Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 13

Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 13

It's the final week of the college football regular season, aka Rivalry Week, and we have some awesome games on the schedule that will undoubtedly impact our Heisman Watch list and the latest Heisman odds.

The biggest college football news, when it comes to the race for the Heisman, is that Caleb Williams has officially made this a close competition with his win over UCLA last week. Will he be able to keep it close? We'll know by Saturday night.

Make sure you're following along with the latest Heisman odds to make some futures bets to go along with your weekly college football picks.

Click here for the latest Heisman odds

Heisman Watch: Top 5 Heisman Odds

1. CJ Stroud - Ohio State QB (+110) (Bet $100 to collect $210)

Stop me if you heard this before, but CJ Stroud played bad football again and his Heisman odds still improved. That's not hyperbole, if you watched him play Maryland last week you probably left the game wondering how his Heisman odds are as short as they are or how he ended up atop most Heisman Watch lists. Still, sportsbooks are so sure he's going to win that he's odds-on in some places. The bad news for Stroud is that he hasn't looked outstanding in about a month. The good news is that if he plays well in a win over Michigan this week then he all but wraps up the award. However, a loss at home to their rival or a win in which he looks less than stellar could open the door for some others on the Heisman Watch list. Either way, CJ Stroud's name being atop the Heisman odds is more about the fact that his competition has all gotten hurt down the stretch rather than any excellent play of his own.

2. Caleb Williams - USC QB (+125) (Bet $100 to collect $225)

In last week's Heisman Watch, I said that Caleb Williams was the dark horse of the Heisman odds. After previously declaring his Heisman hopes dead, I brought him back to life like the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. What do you know, Caleb Williams balls out against rival UCLA, earns a massive win and his Heisman odds go from +1200 a week ago to +125 this week. Here's the thing about Caleb Williams' Heisman chances, if he's going to win it he needs everything to break right for him. First of all, he needs to beat Notre Dame this week. The Irish are another team that CJ Stroud looked average against (add them to the list). If he does that and wins a Pac-12 championship, we are a poor showing from Stroud away from Williams leapfrogging the OSU QB for the top spot. No matter what happens, Williams deserves a round of applause for at least making this a competition down the stretch as we end the season.

3. Blake Corum - Michigan RB (+2500) (Bet $100 to collect $2,600)

This one hurts. If Corum hadn't gotten injured we could potentially have a game in Columbus this week with the Big Ten and the Heisman Trophy on the line. However, Corum went down with an injury against Illinois, the team looked less than stellar and his Heisman hopes were pretty much officially crushed at the Big House. Luckily, as college football fans we still get an Ohio State vs. Michigan game that features two unbeaten teams ranked No. 2 and No. 3, so I'm hardly complaining. Corum has spent the season in the third or fourth spot on our Heisman Watch list and it looks like that's exactly where he'll end it, which is fitting. But, you never know, a performance from Corum like Kenneth Walker III's last year against the Wolverines may be the type of miracle he needs to bring home the hardware.

4. Hendon Hooker - Tennessee QB (+2500) (Bet $100 to collect $2,600)

Hendon Hooker's season came to a heartbreaking end last week as not only did the Volunteers lose to a bad South Carolina team, but Hooker tore his ACL in the process. So, Hooker's Heisman odds making it on our Heisman Watch list is more of a sign of respect than anything else. However, despite the injury and loss, he's still the fourth favorite. Before this past week, the only team Hooker had really struggled with was Georgia, who has done that to every QB they've faced. But, even before he got hurt Tennessee was getting it taken to them by an inferior team, so it looked like they were destined for a loss.

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5. Bo Nix - Oregon QB (+10000) (Bet $100 to collect $10,100)

I do not think Bo Nix can win the Heisman this year. BUT, a win over Oregon State in Corvallis puts the Ducks in the Pac-12 title game. If Nix goes toe to toe with Caleb Williams and outperforms him, he may earn himself a trip to the Heisman award ceremony as a finalist seeing as Hooker is hurt and he will have taken down Williams. Either way, this has been a redemption season for Nix at Oregon. When he left Auburn he was taking a lot of the blame for their struggles. Now, he's competing for a Heisman Trophy and Pac-12 title while the Tigers look for a new head coach. Bo Nix got the last laugh, it's just a matter of how hard he'll be laughing now.