The NCAA football landscape underwent a massive overhaul when upsets befell six ranked teams in Week 6 action, including No. 1 Alabama.
Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe was the odds-on Heisman Trophy favorite at most sportsbooks heading into the week, but now the market is wide open following ’Bama’s stunning loss to Vanderbilt, which upended various college football futures.
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is the new favorite at major books.
Milroe entered Week 6 with an average of +200 odds to win the Heisman. The junior quarterback dropped to an average of +1033 as Alabama fell from a +375 co-favorite (with Ohio State) to +650 in odds to win the College Football Playoff.
The Tide can still make the expanded 12-team CFP field, and Milroe has ample opportunities to play his way back into Heisman contention with South Carolina, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 21 Missouri, and No. 13 LSU coming up over the next month.
Colorado’s Hunter, Miami’s Ward taking heavy action
But now books are taking even more action on Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Miami’s Cam Ward, two of the top three favorites in Heisman futures.
Hunter, a two-way superstar playing under Deion Sanders, is sitting at an average of +333 odds to win the Heisman at top college football betting sites. Hunter became the favorite after a huge Week 1 performance in which he caught seven balls for 132 yards and three touchdowns, and he’s posted 561 receiving yards and six touchdowns through five outings while excelling at cornerback.
Jeanty is the new odds leader with an average of +223. The junior entered Week 6 with an average of +1067 odds at sportsbooks, but that number shortened considerably after another impressive line (13 carries, 183 yards, three TDs) in a 62-30 win over Utah State this past Saturday. Jeanty is averaging 10.9 yards per carry and is already over 1,000 rushing yards with 16 touchdowns through five games.
Cam Ward led Miami to a thrilling 39-38 win at California this past Saturday with 437 passing yards and three total touchdowns. His Heisman odds only dipped marginally from +517 to an average of +414 at sportsbooks following Alabama’s loss and Milroe’s dip in the market.
Ward was a huge longshot with +20000 odds coming into the season, whereas Jeanty (+5000) and Hunter (+3500) were moderate longshots.
BetMGM Sportsbook has taken its highest percentage of tickets (16.9%) and handle (21.8%) on Hunter to win the Heisman. Ward is third in ticket percentage (7.5%) and second in handle (9.7%) at the book, which has seen the third-most handle (9.4%) on Milroe.
Iamaleava, Ewers among other public favorites
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has taken the second-largest ticket share (10.4%) at BetMGM, but his odds have also lengthened considerably after Tennessee’s road loss to Arkansas last week.
Iamaleava was already losing steam, with +1500 odds at most books heading into Week 6, and now he’s down to +3500 to win the Heisman.
While FanDuel Sportsbook has taken the most bets on Jeanty since this past weekend, the book still reports that Hunter leads all action in terms of tickets and handle, followed by Iamaleava and Milroe.
The book has taken more handle on Ward than Jeanty, but the fourth-most tickets are now on Jeanty, followed by Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.