When it comes to individual awards, you likely won’t find many bigger than the Heisman Trophy. College football is one of the most popular sports in the United States, and it’s fair to expect that popularity to only continue to grow from here.
The Heisman, of course, is the most prestigious individual honor any college football player will receive in his career. While not every Heisman winner will go on to enjoy a Hall-of-Fame NFL career, there are still few more coveted trophies in all of American sports these days.
As you may expect, college football betting sites do their best to keep tabs on Heisman Trophy odds before and throughout each season.
The 2022-23 campaign is on the horizon:
Which means college football betting interest will start to ramp up in the next few weeks. It’s safe to assume the 2022 Heisman Trophy betting odds will fluctuate quite a bit between now and the end of the season.
That means there is plenty of value to be found if you know where to look for it. Which players are primed to enter the season as Heisman Trophy favorites?
Updated 2022 Heisman Trophy Betting Odds
Player
Odds
CJ Stroud
+325
Caleb Williams
+400
Bryce Young
+750
Jahmyr Gibbs
+1200
Will Anderson Jr.
+1400
TreVeyon Henderson
+2000
Tyler Van Dyke
+2000
Dillon Gabriel
+2200
Quinn Ewers
+2500
Devin Leary
+2800
Anthony Richardson
+2800
Bijan Robinson
+3300
Sam Hartman
+3300
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
+3300
CJ Stroud (+325)
CJ Stroud is holding steady as the preseason favorite, per the latest Heisman Trophy odds. The Ohio State QB is expected to take the next step this season, which would be quite a feat after his phenomenal 2021 campaign as the Buckeyes’ starter for the first time.
Stroud completed nearly 72 percent of his throws for better than 4,400 yards with 44 touchdowns to just six INTs a season ago. He’s not much of a rusher, but he doesn’t have to be with those kinds of passing numbers.
The Buckeyes’ offense could take a hit this season with both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave having moved on to the NFL, but you know they’ll just replace them with a couple of new blue-chippers. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, another Heisman hopeful with +3300 Heisman odds of his own, should take over as Stroud’s new top target.
CJ Stroud to JSN in Sept pic.twitter.com/6rstf35VZk
— Chimdi Chekwa (@ChimChek) July 21, 2022
Big things are expected of Ohio State this season, as usual. ESPN’s preseason poll had Ryan Day’s crew ranked second in the nation, trailing only Alabama. The Crimson Tide opening the season ranked No. 1 is a rite of passage these days, after all.
Stroud’s +325 Heisman Trophy betting odds don’t offer a ton of upside considering how volatile this race can be. That said, there is an awful lot of reason for optimism with the incoming junior after such a tremendous showing last fall. With a full year of experience under his belt, the sky is truly the limit here.
Caleb Williams (+400)
We’ve seen some moving and shaking with the Heisman Trophy odds since our last update back in May. Caleb Williams was the third-favorite at +900 just a couple of months ago. As of now, only Stroud has better chances to take home the hardware.
USC is a program likely trending in the right direction. Splurging to lure Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma is the move the school’s brass is optimistic will lead the team back to the promised land. Williams, another Oklahoma product, followed shortly thereafter.
Caleb Williams with a 65 yard DOT 😳 @CALEBcsw (via jordanpalmer/IG) pic.twitter.com/xE6kauG3Em
— Overtime (@overtime) July 22, 2022
Williams is expected to come in and seize the Trojans’ QB1 job right away. All he did last year after taking over for the struggling Spencer Rattler was complete over 64 percent of his throws for 1,912 yards with 21 TDs and four interceptions. He also made his presence felt in the ground game, with another 442 rushing yards along with six more scores.
Please Note:
One thing standing in the way of Williams’ Heisman case in 2022 is the potential that the Trojans simply won’t be good enough. USC’s defense is the biggest hurdle. The Trojans yielded more than 400 yards per game a season ago, with the second-worst scoring defense (31.8 points per game) in the Pac-12.
If the Trojans don’t improve dramatically in that regard, Williams is going to have a difficult time garnering much Heisman momentum. I’d pass on his +400 Heisman Trophy odds, for now.
Bryce Young (+750)
While Williams’ Heisman stock is improving, Bryce Young’s is trending in the wrong direction. That’s a bit surprising considering this is literally the reigning Heisman Trophy winner set to return to the top-ranked team in the country.
Betting on favorites generally isn’t as fun as betting on underdogs. That said, if Young puts up another outstanding season in his second year as the starter in Tuscaloosa, who’s to say he can’t join Archie Griffin on the list of two-time Heisman winners?
Best Male College Athlete ✅
Congrats, @_bryce_young #RollTide pic.twitter.com/lreB9xTucV
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) July 21, 2022
Voter fatigue is a real issue, of course. There’s a reason Griffin is still the only player with multiple Heismans on his mantle at home. Still, let’s not forget what Young did last year, when he threw for over 4,800 yards with a whopping 47 touchdowns.
Alabama enters every season as the National Championship favorite for a reason.
Barring injury, it’s pretty fair to assume Young will be in the Heisman conversation as long as ‘Bama are again challenging for a title. At +750, I’ll gladly take my chances with Young’s 2022 Heisman odds.
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Opening 2022 Heisman Trophy Odds
Player
Odds
CJ Stroud
+250
Bryce Young
+350
Caleb Williams
+900
Bijan Robinson
+2000
DJ Uigalelei
+2800
Dillon Gabriel
+3000
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
+3000
Tyler Van Dyke
+3500
Jaxson Dart
+3500
Kedon Slovis
+4000
TreVeyon Henderson
+4000
Spencer Rattler
+4000
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CJ Stroud (+250)
You can pretty easily argue CJ Stroud got robbed in last year’s Heisman race. The Ohio State QB finished a distant fourth in the final voting behind Young, Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, and Pitt’s Kenny Pickett.
Stroud, who may well be the top prospect in next year’s NFL draft class, put up monster numbers for the Buckeyes in his first year on the job.
All he did was complete 71.9 percent of his throws for 4,435 yards with 44 touchdowns and six interceptions. He isn’t a huge rushing threat, but with passing numbers like those, he doesn’t have to be.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is back, but the losses of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave to the NFL mean Stroud’s weaponry won’t be quite as good in 2022-23. If his numbers dip across the board, will Heisman voters punish him? That said, Smith-Njigba did lead the Buckeyes in catches and receiving yards last season. Marvin Harrison Jr. will likely step into a bigger role, as will Julian Fleming and Emeka Egbuka.
Let’s also not forget young players typically improve as they gain more experience. With most of the Heisman pressure focused on Young to repeat, Stroud can likely still garner some Heisman buzz even if his numbers aren’t quite as prolific as they were a season ago.
Stroud’s +250 Heisman Trophy odds make him a very worthy favorite.
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Bryce Young (+350)
What will Bryce Young do for an encore in his season year as the starter? The Tide came up short in their quest for a national title last season, but Alabama is once again listed as the favorite to get back to the top of the mountain in 2022-23.
In his first year as the starter after serving as Mac Jones’ backup the year prior, Young accounted for 50 total touchdowns with just seven interceptions. His 59.1 percent completion percentage paled in comparison to Stroud’s, and he’ll likely have to improve on that accuracy in order to have a great shot at repeating.
The next 12 months for CJ Stroud should be very special 💯 pic.twitter.com/ptYayKB8QD
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 10, 2022
In fact, it’s worth wondering whether Young will have a great chance to win another Heisman if he doesn’t improve his numbers across the board. Much like Stroud at Ohio State, Young will also be without a few of last season’s primary weapons. John Metchie, Brian Robinson Jr., and Jameson Williams are all now in the NFL.
Of course:
We also know Nick Saban will replace his departed stars with another crop of up-and-coming blue-chip prospects. History is against Young in his quest for a second Heisman, however. Archie Griffin, who won back-to-back Heisman Trophies in 1974 and 1975 for Ohio State, is still the only player to have on the award more than once. I don’t doubt Young’s ability to thrive under the pressure that comes with attempting to repeat, but voters may be reluctant to reward him twice in a row unless he posts incredibly dominant numbers.
Given last year’s performance, however, he might just do that. Young’s +350 Heisman Trophy betting odds are still worth a gamble.
Caleb Williams (+900)
Remember when Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler entered last season as the Heisman favorite? Pepperidge Farm remembers. And so does Caleb Williams.
We know how that turned out, of course.
Rattler was benched in favor of Caleb Williams in the Red River Showdown loss to Texas after the Longhorns leaped out to an early 28-7 lead. All Williams did after taking over was lead the Sooners to an epic 55-48 comeback victory. As a freshman, Williams would go on to complete 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,912 yards with 21 touchdowns to four interceptions. For good measure, he added another 442 yards with six scores on the ground.
Caleb Williams opens up on his time as Oklahoma’s backup QB, before he got a chance to replace Spencer Rattler as the Sooners’ starter:
“I mean, I was fighting every day … I hated it, because it was just like, ‘I’m not even getting a shot right now.'”https://t.co/q99Ht1wm25 pic.twitter.com/RLH2FQ5oIl
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 10, 2022
During the offseason, Williams followed Lincoln Riley to USC, where he’s expected to take over as the new QB1. Williams and Riley will have their work cut out for them with a team that finished a dismal 4-8 last season, but oddsmakers do expect a quick turnaround for the Trojans in 2022.
Riley has a pretty good track record when it comes to molding Heisman-winning QBs.
Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield won it in consecutive years under Riley in Norman, while Jalen Hurts was a finalist for the award shortly thereafter. If Williams can quickly adapt to his new surroundings and help restore the vaunted USC program to some respectability in his first year in Los Angeles, the Heisman hype will soon follow.
At +900, Williams’ Heisman Trophy odds offer a lot of room for upside.
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Bijan Robinson (+2000)
Unlike with the NFL MVP Award, which is dominated by quarterbacks, we have seen several non-QBs win the Heisman Trophy in recent years. Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith won it two years ago. Derrick Henry was the most recent running back to win it back in 2016.
Not a lot has gone right for Texas in recent years.
But Bijan Robinson was certainly a bright spot last term. In his first year as the full-time starter, Robinson totaled 1,127 yards on just 195 carries, which came out to a healthy average of 5.8 yards per tote. Robinson also scored 11 rushing touchdowns along with four more in the receiving game.
This run by Bijan Robinson will never stop being insane
pic.twitter.com/oXAeiIKWbT
— Ian Cummings (@ian_cummings_9) May 13, 2022
Robinson likely has a bright NFL future ahead of him, but he’ll once again be the focal point of the Texas offense in 2022-23. Robinson led the nation in forced missed tackles by a running back, and he was top-10 in the nation in yards after the catch.
Please Note:
He’s an absolute game-breaker out of the backfield, though here’s hoping the Longhorns can get him some help. If Texas proves to be a one-dimensional offense again, opposing defenses will sell out to try and slow Robinson and the running game.
Robinson’s talent alone should put him in the Heisman mix if he can stay healthy. There is certainly some profit potential in his +2000 Heisman Trophy betting odds, as well. Running backs do carry more injury risk, however, but the risk is already baked into the long odds.
DJ Uigalelei (+2800)
With the possible exception of Spencer Rattler, you won’t find a player in America whose stock tanked more heavily than DJ Uigalelei’s did in 2021. Clemson fans expected Uigalelei to become the program’s third consecutive standout quarterback after he took the reins from Trevor Lawrence last season.
In the end, though, he didn’t at all live up to expectations. Uigalelei finished with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine) as the Tigers’ offense cratered. Uigalelei completed a paltry 55.6 percent of his throws despite averaging just six yards per attempt, as well. Clemson’s offense was downright conservative, and Uigalelei looked scared to take chances downfield.
At this point, there is no guarantee that Uigalelei will be the first-choice QB for Dabo Swinney to begin the year. The junior will have competition in camp from Northwestern transfer Hunter Johnson and Westlake High School product Cade Klubnik. If Uigalelei fails to win the starting job in the preseason, he can go ahead and kiss his fleeting Heisman hopes goodbye.
Who Will Win the Heisman Trophy in 2022-23?
Based on the Heisman Trophy odds and his outstanding numbers from a season ago, I can’t look past CJ Stroud at +250. The Buckeyes have been among America’s most explosive offensive teams on an annual basis under Ryan Day. With Stroud back for another go-round, I’m not expecting much of a drop-off, if any, this year.
Please Note:
Betting against Alabama has not been a very profitable endeavor over the past decade.
Young faces similar question marks with regard to his weaponry that Stroud does, and he will have to deal with the weight of expectations as the defending Heisman winner. Young certainly isn’t a bad value at all at the current +350 Heisman Trophy odds, but I do prefer Stroud given the small gap between them at the top.
The top long-shot value here is Williams at +900. Riley has always gotten the best out of his quarterbacks, and the familiarity between the two should do wonders for the Trojans’ offense later this fall.
Player
Odds
CJ Stroud
+250
Caleb Williams
+900
Bryce Young
+350
Bijan Robinson
+2000
DJ Uigalelei
+2800
PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!
