Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2023 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back every Tuesday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. All odds via BetMGM. Past weeks here: Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11.
Anyone who could’ve guessed that Bo Nix would end up the Heisman Trophy favorite late in the 2023 season while Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe mounts a spoiler campaign deserves their own award.
The whole situation would be quite comical if it weren’t so exciting, really.
For years while he was at Auburn, and even early in his Oregon days, Nix assumed the dark horse moniker to a meme-worthy extent while Alabama’s Bryce Young and DeVonta Smith ran away with the trophy. So now that Nix is mounting the best season of his career while becoming the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman in 2024, guess who all the sudden has a pretty straightforward path to a seat in New York?
Yep. Milroe.
Some narratives write themselves.
Let’s dig into it while we count down the top 10 favorites to capture the Heisman heading into Week 12.
10. Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II, Ohio State QB Kyle McCord (+25000)
Odds Last Week:
- Ollie Gordon II (N/A)
- Kyle McCord (+15000)
Consider this your official warning to board the Ollie Gordon II Heisman Hype Train next season. He’s going to be playing in a much weaker Big 12 without Oklahoma and Texas and may set some (more) records in the process.
A running back hasn't won the Heisman since Derrick Henry in 2015.
Could Ollie Gordon be the next? 🤔https://t.co/R9WQ2V4CsN pic.twitter.com/BFcmXeDMks
— 247Sports (@247Sports) November 6, 2023
9. Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel, Michigan RB Blake Corum, North Carolina QB Drake Maye, USC QB Caleb Williams (+15000)
Odds Last Week:
- Dillon Gabriel (+2500)
- Blake Corum (+12500)
- Drake Maye (+6600)
- Caleb Williams (+5000)
This would be an incredibly strong group of “also rans” even if it didn’t include the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. The top of the field has just pulled too far away from the rest of the pack for any of them to make up ground here.
8. Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy (+10000)
Odds Last Week: +600
While it makes sense McCarthy’s odds took a significant tumble after he only completed seven passes in Michigan’s thrashing of Penn State on the road, this price still doesn’t make sense.
You’d think McCarthy’s tailback, Blake Corum, would have better odds than the the quarterback after rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns against the Nittany Lions.
Apparently not.
7. Florida State QB Jordan Travis (+6000)
Odds Last Week: +800
Travis is another quarterback who saw his odds take a massive tumble, but this one feels like it could be more of a momentary dip. While he only threw for one touchdown against Miami in a rivalry game, Travis did pass for 265 yards and is up to 2,734 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions on the year.
As long as Florida State remains in the playoff picture, and wins the ACC Championship game, Travis has a path to New York.
6. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (+5000)
Odds Last Week: +6000
Remember September? Remember when it looked like Alabama was dead because it’s run of game-changing quarterbacks had come to an end?
If that feels like a lifetime ago, it might as well be.
The Jalen Milroe we’ve seen over the last month and a half is averaging 242 yards per game with 18 touchdowns on three interceptions. That’s 18 touchdowns in five games. Milroe looked positively beat up against Kentucky and still went off for 234 yards and three touchdowns passing with another three touchdowns on the ground.
He is going to get Heisman votes. The only question is how many.
The real proof that you should never doubt Nick Saban again is that Jalen Milroe is gonna get Heisman votes. pic.twitter.com/G4FWNe048V
— Split Zone Duo (@SplitZoneDuo) November 6, 2023
With Alabama back in the SEC Championship game, and seemingly in control of its playoff destiny, Milroe can steal the spotlight for himself over these last few weeks. And he’ll have a chance to pad his stats a bit more against Chattanooga at home this weekend.
At +5000, Milroe is probably the only long-shot play with value remaining on the board. We’ll learn if his spoiler campaign is for real when the Iron Bowl kicks off in two weeks.
5. Georgia QB Carson Beck (+3500)
Odds Last Week: +2000
Beck weathered the absence of Brock Bowers with aplomb and earned his Heisman contender status — however long it lasts.
The Georgia quarterback has passed for 3,022 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions so far this season. He ranks 7th in QBR (84.4) and leads the No. 1 team in the country.
That’ll keep you in the Heisman race for sure. But if Alabama can take down Georgia in the SEC Championship game, it’s probably a wrap for Beck.
4. Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (+550)
Odds Last Week: +1000
Simply put, Marvin Harrison Jr. deserves Heisman votes — not just consideration — if the Buckeyes end up making the College Football Playoff. The only reason Ohio State’s offense works when it does is because of the constant big-play threat from the NFL-bound wideout.
Harrison Jr. is up to 59 catches for 1,063 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. He has three straight games with at least two touchdowns while posting just two games all season in which he didn’t score at all.
We’ll say it again: Marvin Harrison Jr. deserves votes.
3. LSU QB Jayden Daniels (+400)
Odds Last Week: +300
Daniels’ Heisman campaign has been nothing short of incredible. He’s battled through injuries all season long and still puts together the types of performances that leave your jaw wide open. The latest was a 372-yard passing, 234-yard rushing statement against Florida that included three passing touchdowns and two rushing scores. It didn’t seem like the Gators were able to get a hand on the quarterback all game, let alone make a tackle.
The only problem is that Daniels’ is running out of runway. Without an SEC Championship berth, his final opportunities to impress voters will come in Week 12 against Grambling State and Week 13 against a Texas A&M coach that just paid Jimbo Fisher $76 million to leave campus.
2. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (+375)
Odds Last Week: +150
Penix and Washington continue to survive and advance through a brutal stretch of the schedule, weathering scares from Arizona State, USC and now Utah in the weeks following the Huskies’ season-defining win against Oregon.
But Washington isn’t out of the woods just yet. It travels to No. 11 Oregon State this weekend before facing Washington State in the final Apple Cup in Week 13.
Meanwhile, Penix is up to 3,533 yards passing, 30 total touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season.
1. Oregon QB Bo Nix (-110)
Odds Last Week: +200
Bo Nix is officially the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. What a world.
All he has to do is win out (beating Arizona State and Oregon State), win the Pac-12 Championship and he may be heading home with some pristine hardware.
When you have 3,135 passing yards, 34 total touchdowns and just two interceptions on the year, you’re nearly guaranteed a seat in New York.
Full Live Odds
