Caleb Wilfinger
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The 2022 college football season is finally on the horizon. The battle for a spot in the College Football Playoff begins on August 27 and won’t slow down until December. One of the most popular futures markets in this sport is determining who will win the Heisman Trophy. Last season, this award went to Alabama quarterback Bryce Young en route to an SEC championship for the Crimson Tide.
Looking at the odds, there are multiple contenders in this market, including a few intriguing longshot options. Let’s take a look at the best bets to target before the season starts.
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Heisman Trophy odds
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
CJ Stroud (+200)
Bryce Young (+400)
Caleb Williams (+600)
DJ Uiagalelei (+2500)
Dillon Gabriel (+3000)
Will Anderson (+4000)
Tyler Van Dyke (+4000)
Jaxson Dart (+4000)
TreVeyon Henderson (+4100)
Bijan Robinson (+4100)
It’s not surprising to see most of the names at the top of this market. Bryce Young just won this award last season, while CJ Stroud dazzled at Ohio State. Caleb Williams burst onto the scene and followed Lincoln Riley to USC. Further down the line, Dillon Gabriel and Jaxson Dart are in new situations that should benefit their skillsets. TreVeyon Henderson and Bijan Robinson round out the top 10, as both have proven to be outstanding out of the backfield. Let’s get into our best bets for this market.
Heisman Trophy winner best bet: CJ Stroud (+200)
This isn’t an exciting pick, but CJ Stroud is the favorite for a reason. While it took him a few weeks to get going, Stroud eventually showed out in 2021. The Ohio State quarterback came on strong toward the end of last year, showing his potential for a dominant campaign in 2022. As a true freshman, Stroud finished with over 4,400 yards and 44 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions last season. With a 72% completion percentage and the highest QBR in the nation, Stroud was effective and efficient. While the year didn’t go exactly to plan for the Buckeyes, Stroud’s second season as a starter should be sensational.
While the receiving core did take a hit with the losses of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Ohio State’s offense should be just fine. Stroud still has Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside, along with Marvin Harrison Jr. Additionally, TreVeyon Henderson is always a threat out of the backfield, and Stroud should show more willingness as a runner this fall. It’s not a great price, but backing Stroud to win the Heisman is a much better bet than a -200 ticket on Ohio State to win the Big Ten.
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Heisman Trophy winner longshot bet: Will Anderson (+4000)
It’s no secret that the Heisman Trophy award is primarily dominated by quarterbacks. However, it’s also an award that primarily goes to the best player on a championship contender. In this case, it could be argued that Will Anderson is a better player than Bryce Young. Even outside of that discussion, he certainly presents more value than Young. It’s hard to imagine that the Alabama quarterback will be given the award in consecutive years, and Anderson will be the defensive anchor on arguably the nation’s best team.
Historically, this is not an award that goes to a defensive player. But outside of Stroud and Young, it’s a pretty weak year for the quarterback position at the top of the odds board. Anderson is coming off a season in which he totaled 17.5 sacks and was a nightmare for opposing QBs. All it takes for the linebacker to gain some serious momentum is an injury, or for a couple of contenders to get upset. We saw Aidan Hutchinson go to New York last December, and it wouldn’t shock me if Anderson followed suit.
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