2023 Heisman Odds

During the time of year when college football content relies on winter workouts and recruiting buzz, it feels right to take a peek ahead to August now that several sportsbooks have both championship and Heisman odds posted for the upcoming season.

Fans are already more than a month removed from Georgia’s emphatic championship victory over TCU, one that has cemented their place among college football’s current powers.

Two Heisman finalists, TCU’s Max Duggan and Stetson Bennett of Georgia, led their teams into the 2023 College Football Playoff (CFP) title game which the Bulldogs won in a rout. Bennett was named MVP of the game after throwing four touchdown passes and running for two more.

The other two finalists for the award were Ohio State Buckeye CJ Stroud and the eventual winner, USC’s Caleb Williams. We’ll recap the 2022 race for the Heisman trophy and look ahead to the early favorites and long shots just ahead.

Live Odds to Win 2023 Heisman Trophy

The Georgia Bulldogs were crowned back-to-back college football national champions just a few weeks ago! Even though the 2023 college football season is still several months away, several online sportsbooks have betting odds out for the Heisman Trophy. The main question on everyone's mind is, Can Caleb Williams take home the hardware for the 2nd straight year?

Curious about what the 2023 Heisman Trophy odds are for the upcoming 2023 college football season? Check out the live odds, favorites, long shots, and best bets right here!

Here’s a quick look at the current odds from FanDuel Sportsbook as of September 25:

Biggest Heisman Trophy Movers from Week 4

Wow! What a crazy first 4 weeks of college football! Several players catapulted themselves into the Heisman conversation by filling up their respective stat sheets in a big way!

The biggest riser in the Heisman rankings was Oregon QB Bo Nix, who led the Ducks to a convincing win over Coach Prime and Colorado on Saturday. The former Auburn standout threw for 276 yards and 3 TDs and saw his Heisman odds go from +2000 to +1000 at FanDuel.

Want to hear something crazy? Caleb Williams is no longer the leader in the Heisman race. Washington QB Michael Penix, Jr. now leads the field with odds of +380. However, Williams is close behind with odds of +420.

Recapping the 2022 Heisman

All four 2022 finalists were quarterbacks, and 16 of the last 20 winners, including Williams, have been QBs. The four exceptions during that time were running backs Reggie Bush in 2005, Mark Ingram in 2009, and Derrick Henry in 2015, with wide receiver DeVonta Smith receiving the honor in 2020.

Out of the top three Heisman finishers over the last 10 seasons, 23 out of 30 were quarterbacks. Long story short, it’s a quarterback-centric award. Williams continued this trend during his first season as a USC Trojan.

The Oklahoma transfer threw for over 4,500 yards and was responsible for 52 total touchdowns in 2022 while leading Southern Cal to appearances in the Pac 12 title game and Cotton Bowl. The Utah Utes were the thorn in Williams’ side this season, beating USC by 17 points in October and again by 13 points in the conference title game.

The Trojans’ quarterback won the Heisman convincingly over runner-up Max Duggan. Stroud and Bennett were third and fourth in the ballots, respectively. Williams is the only player among those four who’s returning to college football this season in what will be his second year in southern California.

Duggan and Bennett have exhausted their eligibility, while Stroud declared for the NFL Draft after two seasons as OSU’s starting quarterback. He’s Mel Kiper’s 5th-ranked prospect in the 2023 class.

2023 Betting Favorites

Turning our attention to the 2023 season and early favorites for the award, it’s unsurprisingly a list dominated by quarterbacks. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, there are 12 QBs with better odds than the first non-quarterback on the board, Michigan running back Blake Corum. He’s joined by Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton and receiver Marvin Harrison Jr of Ohio State as the only non-QBs with odds of 50-1 or better.

Among those quarterbacks at the top of the list, Williams is the clear favorite. His +500 odds would make him the shortest favorite to win the award in recent history. Only Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman winner, with preseason odds of +500, come close.

Should Williams repeat, that would mean former Ohio State great Archie Griffin would finally have some company. Griffin's back-to-back wins in 1974-75 mark the only time in the 88-year history of the award that a player has won multiple Heisman trophies.

Williams is followed by UNC’s Drake Maye, Florida State’s Jordan Travis, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr, and Oregon’s Bo Nix at odds of 12-1 or better. Notre Dame transfer Sam Hartman is listed at 15-1, and the Fighting Irish are hopeful that Hartman is the quarterback who can lead them to the CFP championship game for the first time.

The top 10 favorites are rounded out by a foursome with odds of 20-1 that consists of Tennessee’s Joe Milton III, LSU Tiger Jayden Daniels, projected OSU starter Kyle McCord, and Drew Allar of Penn State.

Both Allar and McCord will be first-time starters in 2023. Milton III takes over for Hendon Hooker in Knoxville, and Daniels will continue as LSU’s quarterback after an SEC title game appearance and a 10-win season in his first year as a Tiger.

2023 Long Shots

Three of the last seven Heisman Trophy winners had preseason odds of 100-1 or greater before going on to establish themselves as the best player in the country. Lamar Jackson’s 2016 campaign at Louisville, despite having shorter odds than Joe Burrow in 2019, is a great example of a skilled player who made the leap to stardom after showing early signs of promise as a freshman.

Burrow’s historic, record-setting 2019 season at LSU came after the Ohio State transfer was listed at 200-1 before the season began. DeVonta Smith’s fourth year in Tuscaloosa as a 100-1 preseason long shot ended with him being named the fourth receiver to win the award after a season with 1800+ yards receiving and 23 touchdowns.

Corum (30-1), Singleton (50-1), and Harrison Jr (60-1) all have the potential to accomplish a similar feat in 2023. Corum surprised many by returning to Michigan after a stellar third season in Ann Arbor in which he racked up over 1,400 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.

Singleton burst onto the college football scene with over 1,000 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns during his true freshman season in Happy Valley. His 6.8 yards per carry ranked 12th in the country and fourth among Power 5 running backs last year. Harrison Jr. hauled in 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns to lead a loaded Buckeyes’ receiver room in 2022.

In terms of quarterbacks, Spencer Rattler (60-1) finished last season with big performances in wins against Tennessee and Clemson. He’ll get another offseason in South Carolina’s program ahead of what is likely his final college season.

Tanner Mordecai, who threw 72 touchdowns in his last two years at SMU, will start for the Wisconsin Badgers this season and is 100-1 to win the Heisman. The Big Ten West was especially soft last season, and Mordecai could find himself playing for a conference title if the Badgers win 8-10 games.

Finally, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, who transferred from Jackson State when his father took the job in Boulder, is listed at 150-1 after accumulating 79 total touchdowns in two seasons for the Tigers.

2023 Best Bets

We’re sprinkling a small number of units between one of the favorites and a few players with longer odds in the hopes that at least one of them ends up in New York as a finalist this season. Here are the names we’re playing early based on the current odds:

Drake Maye (North Carolina) +1000
JJ McCarthy (Michigan) +3000
Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) +4000
Marvin Harrison Jr (Ohio State) +5000

June 30th Update

USC’s Caleb Williams (+600) remains the favorite at DraftKings to capture his second straight Heisman Trophy with two months until the season kicks off. His USC Trojans are also favored to win the Pac-12 in their final year before a move to the Big Ten along with UCLA.

The group of quarterbacks queueing behind Williams has become more crowded in recent weeks. Jordan Travis (+1200), Michael Penix Jr. (+1500), and Drake Maye (+1500) are now surrounded by Quinn Ewers (+1200), Jadyn Daniels (+1200), and Cade Klubnik (+1400) in a tightly packed bunch nipping at Williams’ heels.

Bo Nix and Sam Hartman are listed at +1600 before their fifth and sixth college seasons, respectively. Nix had his best season yet during his first year in Eugene for the Ducks, and Hartman is the likely starter for the Fighting Irish after an offseason transfer from Wake Forest.

Our best bets from mid-February have improved in value overall. The biggest riser has been Marvin Harrison Jr, who we bet at +5000 and now is offered at +2200. J.J. McCarthy is now among the top-ten favorites at +1800 after we locked in his odds at +3000. Finally, Dillon Gabriel moved slightly to +3500, while Drake Maye represents the lone player taking a small step back, now valued at +1500, as mentioned above. We still feel good about those plays but would be hesitant to bet them at the updated prices.

Past Heisman Trophy Winners

Want to impress all of your friends with your expansive amount of Heisman Trophy knowledge? This section can help you with that! We've done a ton of research to bring you this complete list of Heisman Trophy winners from 2000 to 2022.

Heisman Trophy FAQ

The Heisman Trophy is arguably the most prestigious award in sports. Because of that, lots of folks have questions about this award and its illustrious history. The following FAQ section will provide people with lots of helpful information about the Heisman.

Our team has spent several hours of research time to compile the following questions and answers. If you have a question that isn't covered here, please reach out to us at [email protected] or on Twitter @EatWatchBet.

Has anyone ever won the Heisman Trophy twice?

Yes, Archie Griffin is the only player to win the Heisman Trophy twice. He accomplished this feat in 1974 and 1975 as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

When was the first Heisman Trophy awarded?

The first Heisman Trophy was awarded in 1935 to Jay Berwanger, a running back who played for Chicago.

What team has had the most Heisman Trophy winners?

The University of Southern California (USC) has had the most Heisman Trophy winners with 7. The USC winners are Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004), and Reggie Bush (2005).

What position has won the most Heisman Trophies?

The quarterback position has won the most Heisman Trophies. Over the years, many quarterbacks have won the award, including Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, and Baker Mayfield. Quarterbacks have won the award more frequently than any other position because of their leadership role on the field and their ability to make key decisions and impact the outcome of games.

Has a defensive player ever won the Heisman Trophy?

Yes, a defensive player has won the Heisman Trophy. The only defensive player to win the award is Charles Woodson, a cornerback from the University of Michigan, who won the award in 1997. Woodson was the first primarily defensive player to win the award, and his win was seen as a significant accomplishment for defensive players.