No one claimed winning a Heisman Trophy as a running back would be an easy task — or even necessarily a fair one.
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown as the Broncos handed UNLV only its second loss of the season Friday night in Las Vegas. He now has racked up an FBS-leading 1,376 yards along with 18 touchdowns on the ground through seven games, but Jeanty didn’t just lose his perch as the Heisman Trophy candidate — he fell three spots at DraftKings.
While that may seem a massive slight, oddsmakers have swung back in favor of two quarterbacks at the helm of undefeated teams ranked in the top 5.
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, who opened the season as the Heisman favorite, regained that title after throwing for 291 yards and three touchdowns in the No. 1 Ducks’ 38-9 dismantling of No. 20 Illinois. He’s being offered at +260, slightly ahead of Miami’s Cam Ward (+270), who guided the No. 5 Hurricanes’ rout of rival Florida State on Saturday night.
Jeanty (+400) also fell behind Travis Hunter, who starred on both sides of the ball in primetime as Colorado handled Cincinnati 34-23. In addition to serving as a shutdown corner, Hunter caught nine passes for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A +2000 longshot just this week, the performance helped Hunter rocket up to the third spot at +330.
As the calendar shifts to November, the Heisman Trophy is shaping up as a four-player race.
HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS (via DraftKings)
PLAYER, TEAM, JULY ODDS, WEEK 1, LAST WEEK, CURRENT
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, +750, +800, +380, +260
Cam Ward, Miami, +2200, +950, +250, +270
Travis Hunter, Colorado, N/A, N/A, +2000, +330
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, N/A/, N/A, +220, +400
Cade Klubnik, Clemson, N/A, N/A, +1600, +2000
Carson Beck, Georgia, +800, +900, +2500, +3500
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, N/A, +2200, +5000, +4000
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, +1400, +850, +4000, +5000
Jalen Milroe, Alabama, +1500, +1100, +3000, +5000
Quinn Ewers, Texas, +1000, +1400, +7500, +5000
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU, +2200, +3500, +3000, +6000
Drew Allar, Penn State, N/A, N/A, +3500, +6000
Will Howard, Ohio State, +1500, +1600, +7500, +8000
Bryson Daily, Army, N/A, N/A, +7500, +9000
Hunter, whose odds were as short as +300 the first week of the month, saw those steadily after catching only three passes in a loss to Kansas State and two in a rout over Arizona. But his duel-threat capabilities were on full display to an ESPN audience on Saturday night.
Hunter’s +1670-point rise was second at DraftKings only behind that of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, whose odds delta trended up +2500. However, he’s still a +5000 longshot while Hunter is firmly in the thick of the Heisman picture. The book reported that Hunter leads all Heisman candidates with 31 percent of the money backing him since Saturday along with 20 percent of all bets.
Going in the opposite direction was LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who dropped from +3000 to +6000 and all but out of consideration following the Tigers’ second loss of the season. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik could only sit and watch his competition pull away during his bye week as he fell from +1600 to +2000.
Alabama scored a shutout win over Missouri, but that didn’t help previous Heisman frontrunner Jalen Milroe. The Crimson Tide quarterback saw his odds lengthen from +3000 to +5000.
