Sportsbooks wasted no time in getting ready for the 2020 college football season. Odds are posted for dozens of players to win the 2020 Heisman trophy, giving bettors an opportunity to potentially find the next Joe Burrow months before the season.
College football Heisman Trophy futures wagers are available at most online sportsbook apps in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Indiana, and Nevada. The odds featured in the table below are from DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook.
College football Heisman odds 2020
To no one’s surprise, 2019 finalist Justin Fields sits atop the list. Fields returns a very talented receiving corps and a stout offensive line. He might not post the same ludicrous 40:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio that he did this past regular season, but we can expect another strong season from Ohio State’s signal caller.
After leading his team to another National Championship game, it may surprise some that Trevor Lawrence is behind anyone on this list, especially since he is projected to be the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Lawrence loses his top target and superstar running back, but there’s no doubt Clemson will reload its talent pool. Lawrence may never post the flashy numbers necessary to win the Heisman, but it’s nearly a lock that he’ll wind up playing in next year’s playoff.
Bettors who saw value in Adrian Martinez were bitten hard, as the sophomore posted just 17 total touchdowns and turned the ball over 14 times in 2019. Somehow, he finds himself near the top; he should bet on with serious caution. Former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King is an electric gamebreaker, but announced he would be transferring (to no one’s surprise). It would be wise to wait until he finds a landing spot before considering him a value bet.
Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma have produced two of the last three Heisman winners and three straight finalists. Similarly, the last three Heisman winners have been transfer quarterbacks (three of the four 2019 finalists were transfers, too). This makes Spencer Rattler a near shoe-in for the short list this coming year. Certainly err on the side of caution, since Rattler has had virtually no game experience. Taking the transfer rule into account, former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman is a dynamic playmaker who is taking his talents to the University of Georgia. With proper weapons around him, Newman should be on your radar.
All player markets currently offered are at plus-money in terms of odds. This means bettors correctly selecting the eventual award winner will make several times their original wager. In 2016, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy and opened at odds near +10000 (100-1). The last three years have seen Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield (+700) win the Heisman in 2017 followed by Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray (+2200), who won the 2018 Heisman after surging past Tagovailoa in the closing weeks of the season, and then Joe Burrow, who opened as high as +20000 before running away with the award in 2019.
Quarterbacks have won nine of the last 10 Heisman Trophy awards. In fact, since 2000, only two non-quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy: Derrick Henry (2015) and Mark Ingram (2009) — both Alabama running backs.
How to bet Heisman Trophy futures
By their very nature, odds on futures wagers are subject to varying degree of fluctuation. In the case of player-level futures like the Heisman Trophy, a number of different factors can influence the trajectory of his futures odds as the games unfold week to week. That includes not only performance, results and stats, but also injuries.
Take the example of the 2019 pre-season pacesetter at both FanDuel and DraftKings sportsbooks — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The sophomore took a lot of money and his odds dropped all the way to +200 at FanDuel and +175 on DraftKings. Clemson was projected to be at least a 13-point favorite in all regular-season games, and bettors believed Lawrence would lead the Tigers offense to even greater heights after capturing the national championship in 2018 while averaging 44.3 points per game.
Those who accurately predicted Lawrence to win the Heisman this season would have won $200 for every $100 they wager on him at FanDuel and $175 for every $100 they bet on him at DraftKings. Of course, with Lawrence falling out of the race early, his odds to win plummeted and he ultimately finished seventh in the voting.
How is the Heisman Trophy winner decided?
A total of 870 media members (sports journalists mostly covering college football) from six regions along with 59 former Heisman winners vote on the award. Voters can select three players on their ballot. A first place vote allots 3 points to the player selected, second place gets 2 points and third place gets 1 point.
The Heisman and the AP Player of the Year honor the most outstanding player. The award is given for outstanding performance which best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. Since 2002, the award has been presented by the Heisman Trophy trust, and was first presented in 1935 by the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City.
Over the last 20 years, just two Heisman winners have played on teams that won fewer than 10 games – Florida’s Tim Tebow in 2007 and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson in 2016. But those two teams each won 9 games. So narrow your list to the projected top teams and review the schedules and players likelihood to put up strong stats with outstanding performances.
Where can you bet on college football futures?
The Heisman Trophy futures markets are available at all legal, regulated sportsbooks. Heisman futures are located behind the college football tab in online sportsbook platforms, under a specific Futures tab. Players are listed along with their corresponding odds at that point in time.
