Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 7

Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 7

The 2023 Heisman race is starting to take shape at the mid-point of the college football regular season, and the west coast is having an incredible start.

The top three candidates on this list all have massive showdowns this week, with two going head-to-head in the Pac 12 on Saturday night. The victor will have a major boost to their Heisman odds, and the loser will likely take a hit in the rankings.

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. Michael Penix - Washington QB (+225) (Bet $100 to collect $325)

The Washington Huskies are flying high with a 5-0 start, but are about to enter a scheduling gauntlet in the Pac 12. Penix has carried the load for the Huskies, and has a stacked receiving corps that has lent him a hand. Several of his wideouts possess NFL talent, and are likely to be selected in next year's draft. Rome Odunze leads the pack with over 600 yards receiving and four touchdowns already, and is closely trailed by Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk, who add another 700 yards and seven TDs. Through five games, Penix is just one yard short of 2,000 yards, and if he can keep lighting up the scoreboard with his WR trio, he will continue to lead the race. The Huskies have a major test when hosting Oregon as slight favorites in Week 7 against another Heisman candidate to be discussed below.

2. Caleb Williams - USC QB (+300) (Bet $100 to collect $400)

The 2022 Heisman winner is once again near the top of the leaderboard, to the surprise of no one. Caleb Williams has been phenomenal through six games, passing for 1,800 yards and a ridiculous 22 touchdowns, all while adding six more on the ground. Last week, he willed the Trojans back against the Arizona Wildcats after starting down 17-0. They survived in triple OT, but there is no time to breathe a sigh of relief. The biggest obstacle to Williams winning the elusive award in back-to-back seasons has nothing to do with him or his offense at all. The USC defense has been abysmal at best, allowing 40+ points in their last two games. They have let several inferior teams crawl back in, and if they can't get stops and feed Williams the ball, he won't be able to put up his incredible stat lines. The Trojans face their toughest task of the year, heading on the road to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Williams had his Heisman moment against the Irish last year, and will try to replicate the four-touchdown performance in a hostile environment as a slight field-goal underdog.

3. Bo Nix - Oregon QB (+800) (Bet $100 to collect $900)

The Oregon Ducks are headed into the aforementioned Pac 12 showdown with the Washington Huskies and odds leader Michael Penix on Saturday night. The winner of that game will undoubtedly rise in the odds, especially if Bo Nix can help his team pull the slight upset on the road. Nix doesn't have the quite the same level of impressive stats featured by Williams and Penix at this point in the season, but has still shined en route to a 5-0 start. He has thrown for nearly 1,500 yards and accounted for 16 total touchdowns, and led his team to several blowout victories. Most importantly for Nix's Heisman campaign is the impressive defense that backs him up. Washington and USC have not demonstrated this same attribute, and it will hurt their QB in the end if they can't win the close games that turn into shootouts. The Oregon defense has helped the team to two straight 42-6 victories against Colorado and Stanford, and hasn't allowed more than 10 points in four of their five games. If they can bring that same energy against Penix and the high powered Huskies attack on Saturday night in Seattle, Nix will have a massive boost to his Heisman odds come Monday.

4. Dillon Gabriel - Oklahoma QB (+1400) (Bet $100 to collect $1,500)

The Oklahoma Sooners have been one of the major shocks in the college football world to start 2023. Coming off of a miserable 6-7 record in Brent Venables first season as head coach, the expectations were cloudy for this Sooners team who struggled on both sides of the ball in 2022. They were blown out 49-0 against the Texas Longhorns last year, but managed to pull the upset in the Red River Rivalry last weekend and stunned the third ranked team in the country. They have now flown into the top-5, largely due to the improved play of Dillon Gabriel who engineered the game-winning drive with under a minute to play at the Cotton Bowl. He has accounted for 21 total touchdowns in the 6-0 start, and the Sooners only have one ranked team on their schedule. They have by far the easiest path remaining compared to the Pac 12 star QBs at the top of this list. If Gabriel can keep putting up stats and avoid a conference upset, he will have a serious shot at the award in the final weeks.

5. J.J. McCarthy - Michigan QB (+1700) (Bet $100 to collect $1,800)

The Top 5 list is rounded out by Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, who has navigated the Wolverines through adversity and press spotlight to a flawless start. Many speculated that the media circus surrounding the Jim Harbaugh suspension would impact the team, but if it has, McCarthy and his squad haven't shown it. They are fresh off of a rout against Minnesota, but haven't truly been tested yet. McCarthy has only 1,200 yards through the air, but hasn't needed to do much and has left early in several of the blowout victories. The Michigan defense has backed him up with several interceptions for touchdowns last week, and will be a major factor in his campaign if they can run the table in the regular season. The Wolverines have major tests circled against Penn State and Ohio State in the coming weeks, that will likely make or break McCarthy's chances. For now, the Wolverines are 33-point favorites over Indiana on Saturday, where he will have an opportunity to beef up his stat line in another likely blowout.