Louisville Cardinals quarterback and reigning Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson has made his case to win the award again with some excellent numbers this season. The problem is that the Cardinals aren’t winning enough games and after falling out of the top-25 it will be difficult to consider Jackson a legitimate threat to win the award for a second year in a row. Meanwhile, a pair of talented running backs out of Penn State and Stanford have stolen the Heisman spotlight with outstanding numbers. Here is a look at the updated list of Heisman trophy favorites.
RB: Saquon Barkley, Penn State Nittany Lions
Heisman Trophy Betting Odds: +150
Barkley has averaged 6.4 yards per carry while rushing for 649 yards and six rushing touchdowns at Penn State this season. He also has 29 catches for 395 yards and two receiving touchdowns along with a kickoff return score and a touchdown pass. Barkley has done it all for the Nittany Lions as a threat to score every single time he touches the football. Penn State is still undefeated at 6-0 and their best player has become the sports betting favorite to win the Heisman trophy this season.
RB: Bryce Love, Stanford Cardinal
Heisman Trophy Betting Odds: +200
For as impressive as Barkley has been, Love has been just as dominant while leading Stanford to a 5-2 record. Love leads the entire country with 1,387 rushing yards on a ridiculous 10.3 yards per carry this season. He also leads the nation in yards per game, rushes of 10 yards or more, rushing yards after contact and rushing yards before contact. The Cardinal still have a tough schedule ahead with games against Washington State, California and Notre Dame. If Love continues to perform at the level he has then he could easily move past Barkley and become the sports betting favorite to win the Heisman this season over the next couple of weeks.
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Sooners
Heisman Trophy Betting Odds: +1000
Mayfield has been the best quarterback among the teams that are serious contenders this season. He has thrown for 1,937 yards and 17 touchdowns with just one interception while completing 72.7-percent of his passes for a Sooners team that is 5-1. While the quarterback prospect class is deep the number of quarterbacks in the Heisman race isn’t deep at all. Mayfield has separated himself as the best bet to win the Heisman among college quarterbacks this season.
Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Heisman Trophy Betting Odds: +1000
Three weeks after losing to TCU at home, Rudolph erupted for 459 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 59-16 win over Baylor. Rudolph’s season numbers are pretty impressive as he has thrown for 2,368 yards and 19 touchdowns with just four interceptions. The Cowboys are 5-1 heading in to this week’s showdown at Texas. Oklahoma State will visit Texas and West Virginia before returning home to host Oklahoma. How Rudolph performs in those three games will go a long way towards either boosting or capping his Heisman stock for this season.
J.T. Barrett, Ohio State Buckeyes
Heisman Trophy Betting Odds: +1000
Speaking of impressive performances, Barrett is coming off his best outing of the year after throwing for 325 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 56-14 win at Nebraska. The Buckeyes are 6-1 heading in to next week’s showdown with Penn State so it will be very interesting to see if they can establish themselves as the clear favorites in the Big Ten with a win over the Nittany Lions. Ohio State is loaded with weapons on offense so if Barrett can continue to produce similar performances to the one he delivered against the Huskers last week then he could push himself in to the discussion among the Heisman favorites over the next few weeks. It’s hard to believe that Ohio State is back in the College Football Playoff picture and the Barrett is even in the Heisman conversation, but that’s the case after several strong weeks of action. The Buckeyes season has really turned around since their loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in Week 2.
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