Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Monday 6/17/19
Heisman Trophy Outlook
Heisman Trophy odds are on the board at BetDSI with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa a slight favorite over Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. Last season it was Kyler Murray winning the Heisman over Tagovailoa, but Murray is now in the NFL, while Tua is still at Alabama. Tua is listed at +250, while Lawrence is +300. The only other player listed at single-digit odds is former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts who is now at Oklahoma. He is listed at odds of +800.
Let’s look at all of the other odds and top contenders to win the 2019 Heisman Trophy.
Odds to Win 2019 Heisman Trophy
Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) +250
Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) +300
Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) +800
Justin Fields (Ohio State) +1500
D'Andre Swift (Georgia) +1500
Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin) +1500
Justin Herbert (Oregon) +1500
Adrian Martinez (Nebraska) +1500
Travis Etienne (Clemson) +1600
Jake Fromm (Georgia) +1800
Ian Book (Notre Dame) +2000
Sam Ehlinger (Texas) +2500
Jerry Jeudy (Alabama) +2500
JT Daniels (USC) +2500
Austin Kendall (West Virginia) +2800
Shea Patterson (Michigan) +3300
K.J. Costello (Stanford) +4000
Rondale Moore (Purdue) +4000
JK Dobbins (Ohio St) +4000
Najee Harris (Alabama) +4000
Kelly Bryant (Missouri) +4500
Kellen Mond (Texas A&M) +5500
AJ Dillon (Boston College) +6500
Jacob Eason (Washington) +6500
Top Contenders
The two favorites are Tua and Lawrence, and it should come as no surprise, as they were two of the top quarterbacks in the country last season. Tua was actually a big favorite for most of the season to win last year’s award but then he got hurt in the SEC Championship and Murray surged past him. Tua has a lot of talented players around him including Jerry Jeudy.
Lawrence was the star for Clemson last season in the National Championship Game and he led the Tigers to an undefeated season. He could win the Heisman this season, as Clemson should be favored in every game this season. He also has a lot of weapons around him and there is no reason he won’t have another great season.
Hurts transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma and he goes into an offense that has produced the last two Heisman winners in Murray and Baker Mayfield. It is not out of the question that Hurts can succeed in Lincoln Riley’s system, but it should be noted that Hurts is not as good as either Murray or Mayfield. He simply doesn’t throw the ball as effectively, and the odds of +600 on Hurts could be too low.
Darkhorses
You can throw ten players into this category as potential darkhorses. I’ll briefly look at each one. Justin Fields takes over at quarterback at Ohio State and he could put up big numbers this season, as he is a dual-threat quarterback. D’Andre Swift was a popular choice last season, but there is probably too much overall talent at Georgia for Swift to score enough TDs to get into the conversation. Jonathan Taylor is also listed at +1500, but my response to that number is can we laugh now? Taylor is an injury waiting to happen and opposing defenses will dare Wisconsin to throw as they have a freshman at quarterback.
Justin Herbert plays in a high octane offense at Oregon, but the Ducks are rarely on TV, and I doubt Herbert will get enough attention to win the Heisman. Travis Etienne plays in the same offense with Lawrence at Clemson and probably can’t do enough to get Heisman attention. Jake Fromm at Georgia has the same problem.
Adrian Martinez at Nebraska is the one darkhorse worth considering. He had a good first season under Scott Frost and a lot of people are predicting big things for the Cornhuskers this season. Keep an early eye on Martinez.
The other three darkhorses are Ian Book, Sam Ehlinger and Jerry Jeudy. Of those three, Ehlinger is the most intriguing as he had 25 TDs and just five interceptions a year ago and he also ran for 16 TDs.
2019 Heisman Trophy Predictions
Tua should have won the award a year ago, but he got hurt at the worst time. There is not much value on him this season, but he is the top choice. There is, however, value on Ehlinger at odds of +2500 and he is our darkhorse pick.