same game.

Jayden Daniels was special on Saturday.

Enjoy these 5 plays from his masterpiece. pic.twitter.com/gUMskYTNfq

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 13, 2023

Daniels averaged 22 yards on his 17 completions and 19.5 yards on 12 carries as he passed for three scores and ran for two others in a 52-35 win over Florida.

Daniels closed the gap on Penix for the No. 2 spot in the Heisman Trophy pecking order and is now priced at +350 to win the Heisman according to our sportsbook.

Milroe (+5000) still has some work to do.

Marvin No Longer Starving for Targets

It took some time this season for new Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord to develop chemistry with star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

It seems pretty safe to suggest that the two are on the same page these days.

Harrison had seven catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He added a 19-yard run in a 38-3 win over Michigan State.

Harrison has now gone over 100 receiving yards in five of his last six games and he has at least two touchdown catches in three straight games.

Harrison has back-to-back 1000-yard seasons and is just 281 yards away from Michael Jenkins’ program record for career receiving yards. It would be ironic if he got there against rival Michigan in the regular-season finale.

First up is a matchup with a Minnesota team that has allowed the ninth-most passing yards per game in the Big Ten and is ahead of only Michigan State and Indiana in opposing passing efficiency rating.

The Heisman Trophy competition has become a quarterback-centric affair but Harrison has seen his Heisman odds move from +8000 to +500 in the last month.

Who’s Rising in the Heisman Trophy Race?

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis wasn’t even on some boards – or at least he was pretty far back – a month ago.

The weak level of competition in the ACC hasn’t aided his cause. However, he is still priced at +5000 in the Heisman Trophy odds and a productive starting quarterback for an undefeated Power-5 conference team can not be discounted in the Heisman Trophy chase.

The surge for Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon hit a major roadblock when the Cowboys were humbled in a 45-3 loss at UCF.

After six straight 100-yard rushing games and touchdowns in five consecutive games, Gordon was held to 25 yards on 12 carries. He is still one of the few non-quarterbacks among the Heisman Trophy contenders.

Who’s Falling in the Heisman Trophy Race?

The good news is that Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers returned to action over the weekend. The bad news is that they missed too much time to remain legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates.

As for the players who have avoided the injury bug, quarterbacks JJ McCarthy of Michigan and Dillon Gabriel of Oklahoma were sitting with +1000 odds to win the Heisman Trophy a month ago.

They are now at +10000 as the Heisman Trophy competition looks like a four-player race.

McCarthy is second among Football Bowl Subdivision players with a quarterback rating of 187.25, but he hasn’t been given as many chances to air it out as some of his fellow Heisman challengers. He does have a high-profile matchup with Ohio State next week that could help his cause.

Gabriel threw for 423 yards with five touchdown passes and no interceptions against West Virginia last week. However, his Heisman dreams ended when he had one touchdown pass and two interceptions in back-to-back losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State.

Matchup of the Week

• Washington Huskies at Oregon State Beavers
• Saturday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Oregon State has allowed four touchdown passes with 10 interceptions in five home games this season. Among the teams from the Power-5 conferences, only Florida State,Ohio State, Indiana, and Clemson have better opposing passing efficiency numbers than Oregon State’s 94.2 mark so this will not be an easy task for Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Penix and the undefeated Huskies are the underdogs according to the college football spreads in this matchup.

Questions Of The Day