A close loss to the defending ACC champion and national title runner-up couldn’t keep Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson’s Heisman stock from climbing following another impressive performance. Jackson is the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Heisman, although the quarterback that outdueled him on Saturday night is clearly back on the radar according to the sports betting odds. Here is a look at the updated Heisman trophy odds heading in to week six of the college football season.
QB: Lamar Jackson, Louisville
Heisman Trophy Odds: -250
Louisville’s ACC title hopes took a hit with their 42-36 defeat to Clemson on Saturday night but Jackson’s odds of winning the Heisman trophy actually improved following the loss. Jackson moved from -125 to -200 odds to win the Heisman, likely based on a combination of another strong individual performance and a lack of impact games from some of the other top contenders. Jackson threw for 295 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another 162 yards and two scores on the ground. It wasn’t enough to lead the Cardinals to victory but it was enough to solidify his position atop this list among the Heisman trophy favorites.
QB: Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Heisman Trophy Odds: +500
Watson was the big winner from Saturday after he outdueled Jackson in a key ACC showdown under the bright lights on a national stage. Watson had his best game of the season by far as he threw for 306 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for another 91 yards on the ground. The nearly 400 yards of total offense was the difference in the Tigers’ managing to pull out a close win at home. Clemson moved to No. 3 in the country with the victory and Watson made a significant jump as the biggest challenger to Jackson in terms of the Heisman trophy race right now.
QB: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
Heisman Trophy Odds: +650
Ohio State took care of its business with a lopsided 58-0 win over Rutgers in which Barrett took full advantage of an opportunity to pad his stats. Barrett completed 72.4-percent of his passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 46 yards on the ground. The junior quarterback is already close to surpassing his passing yards total from a year ago and his 68.6 completion percentage is on pace to be a career-best. The Buckeyes schedule will get a lot tougher moving forward so it will be on Barrett to prove his merit against some of the best from the Big Ten.
QB: Greg Ward Jr., Houston
Heisman Trophy Odds: +2000
Houston is still undefeated, but Ward Jr.’s numbers haven’t jumped out enough to really warrant serious consideration. He still threw for 321 yards against Oklahoma and hasn’t thrown for less than 289 in any one game (while adding another 177 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the season), but he has a couple of things going against him. Throwing two interceptions against Cincinnati hurts and he missed a game (against Lamar), so that’s going hurt his overall resume as well. His head-to-head performance with Louisville’s Lamar Jackson on November 17th will likely be the key to his Heisman Trophy campaign.
RB: Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
Heisman Trophy Odds: +2500
McCaffrey’s odds too a huge hit as he dropped all the way from +700. Both him and his team put forth a disappointing effort as they were blown out 44-6 by Washington. They had no answer for Huskies’ quarterback Jake Browning or running back Myles Gaskin, who combined for over 300 yards of offense and five scores. McCaffrey was held to just 49 rushing yards and didn’t have a touchdown for the second game in a row. He had totaled 126 yards, 172 yards and 138 yards in his first three weeks of the season, but the drop to just 49 yards will hurt his case. The issue for him in this spot was game flow. With the Cardinal so far behind, they were forced to throw the ball rather than run it.
QB: Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
Heisman Trophy Odds: +5000
Kelly completed 68.2-percent of his passes for 361 yards and a touchdown as the Rebels recorded their second win in a row. Kelly has completed 66.1-percent of his passes for 1,596 yards and 13 touchdowns compared to four interceptions but he is still a long shot to contend with the favorites for the Heisman trophy this season.
