New Heisman Trophy Favorite! C.J. Stroud Jumps to the Top
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As the college football season comes closer to the end, it’s interesting to see how much has changed throughout the year. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Iowa was named the No. 2 team in the entire country. Coaching vacancies are surprisingly plentiful at big schools, with Florida, USC, and LSU looking to be attractive landing spots. And, as with every year, the race for the Heisman Trophy has been extremely fun to watch. Thanks to an especially good performance this week, the odds have shifted heading into Week 13 of the season. Here’s a quick look at your new Heisman frontrunner.
Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud Tops The Heisman Race
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud had a great weekend for himself. When facing off against Michigan State, Stroud completed 91% of his passes for 432 yards to go with six TDs. Stroud has 36 TDs to only five picks on the year, with 3,468 passing yards. Only one quarterback in college football, Coastal Carolina passer Grayson McCall, currently has a better QBR than Stroud’s 186.7.
With an extremely impressive game on Saturday to go with a successful season thus far, Stroud has officially leapfrogged Alabama QB Bryce Young in the Heisman odds. Young is now in second place with +175 odds, while Stroud is a big favorite at -220. The battle between the two passers might go down to the wire, with Ohio State facing Michigan as 8-point favorites this weekend while Alabama travels to Auburn as 19.5-point favorites.
Who Else Could Win?
After Stroud and Young, there are some much longer odds for the rest of the crowd in the current Heisman Trophy race. Ole Miss QB Matt Corral is sitting at +2000 on FanDuel, with season stats of 19 TDs and just three picks to go with a 159.5 rating. A non-QB is up next, with Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III sitting at +2500. Waker has 1,498 rushing yards so far to go with 17 scores on the ground.
An even longer shot comes next, with Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett listed at +5000 on FanDuel. Pickett has been one of the best quarterbacks in college this season, throwing for 36 TDs and 3,857 yards to only six picks. Although it’s looking like a two-man race right now, it’ll be interesting to see who finally ends up hoisting up a Heisman Trophy to end the year.
What About Championship Odds?
Much like when it comes to the competition for the Heisman Trophy, the college football championship winner is a pretty race with a small handful of competitors. The big favorite is currently Georgia at -120 on DraftKings, as the Bulldogs are currently 11-0 with an undefeated conference record. Behind Georgia is Ohio State at +300, with Alabama not far behind at +400. After that comes much heavier favorites, with Cincinnati at +3500, Michigan at +4000, and Oklahoma at +4500. We’re still a little over a month away from the National Championship, but bettors are going to be excited no matter which teams face off.
