Heisman Watch: Bryce Young Our New Favorite According To Latest Heisman Odds

Heisman Watch: Bryce Young Our New Favorite According To Latest Heisman Odds

Week 1 in college football was an extremely weird one, and our latest Heisman odds reflect just how strange some of the results we got were.

For starters, the one expected result we got was Alabama looked like, well, Alabama. They dismantled a solid Miami team and quarterback Bryce Young looked fantastic while doing so. We’ll get to it later, but there is a reason why he’s now the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to Heisman odds.

Our former Hesiman favorite, Spencer Rattler, disappointed in a lot of ways. For starters, you have to beat Tulane by more than five while playing at home. And, you can’t throw more INTs than TDs if you expect to win the Heisman.

I also thought that either JT Daniels or DJ Uiagalelei would emerge as a Heisman frontrunner following Clemson vs. Georgia. But, when the two teams combine for 13 points and neither QB throws for a touchdown, you don’t see much movement in Heisman odds.

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Heisman Watch: Week 1 Top Heisman Performances

Bryce Young – Alabama QB

Week 1 stats: 344 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, 27-38 passing, 181.8 passer rating

Bryce Young Heisman odds

Our second biggest game of Week 1 produced our biggest Heisman statement. Alabama QB Bryce Young was as close to perfect as you can get. Young completely shredded a solid Miami defense, getting out to a 27-3 halftime lead and making it 41-13 as we entered the fourth quarter.

Young looks poised in the pocket, so much so that he almost looks bored back there at times. Young came into the week with +1100 odds, good for the second favorite. After this performance, he’s the leader at +425.

The first time we see Young play an elite defense may come in a potential SEC championship game against Georgia. If he keeps this up, he’ll run away with the award by November.

Jack Coan – Notre Dame QB

Week 1 stats: 366 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, 1 INT, 26-35 passing, 194.1 passer rating

Jack Coan Heisman odds

Jack Coan was on just about no one’s Heisman radar prior to Week 1. But, if his performance against Florida State was any indication of how he’s going to play this season, we may want to start taking him seriously.

As a whole, Notre Dame was a little disappointed to need OT to beat Florida State by three. But, Coan was fantastic. He picked apart the Florida State defense all night and even put up a better passer rating than Young did.

Coan’s Heisman candidacy will be directly related to how well Notre Dame can do this season, and I don’t really expect to see them make a run at a national title. However, Coan, the Wisconsin transfer, is haunting Badger fans as they watched Graham Mertz struggle to complete passes while Coan showed out in primetime.

Matt Corral – Ole Miss QB

Week 1 stats: 381 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 22-32 passing, 12 rushes, 55 yards rushing, 1 rushing TD

Matt Coral Heisman odds

Man, I knew this Ole Miss offense was going to put on a show, and they did, but I don’t think I was expecting Matt Corral to look as good as he did. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was forced to miss the game after testing positive for COVID, but that didn’t matter in the end.

Corral picked apart the Louisville defense both through the air and on the ground on Monday night. Corral was an outside Heisman hopeful ahead of Week 1, coming in at +2500, but he’s now the fourth favorite at +1500.

In order for Corral to win the Heisman, he’s going to need to put up these numbers in big SEC games like their October 12 matchup with Alabama. I’m not sure they can do that, but Corral is one of the most talented players in the country.

CJ Stroud – Ohio State QB

Week 1 stats: 294 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, 1 INT, 13-22 passing

CJ Stroud Heisman odds

Personally, I don’t think CJ Stroud played all that well in Week 1. In the first half, he was really bad. In the second half, he was better, but it looked more like coverage breakdowns from Minnesota than it did him picking them apart. But, this isn't about what I think, it’s about what the oddsmakers think.

CJ Stroud’s Heisman odds were cut from Week 1 to Week 2. Going into Week 1, Stroud sat at +1600 to win the award. Now, he’s as short as +1000 in some places. If OSU competes for a national title and Stroud continues to put up good numbers, he’ll naturally be in the Heisman conversation.

My one word of advice is that this is an extremely talented QB room in Columbus, perhaps the most talented in the country. If Stroud has another showing like he did against Minnesota in the first half would we really be surprised if Ryan Day went to Quinn Ewers or Kyle McCord? I wouldn’t.

Heisman Watch: Week 1 Heisman Disappointments

Sam Howell – UNC QB

Week 1 stats: 208 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 3 INT, 17-32 passing

Sam Howell Heisman odds

The most disappointing Heisman hopeful of the week came to us in Blacksburg. Sam Howell wasn’t just bad, he was atrocious. Remember, this is a guy that is expected to be a top-10 pick come next year’s NFL Draft. If you’re a team looking for a signal caller, Friday’s game has to make you question Howell.

To be fair, UNC lost their two leading rushers and receivers this past season, but this wasn’t a case of guys letting down their QB. Howell looked a half-second slow almost every time he dropped back and his three INTs ended up costing UNC the game.

Spencer Rattler – Oklahoma QB

Week 1 stats: 304 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 30-39 passing

Spencer Rattler Heisman odds

This spot could have been for JT Daniels or DJ Uiagalelei, but because they both played great teams, I left them off the list of disappointments.

Rattler, the former Heisman favorite didn’t quite lay an egg like Howell, but he did enough to lose his spot atop the Heisman odds board. Oklahoma got out to a big lead against Tulane, only to let the Wave crawl back into the game. Eventually, Oklahoma pulled off the win, but it was anything but convincing.

This start from Rattler actually reminded me a lot of his season-opening start last year. He just doesn’t look comfortable at times and he turns the ball over too much. When it’s all said and done, Oklahoma will likely be in the CFP, but if Rattler wants to lift the Heisman come December he’ll need to start putting up better numbers.

Brian Robinson Jr. – Alabama RB

Week 1 stats: 12 carries, 60 yards, 0 TD, 2 receptions, 0 yards receiving

Brian Robinson Jr. Heisman odds

To be clear, this was a disappointing week for Brian Robinson only if you bet on him to win the Heisman this year. If you are Brian Robinson you’re far from disappointed. You averaged five YPC on 12 carries, but if you have a Brian Robinson Heisman ticket this wasn’t the start you wanted.

It’s already going to take a lot for a running back to win the award this year, and the way QB Bryce Young played in Week 1, Robinson is already facing an uphill battle. The biggest concern here is that Robinson really shared the load with Trey Sanders and Jase McClellan. A lot was made out of Robinson finally being the feature back in Tuscaloosa, let’s hope that’s actually the case.

Breece Hall – Iowa State RB

Week 1 stats: 23 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD, 4 catches, 31 yards receiving

Breece Hall Heisman odds

After Sam Howell, I actually have Breece Hall’s Week 1 showing as the most disappointing of all the Heisman hopefuls. Is it because I have a Breece Hall Heisman ticket? Maybe. Who’s to say? But I also think If you asked Hall himself he’d agree.

Northern Iowa is bad. Iowa State has legitimate national title hopes this season. To win that game by six points and only score 16 is bad. It’s so bad that both Hall and QB Bryce Purdy may have already done irreparable damage to their Heisman chances.

Now, a massive win and performance over Iowa this week probably erases all those doubts, but Hall goes from being the most likely running back to win the award to needing to perform this week to get back into the conversation.

Heisman Odds

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