Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 0

Heisman Watch: Ranking the Top 5 Heisman Odds Candidates Heading into Week 0

College football is back. Let that sink in for a little while and try to contain your excitement, but from here on out Saturdays look a lot different than during the dog days of summer.

With college football's return comes all the hype around Heisman odds and the weekly Heisman Watch. How will superstar stocks rise and fall with their performance? Traditionally, it's wins and losses paving the way for the award, but there's always room for an outlier here and there.

Week 0 may not have the same kind of firepower it has in the past with just four matchups on the slate, but it should still be a fantastic kickoff to the college football season.

So, before you make your weekly college football picks, make sure you take a look at the latest Heisman watch and see where the nation's superstars stand when it comes to lifting college football's most prestigious award.

Click here to get the latest Heisman Trophy odds ahead of Week 0

Heisman Watch: Top 5 Heisman Odds

1. Dillon Gabriel - Oregon QB (+750) Click here to see the latest Heisman odds

If you don't know Dillon Gabriel, you must be brand new to college football. At this point, Perry Ellis is sitting down to watch Oregon games and wondering how Gabriel still has any eligibility left. Gabriel is entering his sixth season of college football for his third different FBS school. What started as a career at Central Florida then pivoted to Oklahoma and will end this season at Oregon. Part of the reason it feels like Gabriel has been around for so long is because he's been a starter every single season of his career and he's put up big numbers along the way. Part of the reason Gabriel is the Heisman favorite, according to the latest odds, is his talent. The other reason is the unit around him, which is the most talented he's ever had to work with. Combine Dillon's athletic ability and live arm with the likes of Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, and Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart and you start to see why so many people are expecting big things out of Eugene this season.

2. Carson Beck - Georgia QB (+800) Click here to see the latest Heisman odds

It feels as though Georgia's rare miss of the College Football Playoff in 2023 has led to most of the country not realizing just how good Carson Beck is. But, it's only a matter of time until everyone gets familiar with the immense talent. Beck is projected to be a top-10 pick in next April's NFL Draft and for good reason. He throws on time, plays with anticipation, has the arm talent to make every throw and, dare I say, even possesses some "sneaky" athleticism. If Georgia is a National Championship contender, which the latest odds say they are as +300 favorites, then this award may be Beck's to lose. The issue here is that, as we've seen in the past, sometimes Georgia's defense is so dominant that it steals the show from the offense. Stetson Bennett got almost no Heiman hype when he won back-to-back National Championships despite being one of the best players in the country. Still, 8-1 odds is potentially great value on what might be the best player on the best team.

3. Quinn Ewers - Texas QB (+1200) Click here to see the latest Heisman odds

I will be passing on the Quinn Ewers Heisman hype in 2024 but that doesn't matter here as sportsbooks have tabbed him as the third favorite to win it. Texas is officially "back", if you will, as they are firmly in the National Championship conversation each year. But, it feels like we've been waiting for Ewers to take the next step for three years now and I'm just not sure when it's coming. The bad news is they lost almost all of their offensive production to the NFL with Jonathan Brooks, Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy leaving. The good news, if you're a Texas fan or an Ewers Heisman backer, is that the talent around him this year is undeniable. Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond and Houston transfer Matthew Golden will be huge on the outside for Ewers and Silas Bolden as the slot receiver or H-back is going to be pure electricity. Having said all that, I'm still not rushing to the window to put my money on Ewers. I have questions about his ability to stay healthy and his ability to compete in the SEC week in and week out. How many games do they lose out of their matchups with Michigan, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, Kentucky and Arkansas? Probably at least two with the potential for four or more to become losses.

4. Jalen Milroe - Alabama QB (+1400) Click here to see the latest Heisman odds

This is the first time in a long time that we can sit here and say we have no clue what to expect from an Alabama team since head coach Nick Saban stepped down this offseason. However, the one thing we do know is that Jalen Milroe is going to be a problem for opposing defenses. Imagine Milroe, who is a better athlete and has better arm talent than Michael Penix Jr., in the same exact role in Kalen DeBoer's offense. I expect massive numbers from Milroe and I expect him to surge up the Heisman odds board in a matter of weeks. In just five years, DeBoer has gone from the offensive coordinator at Indiana to the Head Coach at Alabama and it's thanks almost entirely to how effective and explosive his offenses have been.

5. Jaxson Dart - Ole Miss QB (+1400) Click here to see the latest Heisman odds

I'm placing Jaxson Dart in the same category as Quinn Ewers when it comes to Heisman odds and our Heisman Watch list. I like Dart and think he's a good player but there are better players on better teams that you can bet on. The entire Ole Miss team is a question mark this year. Five offensive starters are coming to the team via the transfer portal, including four starting offensive linemen. Add the loss of Quinshon Judkins to that fact and there are just a lot of "ifs" around this team. I'd much rather take a flier on someone like Brady Cook (+3500) or Riley Leonard (+3000) or even Sheduer Sanders (+4500) or Jalon Daniels (+4000) than I would bet Jaxson Dart at +1400. Lane Kiffin will have this team throwing the rock around and putting up big numbers, but I'm not so sure it'll come because of Jaxson Dart.

College Football Odds and Picks

• Looking for Week 0 odds from across college football? Look no further
• See which college football Week 0 matchups our Positive Value Bets Tool has identified as potential winners
• Looking to see where the money is this week across college football? Fade the public or follow the sharp money?