Heisman Trophy Stock Up, Stock Down: Williams on Repeat Track

Ohio State was idle so perhaps that will help quarterback Kyle McCord, running back TreVeyon Henderson and receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. make a move when it comes to the Heisman Trophy odds.

The Oklahoma-Texas matchup is definitely one that will have the attention of Heisman voters thanks to the presence of quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel of the Sooners and the Longhorns’ Quinn Ewers. The NCAA football spreads lists Texas as a 6½-point favorite.

Ewers is tied for third behind Williams and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. in the Heisman Trophy odds.

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

Getting Crowded Near the Top

Just when one of his rivals closed the gap in the Heisman odds, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams opened up some breathing room.

Williams threw for six touchdown passes in a wild affair with Colorado and fellow Heisman Trophy candidate Shedeur Sanders.

Williams has thrown for more yards, nine more touchdowns and his yards per attempt have gone from 8.8 through the first five games in 2022 to 11.4 this season.

Williams has seen his odds to win the Heisman move from +400 to +160. His closest challenger is Washington QB Michael Penix, whose odds remained at +400 according to the sportsbook.

Who’s Rising in the Heisman Trophy Race?

The first two times that Georgia tight end Brock Bowers faced Auburn, he had a pretty quiet showing. That was not the case on Saturday.

Bowers had eight catches for 157 yards and his 40-yard touchdown gave the top-ranked Bulldogs the lead with 2:52 to play. He was popular among the best college football parlays a week ago.

If that performance came against Alabama instead of Auburn, he likely would have been soaring up the Heisman Trophy odds. Instead, he went from +8000 to +6000.

A pair of quarterbacks are trending in the right direction as well.

Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing yards, completion percentage and touchdown passes. After his third consecutive game with more than 300 passing yards, his Heisman odds went from +2500 to +1800 for those who bet online.

Playing at Michigan, J.J. McCarthy doesn’t always get to air it out like some of the other quarterbacks around the country.

He only attempted 16 passes against Nebraska. However, two of his 12 completions went for touchdowns and he also ran for a score as his Heisman odds went from +3500 to +3000.

Who’s Falling in the Heisman Trophy Race?

Texas’ Quinn Ewers didn’t have a bad game against Kansas as he completed 71.4% of his passes for 325 yards. However, he did throw his first interception of the season and had one TD toss for the second week in a row, so his odds have gone from +550 to +900.

If Georgia quarterback Carson Beck threw every pass to Bowers, he would probably be higher in the Heisman odds. However, his odds tumbled from +4000 to +9000.

Tennessee’s Joe Milton continues to underwhelm as he had two interceptions in a win over South Carolina. That pushed his odds down to +10000.

Notre Dame‘s Sam Hartman completed just 50% of his passes as the Fighting Irish snuck by Duke. That resulted in his Heisman Trophy odds going from +1600 to +3000.

Sam Hartman is a BAD man with ball of steel pic.twitter.com/d2jclwi66Q

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 1, 2023

Clemson’s Cade Klubnik probably needs more love when it comes to the Heisman odds as he was pretty solid in a win over Syracuse. However, being pretty solid does not wow Heisman voters so his odds continue to trend in the wrong direction. Klubnik is priced at +12000 in the Heisman odds.

Running a Little Behind

While there has been little impact when it comes to the odds to win the Heisman Trophy, it was a pretty good week to be an elite running back.

Wisconsin‘s Braelon Allen rushed for 116 yards and two scores in a win over Purdue.

Michigan’s Blake Corum rushed for a touchdown for the fifth time in as many games this season and might have made a run at a 100-yard game had the Wolverines not jumped out to such a big lead against Nebraska.

Corum (+5000) has the best odds among non-quarterbacks.

Quinshon Judkins had 177 yards in a wild 55-49 win by Ole Miss against LSU and he also had a touchdown catch.

Penn State‘s Nicholas Singleton ran for one score and had a touchdown catch in a 41-13 win over Northwestern.

Matchup of the Week

• Oklahoma Sooners at Texas Longhorns (-6½)
• Saturday, Oct. 7, Noon ET (ABC)

Oklahoma’s Gabriel and Texas QB Ewers have combined to throw 25 for touchdown passes and three interceptions. They will be front and center in the final regular-season meeting between the Sooners and Longhorns before both bolt the Big 12 for the SEC.

It could be a challenging afternoon for both considering that Oklahoma leads the Big 12 with a passing efficiency defense mark of 107.5 and Texas has allowed the fewest passing yards in the Big 12.

The Sooners have 10 interceptions compared to just five touchdown passes allowed while Texas has surrendered just four TD passes.

Gabriel missed last year’s game while Ewers threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-0 Texas win.