Is it too early to start engraving Travis Hunter’s name on the Heisman Trophy? Not according to oddsmakers, who now have the Colorado Buffaloes two-way star as a commanding odds favorite to win college football’s most illustrious individual award.
Hunter, who assumed the position of odds favorite last week, separated himself from the pack following his sensational outing last Saturday against Utah. As a result, the receiver and cornerback is now the overwhelming -330 favorite entering the penultimate week of the regular season—well ahead of his three main challengers, who suddenly have very little time to make up ground.
The Heisman voting deadline is Dec. 9, two days after the conclusion of conference championship game weekend. That means Hunter’s rivals have two or three games at most to close the gap, assuming some of their teams qualify for conference title games. After Hunter, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty enters Week 13 at +350 on the board, followed by Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward in third at +1400 and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel a very distant fourth at +2500.
2024 Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Travis Hunter (Colorado) | -330 |
| Ashton Jeanty (Boise State) | +350 |
| Cam Ward (Miami FL) | +1400 |
| Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) | +2500 |
| Kurtis Rourke (Indiana) | +3000 |
| Jalen Milroe (Alabama) | +3300 |
| Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) | +6000 |
| Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) | +15000 |
| Cade Klubnik (Clemson) | +20000 |
Odds as of Nov. 18th, 2024
See Our Best CFB Betting Sites Here
Heisman Trophy Odds Favorite: Travis Hunter, -330
Hunter struck a Heisman pose after making an interception in Colorado’s 49-24 drilling of Utah last Saturday, perhaps a sign of things to come. He played every snap until deep in the fourth quarter, catching five passes for 55 yards on offense, and making three tackles and snagging an interception on defense. Hunter leads the Buffs in receptions (74) yards (911), touchdowns (nine) and interceptions (four), and he’s tied for the team lead in pass breakups (eight).
Colorado is a 2.5-point favorite on Saturday at Kansas, which upset previously unbeaten BYU last weekend to put the Buffaloes in the driver’s seat for the Big 12 championship game. The Buffaloes finish with a home contest against Oklahoma State, and winning out would put Colorado in the Big 12 title game—giving Hunter one last, gigantic spotlight under which to finalize his Heisman resume.
Heisman Trophy Odds Value Pick: Cam Ward, +1400
Talk about bad timing. The one-time Heisman favorite Ward has plummeted in odds the past two weeks—Ward’s sack and fumble two weeks ago at Georgia Tech sealed Miami’s first loss, and then the Hurricanes were on a bye week. It all coincided with a pair of dominant performances by Hunter and the Buffaloes, which left Ward in the dust.
But the Miami quarterback isn’t done yet. Even after his off week, Ward still leads the nation in passing yards (3,494) and passing touchdowns (32). The Hurricanes are 24-point home favorites on Saturday against Wake Forest—which was strafed its last two times out by Cal and North Carolina—and close at Syracuse. More importantly, they would win the tiebreaker over Clemson for a berth in the ACC title game should they win out, giving Ward an additional opportunity to impress Heisman voters.
Heisman Trophy Odds Dark Horse: Jalen Milroe, +3300
Alabama has understandably slipped below the radar a little since its Oct. 19 loss at Tennessee, but Milroe continues to do his best to get Heisman voters’ attention. The Crimson Tide quarterback was a one-man wrecking crew with his 185 rushing yards and four rushing TDs against LSU, and he followed that up last week with 229 combined yards and three touchdowns against FCS Mercer.
The four-player cabal that for weeks has ruled the top of the Heisman odds board has been broken up, so there’s room for someone to steal a finalist berth in New York. Alabama is a 14-point road favorite Saturday at Oklahoma, and then hosts Auburn to close the regular season. Should the Crimson Tide win out, head-to-head victories over Georgia and LSU would give Alabama an edge in SEC title game tiebreakers, perhaps giving Milroe one last chance to run wild against a likely top-10 opponent.
See Our Best CFB Betting Sites Here
Last 10 heisman trophy winners
| Year | Winner | Preseason Odds | Closing Odds | Preseason Favorite (Odds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jayden Daniels | +1000 | -1200 | Caleb Williams (+475) |
| 2022 | Caleb Williams | +800 | -2500 | CJ Stroud (+400) |
| 2021 | Bryce Young | +900 | -3500 | Spencer Rattler (+550) |
| 2020 | DeVonta Smith | +6600 | -200 | Justin Fields (+450) |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | +4000 | -12500 | Tua Tagovailoa (+250) |
| 2018 | Kyler Murray | +3000 | +700 | Tua Tagovailoa (+400) |
| 2017 | Baker Mayfield | +700 | -1800 | Sam Darnold (+500) |
| 2016 | Lamar Jackson | +10000 | -1350 | Deshaun Watson (+450) |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | +2500 | -465 | Trevone Boykin (+650) |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota | +425 | -1500 | Marcus Mariota (+425) |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston | +600 | -15000 | Teddy Bridgewater (+450) |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel | N/A | -1000 | Matt Barkley (+300) |
| 2011 | Robert Griffin III | +2800 | -1000 | Andrew Luck (+325) |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | N/A | -450 | Mark Ingram (+450) |
| 2009 | Mark Ingram | N/A | -250 | Tim Tebow (+225) |
By now, everyone is aware that LSU Tigers' Jayden Daniels was named the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner. But did you know his odds to win the Heisman Trophy were +4000 by Week 2?
Below are the opening and closing odds for every Heisman Trophy winner dating back to 2009. You can find all the Heisman Trophy winners listed here.
nCAA Schools with the most heisman winners
| School | Number Of Winners | Latest Winner |
|---|---|---|
| USC Trojans | 8 | Caleb Williams (2022) |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 7 | Troy Smith (2006) |
| Oklahoma Sooners | 7 | Kyler Murray (2018) |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 7 | Tim Brown (1987) |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | 4 | Bryce Young (2021) |
| Auburn Tigers | 3 | Cam Newton (2010) |
| Army Black Knights | 3 | Pete Dawkins (1958) |
| Florida Gators | 3 | Tim Tebow (2007) |
| Florida State Seminoles | 3 | Jameis Winston (2013) |
| Michigan Wolverines | 3 | Charles Woodson (1997) |
With Reggie Bush's award being reinstated this year and Caleb Williams snatching the award a couple of years ago, the Trojans now hold the most Heisman Trophy winners (8).
Heisman trophy betting trends
- Since 2013, five Heisman Trophy winners were selected first overall at the NFL Draft (Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, Bryce Young).
- Cam Newton remains the only double-transfer Heisman winner in history. Newton started his collegiate career in Florida, then transferred to Blinn Junior College and then joined Auburn to top it all off.
- Five of the last six Heisman-winning quarterbacks were transfers.
- Eight Heisman Trophy winners of the last decade were all quarterbacks. The two exceptions were two Alabama products, WR Devonta Smith (2020) and RB Derrick Henry (2015).
Making A Futures Bet
A futures bet is a wager made on events or milestones that will happen in time. The Heisman bet is a form of futures betting because you are making a pick based on an outcome determined at the end of the NCAA football season. The trophy is given out in mid-December and if you want to get a bigger payout, it’s best to lock in your bets sooner rather than later so you can take advantage of better odds. The closer it gets to Heisman voting, the more the odds will change.
How To Read Heisman Trophy Odds
The above chart features the odds for each top player in college football. At your sportsbook of choice, the betting lines would look something like this:
- Quinn Ewers +500
- Carson Beck +800
- Jalen Milroe +1000
This means that Ewers is the favorite since he has the lowest odds and the highest chance of winning the prop, according to oddsmakers. If you were to bet $100 on Ewers and he won, you would get a payout of $600 – your original $100 is returned along with your winnings of $500.
On the other hand, if you strongly believe that Jalen Milroe is going to win the Heisman at Alabama, a winning $100 bet on him would yield $1,100 – your $100 comes back along with your prize of $1,000.
Our Odds Calculator will show you how much you’d win based on the odds and amount bet.
Handicapping Your Heisman Odds Bet
We have the goods to ensure that you can make smart picks. Check out our college football pages to give you the edge over other bettors:
• Odds
• Futures
• Scores
