The latest Heisman Trophy odds from Vegas has been released. Justin Fields’ time as the stand-alone favorite to claim the award has come to an end. The Ohio State quarterback and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence are now both listed with 4/1 odds to claim the 2020 Heisman Trophy. Fields was a finalist for the award following the 2019 season. Spencer Rattler has opened as the favorite to win the award in 2021 See the odds for the favorites and longshots, starting from last year’s title game right up to award week Every season, this page tracks the favorites for college football’s most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy, by averaging out the futures available at major online. Which players are rising and which players are falling in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy at the sportsbooks? The current top players on the Heisman Trophy betting lines at Bovada are listed in the chart below; check back periodically this season for odds updates. I placed a bet on Florida quarterback, Kyle Trask, to win the 2020 Heisman Trophy at 60/1 odds. I think that Florida has a decent chance to win the 2020 National Championship, but the 14/1 odds are too small for me to consider placing a bet. So, I am taking a shot on Trask as a substitute play. After all, Burrow and LSU did it.
With the NFL Draft coming up, it’s a good time to look at the future of college football and potentially one of the first players take in next year’s NFL Draft. The Heisman is one of the most heavily debated sporting awards given out every single year and I think that this year will be a hot topic, especially before the season.
Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence are the two highest-rated QB prospects to play college football since Vince Young and it just so happens that they are the same age, from the same area, and they play on the two national championship favorites. While people in the know over the last few years understand Fields’ talent, I think that he is seen by a lot of casual fans as a clear step below Lawrence as a prospect.
I disagree with this sentiment and I think that it is even more clear when we start to look at the Heisman odds and what players are in a position to succeed. Last year, I probably wrote 10 articles throughout the preseason about 2019 Heisman odds and in every single one of them, I said how much of a bad idea it was to bet Lawrence to win them. This year is no different to me.
The prospect Trevor Lawrence is a great player, but the college football star at Clemson is no in a situation to win the Heisman and he is even less likely than he was last year in my opinion. Clemson lost Tee Higgins and 4 offensive line starters while returning Travis Etienne and losing their OC. Lawrence has elite tools, but the Clemson offense is just not built to win a Heisman trophy.
They don’t play in competitive games to have big moments or big games. They don’t scheme players open nearly as much as offenses like Oklahoma or Ohio State do, to limit turnovers and bad decisions. Lawrence only has downside in most of his games because he should throw for 300 yards with a 3:0 TD:INT ratio against Wake Forest.
Fields is in a much better spot to win the Heisman this year compared to last year, when he was a finalist. He is in the second year in the offense, which should help him take more control of the game. He is also in a much, much better situation.
Fields has 2 Day 2 draft picks or better returning on the O-line with 1 returning starter and they will replace two linemen with two 5-star recruits with at least a year in the program. They also brought in 4 top 100 players, including 2 5-star receivers and lost JK Dobbins their workhorse RB. Fields should throw the ball more this season without Dobbins and a slightly worse defense.
His weapons are now more explosive than they were last year by a mile, and he has a 5-star true freshman QB backing up, which should allow Ohio State to let him run a little more. Last year, the lack of QB depth made Fields a pocket passer more than he should be based on his athletic gifts. I would set the line on Fields being the Heisman at +150 and I would still take it there. This is easy to me.
There is almost no doubt in my mind that Fields has a better season this year than he did last year and his stats last year would have won a lot of Heismans over the years. That being said, if you want to beat Fields, you need to have a crazy season.
My other 2 favorite picks are Big 12 QBs from the best teams in the conference. Spencer Rattler is a phenomenal talent and should put up crazy stats at +1200. Sam Ehlinger probably has his best Texas team yet in his final season, so I think that combined with a bad defensive conference could give him some crazy moments and stats to make him viable at +2000.
When you go to make your 2020 Heisman bets; do so at RealBookies, our favorite pay per head bookie site.
More Pay Per Head tips:
Is the race for sports' most prestigious individual award down to two players?
That seemed to be the consensus among oddsmakers ahead of Saturday's games, and seems to be the case after them, too. But the ordering of the players has changed. Prior to Saturday, Florida quarterback Kyle Trask was the clear favorite to take home the trophy, followed closely by Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. After Saturday, the two have switched — and another player has significantly closed the gap between them.
Depending on the outcome of Saturday's SEC championship game, the question could become which of those players wins the Heisman — and whether Alabama could become only the second team in history to have both the Heisman winner and the runner-up.
That said, a handful of other players have impressed oddsmakers enough to warrant their inclusion in the latest set of odds heading into conference championship weekend.
MORE: College football picks, predictions against the spread for Week 15
With that, Sporting News breaks down the Heisman Trophy odds heading into Week 16, including who has the best shot at taking home the hardware in 2020:
Heading into Week 16, the odds-on favorites to win the Heisman are Jones (-300) and Trask (+250). They are Vegas' clear favorites to win the award, followed by Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith (+1000), who moved up from +2200 odds the week prior. Clemson and Notre Dame quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Ian Book come in a distant fourth at +1400.
Below are the top odds to bring home the 2020 Heisman Trophy as of Sunday:
Player | Odds |
Mac Jones (QB, Alabama) | -300 |
Kyle Trask (QB, Florida) | +250 |
DeVonta Smith (WR, Alabama) | +1000 |
Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson) | +1400 |
Ian Book (QB, Notre Dame) | +1400 |
Justin Fields (QB, Ohio State) | +2500 |
Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
Jones didn't need to do much in Alabama's 52-3 win over Arkansas to take over as the Heisman favorite. Despite not throwing for any touchdowns, he completed an impressive 82.7 percent of his passes for 208 yards. He had a bad interception negated by a targeting call, keeping his touchdown and interception totals the same for the season. Depending on how well he performs against Florida in the SEC title game, the award is his to lose.
© Provided by Sporting News Kyle-Trask-120520-GETTY-FTR.jpgKyle Trask, QB, Florida
Trask tumbled from his spot atop the Heisman odds after an abysmal game against sub-.500 LSU. He threw for 474 yards and totaled three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions (including a pick-six) and fumbled the ball right before halftime, leading to 10 total points off turnovers for LSU. Trask had a near-Heisman moment after he led the Gators to within field goal range for a game-tying, 51-yard attempt. But Evan McPherson's kick sailed left, denying Trask. That said, a big win — and bigger performance — against Alabama could vault Trask back to the top of the Heisman voting.
© Provided by Sporting News DeVonta Smith-120620-GETTY-FTRDeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
Smith didn't have quite the game he had against LSU — far from it — but still moved up the Heisman odds. Arkansas committed to double-covering him and preventing the big play, but the Razorbacks' plan went awry when Smith returned an 84-yard punt return for touchdown in the first quarter. It sparked a 49-0 run by Alabama and looked reminiscent of Desmond Howard's return against Ohio State in 1991 — minus the Heisman pose, of course.
© Provided by Sporting News trevor-lawrence-fiesta-102920Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
Lawrence was idle Saturday as Clemson looked ahead to Notre Dame in the ACC title game. That will likely keep the junior signal-caller — the best pure talent with the highest NFL upside of his class — from winning the Heisman. Unless he can light up Notre Dame's defense on Saturday, he could have a tough time earning enough votes to become a finalist. Those two missed games due to a COVID-19 diagnosis severely hurt his Heisman chances.
© Provided by Sporting News Ian-Book-112020-GETTY-FTR.jpgIan Book, QB, Notre Dame
Like Lawrence, Book didn't play Saturday as his team prepped for the ACC title game. He could earn Heisman finalist consideration, considering how well he plays against Clemson, but his numbers are similar to Lawrence's, even with two more games played. At this point, Notre Dame simply wants Book to lead a national title run. A Heisman is gravy.
© Provided by Sporting News Justin-Fields-062020_GETTY-FTR.jpgJustin Fields, QB, Ohio State
Fields, the only returning 2019 Heisman finalist, couldn't play Saturday after Ohio State's game vs. Michigan was canceled due to the coronavirus. That will leave just the Big Ten championship game against Northwestern to prove to voters he's deserving of votes. He can't, however, have another game like he did against Indiana — one in which he threw three interceptions. Even if he has a lights-out performance, it might not be enough considering he will have played in only six games all year.
Because of the onset of the coronavirus, the Heisman Trophy ceremony has been significantly delayed. It will take place Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 — six days before the national championship game — whereas it had traditionally taken place the first Friday after conference championship weekend.
That said, don't expect Heisman voters to take bowl games or the College Football Playoff into consideration: The deadline for voters to cast their ballots is Monday, Dec. 21 — two days after conference championship weekend concludes.
If recent history is any indication, the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner will be a quarterback. In fact, only one non-QB has won the award in the past 10 years: Alabama running back Derrick Henry, in 2015. The award is even harder to attain for receivers; the last true wideout to win the Heisman was Michigan's Desmond Howard in 1991. Only three receivers since have even been Heisman finalists: Alabama's David Palmer (1993), Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald (2003) and Alabama's Amari Cooper (2014).
It just goes to show how quarterback-centric the award has become. That said, don't expect Trask or Jones to run away with it. While they figure to take up the majority of votes, Smith should get some decent representation, especially after Trask's subpar performance against LSU. Either way, the 2020 winner won't blow out the competition like Joe Burrow did in 2019: The LSU signal-caller garnered the second-highest total votes (2,608), second-highest first-place votes (841) and largest margin of victory (1,846) in Heisman voting history.
With that, here are the past 10 Heisman Trophy winners, their votes total and their margin of victory:
Year | Player | Total votes | Margin of victory |
2019 | Joe Burrow, QB, LSU | 2,608 | 1,846 |
2018 | Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma | 2,167 | 296 |
2017 | Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma | 2,398 | 1,098 |
2016 | Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville | 2,144 | 620 |
2015 | Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama | 1,832 | 293 |
2014 | Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon | 2,534 | 1,284 |
2013 | Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State | 2,205 | 1,501 |
2012 | Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M | 2,029 | 323 |
2011 | Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor | 1,687 | 280 |
2010 | Cam Newton, QB, Auburn | 2,263 | 1,184 |