The calendars have finally turned to September which means football season is officially upon us. College football kicked into high gear this weekend, and there is no better time to get in on the betting action at No Verification Casinos. Heisman odds are as wide open as they will be all season since it is too early to have a firm grasp on just who will set themselves apart from the field. Now is a great opportunity to make some speculative picks into who will win the coveted trophy by the year’s end.
First, there’s a few glaring picks that look like poor gambles to make. USC QB Caleb Williams is the most likely player to be drafted first overall in the NFL Draft, and he’s correctly the heavy favorite to win the Heisman. However, nobody has won multiple Heisman Trophy’s since Archie Griffin in the 1970’s. Taking the heavy favorite to do something that hasn’t been done in nearly 50 years is not a wise investment. Some other players that look like bad bets include Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman, Georgia QB Carson Beck and Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. Those guys are all in the top 15 of best odds to win the Heisman, but they are mostly there because they are the quarterback of good teams. Betting on them is essentially betting on their team to be the best in the country, because they are all unlikely to win it solely based on counting stats. It makes more sense to bet on players with true Heisman level talent than just the starter for a potential number one team.
The three players that look like the best value are Oregon QB Bo Nix (+2000), Penn State QB Drew Allar (+2000) and North Carolina QB Drake Maye (+2500). Nix is entering his fifth year as a full-time starter and has gradually gotten better each season. He had 44 total touchdowns last season while throwing for 3500+ yards and rushing for another 500+. He should only continue to improve his stats this season, while his Ducks are a dark horse playoff contender. Allar is a completely different story as he is a bet on talent alone with very little experience. He is a former top 3 recruit in the nation who had thrown just 60 collegiate passes prior to this season. He looked outstanding against West Virginia and has a real chance of leading Penn State to the playoffs. Maye is the next most likely player to go first overall in the NFL Draft after Caleb Williams. North Carolina is not as likely to reach the playoffs as some of these other teams, but Maye has the individual talent to put up enough stats to keep him in the Heisman conversation if the Tar Heels can remain in the top 20 range all season.
Some guys with much longer odds that are worth throwing some speculative bets on are Arkansas QB K.J. Jefferson, Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. All three guys are +5000 or longer odds but that’s largely due to their teams not having as good of outlooks as the favorites. But even if Arkansas and Colorado aren’t playoff contenders, their stars are good enough to remain in the Heisman conversation. Travis Hunter especially is intriguing at +6000 as a dual threat player on offense and defense. The last defender to win the Heisman was Charles Woodson in 1997, and he was also used as an offensive weapon at times. If Hunter can maintain the production he showed against TCU on both sides of the ball, the voters will be tempted to give such a unique player the award.
