Nobody made a bigger impression on the national stage in week three than Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has quickly transitioned from the dark horse pick to the outright sports betting favorite to win the award. Jackson absolutely dominated in a lopsided win over No. 2 Florida State and the fact that he made it seem so easy against one of the better defenses in the country has many of the experts crowning him as the obvious favorite through September. Here is a look at the updated Heisman trophy odds heading in to week four.
QB: Lamar Jackson, Louisville
Heisman Trophy Odds: +175
Jackson absolutely dazzled in Louisville’s win over the Seminoles, throwing for 216 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 146 yards and four more scores. Florida State’s defense had no answer for Jackson’s speed and elusiveness on the ground and he made them pay with both his arm and legs. Jackson has completed 65-percent of his passes for 913 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for another 464 yards and 10 scores through just three games and while a slight drop off has to be expected at some point the Cardinals’ star quarterback certainly hasn’t shown any signs of a letdown.
RB: Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
Heisman Trophy Odds: +700
McCaffrey has certainly picked up from where he left off a year ago when he broke the NCAA single-season all-purpose yardage record that Barry Sanders held for almost 30 years. McCaffrey averaged 5.5 yards per carry while rushing for 165 yards and a touchdown while chipping in another four receptions for 73 yards and a score in last week’s 27-10 win over USC. The junior back has already combined for more than 400 yards on offense through Stanford’s game and if he continues this pace he will once again be in the Heisman conversation this season.
QB: Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Heisman Trophy Odds: +700
Watson dropped a spot on this list thanks to Jackson’s rise to the top, but he certainly put up his best numbers of the season in Clemson’s lopsided win over South Carolina State. Watson completed 12-of-15 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns before getting pulled in the 59-0 win. Watson is off to a relatively slow start with just seven combined touchdowns, so it will be interesting to see if he can pick up the production moving forward now that Jackson has become the Heisman favorite at the position.
QB: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
Heisman Trophy Odds: +900
Barrett delivered another solid performance in a big win for Ohio State over Oklahoma, as he completed 70-percent of his passes for 152 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 74 yards in the 45-24 win. The fact that the Buckeyes pushed their perfect record to 3-0 keeps Barrett in the early Heisman conversation. What helps his case is that Ohio State just pummeled a Top 25 team on the road in what is traditionally, a very tough place to play. The Buckeyes will also have at least a couple more opportunities to showcase Barrett and his case for a Heisman Trophy. They’ll play at No. 11 Wisconsin on October 15th, versus No. 20 Nebraska on November 5th, at No. 8 Michigan State on November 19th and home to Michigan on November 26th. If the Buckeyes can get through all of that unscathed and Barrett continues his play – the Buckeyes have scored at least 45 points every week so far – he’ll be in the running. The challenge is that like, Watson he is going to have a tough time catching up to Jackson following the latter’s incredible start to the season.
RB: Leonard Fournette, LSU
Heisman Trophy Odds: +1400
It would have been a stretch to think that Fournette would be able to duplicate what he did early on last season, especially considering he has dealt with a nagging ankle injury in an offense that lacks the type of vertical passing threats to stretch opposing defenses. Fournette has averaged 5.6 yards per carry but his totals through three games but he didn’t play against Jacksonville State and with only 285 rushing yards and two scores he is on the outside looking in. Fournette will have an opportunity to get going Auburn in week four but right now he is already a step behind the top four candidates on the board.
