2020 Heisman Trophy Winner Odds: Joe Burrow The Clear Favorite

The College Football season is underway, and that means the race for the Heisman Trophy is as well. We have seen a quarterback run for this award, as Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield have won the last three years. Since 2007, ten of the winners have been quarterbacks, and two have been Alabama running backs. Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram are those names. On the DraftKings Sportsbook, the odds are already pointing towards another quarterback taking home the award, although there are a few names that could upset the play callers at Clemson and Alabama.

Joe Burrow (-50000)

There is a clear front runner for the Heisman, and it’s not even close right now. Joe Burrow is a massive favorite to take home the award, and has already moved up to a top pick in the NFL draft as well. Burro went from completing below 60% of his passes in 2018, and throwing 16 total touchdowns to throwing for over 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. Burrow is also completing over 75% of his passes, which is an absurd rate. LSU is heading for the College Football Playoff, but do have a few tough games left to avoid any slip ups in. We have never really seen LSU have a pass offense like this, despite the wide receivers that have come through the program and are now thriving in the NFL. There should be a few more soon along with Burrow. The senior out of Ohio has no value in terms taking him to win the Heisman.

Jalen Hurts (N/A)

With Tua Tagovailoa now out for the season, it has led to a pretty one-sided race for the Heisman. Jalen Hurts still remains in the hunt, but the likelihood of him catching Burrow is small. Hurts isn’t the pocket passer like Burrow, as he has more rushing yards, but has been effective through the air. He is averaging over 12 yards per carry this season, and has over 25 passing touchdown. Hurts has also been efficient with over a 70% completion percentage. Hurts is headed for over 1,000 rushing yards and has over ten rushing touchdowns. If Burrow didn’t emerge this year, we would likely be looking at Hurts as a closer candidate. We should also point to Oklahoma as a major threat to continue to produce Heisman caliber quarterbacks.

Big Ten Heisman Contenders

Out of any of the non-qb positions, Jonathan Taylor has been the most impressive, but will fall short behind the quarterbacks. Taylor rushed for over 2,000 yards last season, and is going to be close to that mark again. He has already surpassed last year’s touchdown total, and has done more in the passing game this season. Taylor is going to be a highly touted running back in the draft class this year. Rushing for six yards per carry in his career, Taylor has been a rock for the Badgers offense.

Justin Fields put together one of the top performances of anyone this season. He had little experience coming into this season, and is going to be a Heisman contender to keep an eye out for next year. I would expect him to lead the odds. He is completing nearly 70% of his passes, and has tossed over 30 touchdowns. Not bad for a quarterback that many said only was able to run. In addition to the passing, he has rushed for over 400 yards and has double-digit touchdowns.