Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 14
Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 14
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
The 2022 college football regular season is over and that means so is our regular weekly installments of the Heisman Watch. Still, we need to break down the latest Heisman odds one last time before we get ready for the final Heisman Ceremony, especially considering the movement we've seen at the top.
The biggest college football news this week is that CJ Stroud is no longer the Heisman favorite. Instead, that honor belongs to Caleb Williams.
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.
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Heisman Watch: Top 5 Heisman Odds
1. Caleb Williams - USC QB (-2000) (Bet $2,000 to collect $2,100)
Well, that escalated quickly. Last week, Caleb Williams came into our Heisman Watch list as the second favorite with +125 odds. A few weeks before that, you could get Caleb Williams to win the Heisman at +1200. Now, it's a lock that he wins the Heisman Trophy this year. Here's the thing, Caleb Williams has been having a better season than CJ Stroud for about five weeks now, it just took a little while for sportsbooks to catch on. Here is what I said about Williams in Week 3: "For me, Williams is clearly the best player in the country right now. If he was draft eligible, he would be the runaway No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. He is too big, too fast and too strong for the Pac-12 and will continue to put up gaudy numbers all season long. If you want to bet Caleb Williams to win the Heisman, now is the time, because his Heisman odds are only going to get shorter as the season goes on.". It took a little longer than I expected, but we got there. Caleb Williams is your 2022 Heisman winner barring some kind of epic meltdown.
2. Max Duggan - TCU QB (+2500) (Bet $100 to collect $2,600)
Welcome to the party, Max Duggan! There are a lot of things that go into Duggan making his first-ever appearance on the Heisman Watch list in the final week of the season. First and foremost, he's been great and he's led the No. 3 Horned Frogs to a potential trip to the College Football Playoff. But, No. 2, he's gotten help from injuries. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker was the mid-season hot ticket when it came to his Heisman odds and unfortunately tore his ACL, derailing any shot he had at the Heisman. Another trendy pick, Michigan RB Blake Corum, is out for the season with a knee injury of his own. But, that shouldn't take anything away from Duggan. Not only has Duggan's team been great, but so has he. Duggan's 29 passing TDs are tied for 11th in the country and his 3,070 passing yards are good for 24th. Not to mention, he's only thrown three interceptions all year. He has his team playing in the Big 12 title game and is just one win away from the CFP.
3. CJ Stroud - Ohio State QB (+5000) (Bet $100 to collect $5,100)
I hate to say I told you so, but yeah, I told you so. CJ Stroud has been far from the best player in the country this year and the gap is even wider when you consider the talent he has around him. So, that's why he finds himself third on the Heisman Watch list. Even without Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Ohio State WRs are the best in the nation. Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best wideout in college football and we still haven't seen a big game from Stroud in over a month. This past week, when the chips were on the table against Michigan, Stroud lost to OSU's biggest rival again. He leaves Columbus (assuming he declares for the NFL Draft) having never beaten Michigan as a starter, something that was unfathomable just two years ago. If Stroud played for a different school with lower expectations and wasn't trying to win a Heisman, this would go down as a pretty good year. After all, he leads the nation in passing TDs. But, when you consider where he plays, the soft schedule he faced and the expectations that come with being the signal caller at Ohio State, Stroud and the Buckeyes fell short this season. That's why his Heisman odds went from odds-on to +5000 in just a week.
4. Stetson Bennett - Georgia QB (+10000) (Bet $100 to collect $10,100)
It's likely that the first three names on this list are the only ones that make the trip to the Heisman ceremony and are named Heisman finalists. Still, I think it's important to give Stetson Bennett his props whenever I get a chance, so we're highlighting him on this week's Heisman Watch list. Bennett, a former walk-on QB, has the chance to lead his school to back-to-back national titles and his play is a huge part of that. Bennett hasn't had massive numbers, but he's done enough to lead his team to the No. 1 ranking to this point. His 3,151 passing yards are 18th in the country, his 84.9 QBR is 7th and he's only thrown six interceptions. The problem is he only has 16 passing TDs and doesn't need to put up big numbers, so it was always going to be an uphill battle for him. Still, Stetson Bennett ends the season with the fourth-best Heisman odds in the country.
5. Michael Penix Jr. - Washington QB (+10000) (Bet $100 to collect $10,100)
Michael Penix Jr. is not going to win the Heisman this year, especially from this far down on the Heisman Watch list. But, I think he should be getting more consideration than he is. I love a redemption story, and that's exactly what Penix is. Last season, Penix came into the season with the Indiana Hoosier with a ton of hype for the first time in a long time. And, predictably, as they usually do on the football field, the Hoosiers fell flat. But, it's been a completely different story this season for Penix. Right now, Penix leads the entire nation in passing yards with 4,354. He's completed 66% of his passes, up from 53.7% a year ago, and has thrown 29 TDs to just seven interceptions. Penix is a dynamic threat and led Washington to a 10-2 record. Luckily for us, He'll likely be back in purple and gold next year as he's just a junior.