College football always has two main conversations and debates during its regular season: Who will make the College Football Playoff and who will win the Heisman Trophy? The Heisman Trophy odds for 2018 were just released, and here are five of the primary players in the hunt for this most prestigious individual award.
Bryce Love
Heisman Trophy Odds: +500
College football has witnessed a trend over the past 10 years: Stanford players have finished second in the Heisman balloting on several occasions. Toby Gerhart did. Andrew Luck did. Christian McCafffrey did. Last year, Bryce Love did. He got injured and missed portions of the season, but he still popped off enough big runs to lead Stanford to a Pac-12 North Division title, defeating the Washington Huskies. Stanford also defeated Notre Dame and generally remained an important team within the workings of the 2017 season. A big reason Love had success in the latter half of the season was that quarterback K.J. Costello came of age and provided enough passing efficiency to make Stanford’s offense a lot more balanced than it had previously been. With Costello firmly in control of the quarterback spot this season, Love is in position to thrive. He should be at the forefront of the Heisman debate all year. According to BetDSI Sportsbook, he’s the favorite as of now.
Jonathan Taylor
Heisman Trophy Odds: +700
The 2014 Heisman race was won by Marcus Mariota of Oregon, and in second place was Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin. An elite running back working behind a stellar offensive line in a run-based offense was able to rise up the Heisman charts by piling up wins and gaudy statistics. That basic formula is in place for Taylor, who has already established himself as a college football star and will try to build on his 2017 season this fall. Wisconsin should be in the race for the Big Ten championship. If Taylor and the Badgers can make the Big Ten Championship Game and put up a good fight, Taylor might have enough to win the award even if Wisconsin doesn’t make the College Football Playoff.
Tua Tagovailoa
Heisman Trophy Odds: +1000
The hero of last January’s national championship game for Alabama against Georgia now takes over the quarterback job full-time in Tuscaloosa. If Tagovailoa can merely lead Alabama back to the playoff with an SEC championship in hand, that alone could be enough to catapult him to the top of the list. Alabama players (Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry) memorably defeated Stanford running backs in recent Heisman races, so a lot of people would point to precedent as a reason to choose Tagovailoa over Love if it was a competition between those two men.
Jake Fromm
Heisman Trophy Odds: +1400
The reality of a quarterback leading a high-profile program to the College Football Playoff is often enough to win the Heisman. This is why Tagovailoa’s chances are substantial, and it’s no different for Fromm, who replaced the injured Jacob Eason last year and displayed admirable command of the Bulldogs’ offense, taking Georgia within one defensive stop of the national title. Fromm is now a year older and wiser, and if he continues to make solid decisions in the pocket, the sky is the limit for his career and Georgia’s prospects.
Khalil Tate
Heisman Trophy Odds: +1400
The most sensational and dazzling playmaker of the bunch, Tate will be scrutinized throughout the season. If he can thrive under new head coach Kevin Sumlin, he could make a run at the award. What will always hold him back: Being in the West and being with a low-profile program. SEC or Big Ten voters will probably not vote for him. He has to make an incredibly persuasive case to have a good chance of winning the award outright.
