Heisman Trophy Odds Update: Jayden Daniels Surges Ahead

The Heisman Trophy is one of the most coveted awards in American athletics.

For the modern era, the accolade is typically bestowed upon to the nation's best quarterback, but it is not intended as such; that would be the Davey O'Brien Award.

Still, via the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, we are seeing one particular non-quarterback in consideration: Ohio State Buckeyes receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. At the moment, Harrison is the fourth favorite for the award, but he now shows a lofty 50-to-1 listing.

However, only three players in the past 17 seasons have won the Heisman at a position other than signal-caller. Most recently, wideout DeVonta Smith accomplished the feat before going on to shine with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Last year's trophy winner, Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, has officially fallen off the the oddsboard after taking a three-score loss to the crosstown rival UCLA Bruins. That will serve as Williams' final game of the 2023 season. Naturally, the entire football world awaits his next move.

Prior to this week, Oregon Ducks signal-caller Bo Nix was atop the Heisman Trophy odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Most recently, Nix had a career game versus the Arizona State Sun Devils. Still, he was outshined later that night by Jayden Daniels of the Louisiana State Tigers. As such, Daniels is your current Heisman market leader, which marks four different favorites in the past five weeks.

Let's break down some of the Heisman candidates to this point in the season and their respective odds to bring home college football's most celebrated individual award.

All college football odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Heisman Trophy Odds

Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU (-125)

As one of the most prolific dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, Daniels is coming off a monster performance against the Georgia State Panthers. In that contest, the senior LSU signal-caller individually accounted for over 500 yards of offense. He compiled 413 yards passing (completing 25 of 30 attempts) with 6 scores through the air and added 2 more touchdowns with his legs en route to a 56-14 victory.

Of course, Daniels has been much more than one big game. On the season, he leads all FBS quarterbacks in both QBR (94.9) and touchdowns thrown (36). From there, Daniels' 72.6% completion clip lands in the top 10 of FBS. Sure, the Tigers may only be 8-3 overall right now, but they are scoring an astronomical 46.8 PPG (also tops in FBS).

Daniels and LSU only have one regular season game left in 2023 since the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide already have dibs on the upcoming SEC Championship Game. Next week, the Fighting Tigers will face the Texas A&M Aggies. Ironically enough, Daniels' numbers are eerily similar to since Johnny Manziel's Heisman bid in 2012: over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing.

The Tigers are without the circumspect team success that head coach Brian Kelly was hoping for, but LSU -- and Baton Rouge as a whole -- is a highly regarded football community. Notably, the school has already produced two Heisman winners previously, most recent of which was Joe Burrow (2019).

At this very moment, -125 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook say Daniels earns LSU their third Heisman Trophy in school history.

Bo Nix, QB, Oregon (+150)

As alluded to, Nix is coming off one of the best performances of his NCAA career. Simply, after tossing six touchdowns against ASU in Tempe last Saturday, I'm sure many Oregon supporters assumed Nix had the Heisman locked up. Naturally, that game ended before Daniels went on to scorch GSU in the evening window.

Last week, the Ducks signal-caller yielded as short as -110 odds to win the upcoming Heisman. Like Daniels, Nix absolutely has both the stats and resume to warrant selection. With a completion percentage of 78.1%, Nix is the most accurate passer in the nation by a wide margin. Additionally, his 89.8 QBR is third-best in FBS.

Nix spent just one week as the outright favorite in the Heisman betting at FanDuel Sportsbook. Strangely enough, he tossed six scores over the weekend, yet, fell on the oddsboard; that is not a scenario you will see often.

Looking ahead, Nix does have one potential advantage against Daniels in this market; Oregon's final regular season contest will be an adversarial bid versus the archrival Oregon State Beavers. If Nix can put up major numbers in the "Civil War" with a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game on the line for UO, he'll stand a shot to be the second Heisman winner in school history (Marcus Mariota in 2014).

Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington (+700)

Awaiting either Oregon or the Arizona Wildcats in the aforementioned Pac-12 title game, Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies are having a campaign for the ages. The Dawgs have raced ahead of the pack to an undefeated 11-0 record while Penix paces the country with an electric 335.9 passing yards per game. In all likelihood, he will wind up throwing for more than 4,000 in back-to-back seasons.

Penix was the Heisman frontrunner for much of this year's middle portion. At FanDuel Sportsbook, his odds were as short as +140 entering Week 11. Since then, Penix and the Huskies have produced two single-score victories, narrowly defeating Oregon State in Corvallis last weekend. In that contest, Penix was good but not dazzling, passing for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns with a 46.4% completion clip.

As the only undefeated FBS team west of the Mississippi River, UDub has already punched their ticket to the Pac-12 Championship Game. Additionally, the Huskies currently show +140 odds to make the College Football Playoff. Still, in terms of games considered on the Heisman resume, Penix has one date left: the Apple Cup.

Against the in-state rival Washington State Cougars on Saturday, Penix will need a record-setting day to reclaim the Heisman-frontrunner status. Winning the award would make Penix the first Heisman in school history. However, he will only need 305 passing yards to eclipse 4,000 for the second straight year.

Longshots

• Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State (+5000)

• Carson Beck, QB, Georgia (+8000)

• Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama (+15000)

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.