Each week, I’ll be diving into the Heisman Trophy odds to try and help you find some in-season opportunities to get involved in this market. I’ll do that by highlighting some of the players that are trending up or down, and I’ll also look at some big games ahead on the schedule. Last week, we saw some significant movement, as Ashton Jeanty moved from first to fourth on the oddsboard. Two quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel and Cam Ward, now sit at first and second, and Travis Hunter is fourth after a monster game against Cincinnati. But there’s still a lot of football to be played, and these odds are going to continue to move. With all of that in mind, keep reading for my Week 10 Heisman Trophy betting market update.

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(All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook)

Heisman Trophy Odds

These are the Heisman Trophy odds going into Week 10:

  • Dillon Gabriel, Oregon (+260)
  • Cam Ward, Miami (+270)
  • Travis Hunter, Colorado (+330)
  • Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (+400)
  • Cade Klubnik, Clemson (20-1)
  • Carson Beck, Georgia (35-1)
  • Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (40-1)
  • Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (50-1)
  • Jalen Milroe, Alabama (50-1)
  • Quinn Ewers, Texas (50-1)

For the entire list of Heisman Trophy odds, go to DraftKings Sportsbook!

Trending Up: Last week, I mentioned that Gabriel has more opportunities to impress voters than Ward does moving forward. Oregon just faces more legitimate defenses, and it’s not clear how much voters will care about Miami lighting up miserable teams. Well, in Week 9, Gabriel threw for 291 yards with three touchdowns against a good Illinois team, and he also rushed for a touchdown. That was enough for him to move from +400 to +260 at DraftKings, jumping Jeanty and Ward on the board. It’s now starting to feel like this is Gabriel’s award to lose. The board suggests Ward, Hunter and Jeanty are right there with him, but Gabriel has massive numbers and is playing for an undefeated team in a great conference. And none of these guys have a performance that was as good as Gabriel’s in a win over an elite Ohio State team. However, we have seen some crazy things happen this season, so it’s not a given that the Ducks will finish undefeated. They still have to play at Michigan and Wisconsin down the stretch. And he can’t afford to struggle in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Hunter has been an interesting one to follow. Last week, it looked like the two-way Colorado star was out of it. He was sitting at 22-1 heading into the team’s meeting with Cincinnati, and he was way behind the other three contenders. But Hunter came out and caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns against the Bearcats. He also played incredibly well on the defensive side of the ball. Not only does Hunter have absurd stats at wideout, but he’s also first in the Big 12 in pass breakups. What he is doing is simply unprecedented, and Colorado is also much better than expected. I didn’t think the Buffaloes would be good enough for Hunter — or Shedeur Sanders — to compete in this market, but they’re 6-2 and a 10-2 finish isn’t out of the question. If Colorado does win 10 regular-season games, I actually think Hunter will be Gabriel’s main competition. But the Buffs do have to face Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State over the next four games. Winning all of those — or even three of them — is going to be difficult.

Trending Down: Boise State beat UNLV in a game that many thought could spark a Jeanty Heisman Trophy win. However, Jeanty’s numbers seemingly weren’t good enough, as he rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown in the game. It all seems a little unfair, as UNLV has a good rushing defense and Jeanty was facing loaded boxes all night. However, Jeanty needs to be perfect this year in order to beat out two undefeated quarterbacks, plus a guy that plays at an elite level on both sides of the ball. He wasn’t that against the Rebels, but he’s far from out of it. Jeanty is fourth on the oddsboard and can easily win people back over with a couple of huge games down the stretch. And if you want to throw out his case because of last week, you should go and check out Derrick Henry’s 2015 game log. He had four games in which he rushed for fewer than 100 yards, and he also had a game against Arkansas where he rushed for just 3.5 yards per carry. Everyone has off games, and they’re usually much worse than the one Jeanty just had.

Milroe is the other player worth mentioning here. If the superstar lit up Missouri last week, he might have had a shot at playing his way back into the race. But he threw for just 215 yards and didn’t throw for a single score. And while his 11 rushes for 50 yards and a touchdown were nice, he probably needed to total at least three touchdowns in order to win people over again. Perhaps an outrageous game against LSU can change everything this week, but I think that’d be too little, too late.

Week 10’s Biggest Games

San Diego State at Boise State – 8:00 pm ET (Friday)

Every game Jeanty plays is important when looking at the Heisman Trophy race, but this one feels bigger than others. Jeanty needs to rush for 200 or more yards and remind everybody why he’s in the mix with Gabriel, Ward and Hunter. Fortunately for him, he has a golden opportunity to do that this week. San Diego State is just 114th in the nation in Rush EPA per play allowed (0.073). This Aztecs defense really can’t stop anyone. Last year, Jeanty actually went for 205 yards and two touchdowns in this matchup. He also caught four passes for 49 yards. If he can replicate that performance, people will be buzzing about him again next week.

Duke at Miami – 12:00 pm ET

It almost feels weird forcing Miami in here, as the Hurricanes don’t have many big games left on the schedule. They play Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Syracuse, and the team really should win all of those. But the Blue Devils are 18th in the nation in Dropback EPA per play allowed (-0.076), so this isn’t exactly an easy matchup for Ward. I fully expect Miami to win this one, and the team is a 20.5-point favorite. So, Ward should be able to pass this test, as he has with all of them so far. But don’t be shocked if he has a little more trouble here. Manny Diaz has this Duke team playing good football, and his team’s scheme should be on point.

Oregon at Michigan – 3:30 pm ET

This is pretty similar to the Ward situation. Gabriel really should be able to win this game and play well in doing so, but Michigan is still the 32nd-best defense by EPA per play (-0.052) and it’s never easy winning in The Big House. So, let’s see how Gabriel does in a difficult road atmosphere. I believe that the only thing standing in the way of Gabriel and the Heisman is a loss. And while this spread is 14.5, that’s probably the smallest one Oregon will have the rest of the regular season.

Louisville at Clemson – 7:30 pm ET

With two undefeated quarterbacks ahead of him, it’s going to be hard for Klubnik to nudge his way back into the Heisman conversation. But the fact that he’s fifth on the board after playing as poorly as he did against Georgia in Week 1 says a lot. He has been lighting it up for months now, and Clemson now has some high-profile games for Klubnik to showcase his ability. The next three weeks will see Clemson taking on Louisville, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. Louisville and Virginia Tech are better than their records suggest, and the game against the Hokies will be played in Blacksburg. Those are two very tough games. And Pittsburgh is still undefeated. So, Klubnik will have some chances here, but it begins with this meeting with the Cardinals. Louisville is 39th in EPA per play (-0.044) and this spread is only 10.5.

Honestly, I still think there’s a little value with Klubnik. If Clemson wins three in a row and one of those is a road win over undefeated Pittsburgh, I can see Klubnik being in the conversation with Gabriel and Ward.

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