2022 Heisman Trophy Odds
Heisman Trophy betting odds have become a staple at legal US online sportsbooks over the past few years. It’s also, since the turn of the century, been pretty easy to predict the outcome as a quarterback has won the Heisman 17 of the last 20 years. Picking well early, however, has proven to be a bit tougher.
Is there a secret to Heisman Trophy betting? No. Is it easier to predict? Yes. But you have to strike before the iron gets hot to get the best odds you can. Here’s your guide to attacking those Heisman lines at your preferred online sportsbook.
Current Heisman Trophy Odds
Check the real-time Heisman Trophy odds at legal US online sportsbooks below. Use the drop-down menus to switch your state or check out other NCAAF futures odds. Click the odds you like to claim your bonus, register an account and get your bet down.
How do Heisman Trophy odds work?
Say you got a thing for OSU football and want to grab a piece of OSU’s QB1 to win the Heisman Trophy. Say said QB’s Heisman odds currently check in at +250. At that price, if you bet $100 on him to hear his name called at the PlayStation Theater in New York City, you’d walk away with $250 profit.
All Heisman Trophy winner bets are considered active if the player suits up and takes the field in his team’s first scheduled game. So, the bet is locked in for the long haul regardless of whether the player gets hurt in the season opener through the award ceremony. No exceptions.
Heisman betting trends
If you invest in Heisman betting odds, you’ll do yourself a major solid by looking the way of quarterbacks. Take a glance at running backs if you must, but know that an RB would have to put forth a dominant season just to have a shot in this day and age of QB-driven collegiate offenses.
Whatever you do, don’t bank on a wide receiver or defensive player. Charles Woodson was the last to do so back in 1997, which was the last time a QB or RB didn’t win the award. Before that, it was Desmond Howard in 1991.
Over the last 10 seasons, a quarterback has won the Heisman Trophy all but one time. Current Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry was the only player to break the mold back in 2015 when he put forth an amazing campaign for Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.
It was nothing but QBs after that, with Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow getting the job done until Devonta Smith broke the trend in 2020-21.
While TD passes, rushing touchdowns, sacks, interceptions, and any other pertinent stats are important when deciding on whom to invest your Heisman bets in, you should only be concerned with game-changers on winning teams from power conferences. Those are the types of thoroughbreds that win the award.
Just look at the schools the players came from over the last decade:
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Florida State
- Auburn
Single out players on teams likely to win their respective divisions and conferences and make an appearance in the BCS playoff or a major college bowl game. While the age of the player used to be important, that’s no longer the case with guys like Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston winning the award in their freshman seasons.
Betting early does offer up a shot at the greatest rate of return, but surveying the landscape for a few weeks and spreading some beer money around on some early season impact players could also prove to be fruitful.
There’s no handbook on how to bet the Heisman Trophy winner. It’s tough, as evidenced by linemakers offering up plus-money odds on every big name out there months before the season even begins.
List of Heisman Trophy winners by year
The first Heisman Trophy was awarded to University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger back in 1935. It’s been handed out 84 times since making it one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in American sports.
While it should never be looked upon as the ultimate predictor of success at the next level, it’s a career highlight that earns all who win it the respect they deserve. These are the athletes who earned their Heisman in the past decade.
| Year | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | QB |
| 2018 | Kyler Murray | QB |
| 2017 | Baker Mayfield | QB |
| 2016 | Lamar Jackson | QB |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | RB |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota | QB |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston | QB |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel | QB |
| 2011 | Robert Griffin III | QB |
| 2010 | Cameron Newton | QB |
More NCAA football futures odds
- Odds to Win 2021 College Football Playoff
- Odds to Make 2021 College Football Playoff
- Regular Season Win Totals
- Odds to Make a Bowl Game
- Odds to Win ACC
- Odds to Win Big Ten
- Odds to Win Big 12
- Odds to Win C-USA
- Odds to Win PAC-12
- Odds to Win SEC
Heisman Trophy FAQ
The winner of the Heisman Trophy is announced in mid to late December.
A total of 870 media voters get to decide the winner of the award with 145 voters selected from six regions.
Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame lead the nation with seven Heisman Trophy winners each. In terms of the most conference wins, the Big Ten leads the way with 19 followed by the SEC (13) and Pac-12 (11).
Gary Beban won the Heisman back in 1967 after only throwing for 1,239 yards with an 8:7 TD/INT ratio while completing just 55.8 percent of his passes. He beat out O.J. Simpson, who rushed for over 1,500 yards and 13 TDs. O.J. made it a point to dominate the following season with over 1,800 rushing yards to win the award. Still, you can’t help but think it still irks O.J. that he didn’t go back-to-back. Eric Crouch’s Heisman win over Rex Grossman also raised some eyebrows as unimpressive as his stat line was for the season.
Anyone that tells you Marcus Allen’s showing in 1981 wasn’t the greatest Heisman-winning season of all-time is deranged. He became the first-ever player to rush for 2,000 yards and shattered it by going for over 2,400! On top of that, he hit pay dirt a whopping 23 times. Other impressive Heisman winning seasons were put forth by Sam Bradford in 2008, Ron Dayne in 1999, Desmond Howard in 1991, Earl Campbell in 1977, and Tony Dorsett in 1976.
Archie Griffin won the award in both 1974 and 1975 as the running back of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He racked up a combined 3,145 yards rushing and 16 TD in his junior and senior seasons to pull off the feat.
Lamar Jackson just became the ninth player to win both the Heisman Trophy and NFL MVP. Other players include Frank Sinkwich, Paul Horning, Roger Staubach, O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders, and Cam Newton.
Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman back in 2007 as the quarterback of the Florida Gators. Other super sophs to take home the hardware were Sam Bradford, Mark Ingram Jr., and most recently Lamar Jackson. Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston are the only freshmen to have won the award, but each redshirted their first season so they weren’t true freshmen when winning the award.