With a month to go before the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner is announced, is the race for college football’s most prestigious honor over?
A week ago, that didn’t seem to be the case, but Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who entered Week 11 as the favorite across sportsbooks, fell out of favor in the market when the Hurricanes were handed their first loss of the season at Georgia Tech.
That cleared the way for Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter to return to the top spot among sportsbooks’ Heisman list and land the shortest Heisman Trophy betting odds of any candidate this season.
Heading into Week 12, Hunter is currently listed as low as -115 at FanDuel. He’s even odds at BetMGM, Caesars, and ESPN BET to take home the award. DraftKings has Hunter at +110 atop the market, and he’s the leading candidate in bets and money for several operators.
Colorado, which is still making a push for the Big 12 title, plays Utah on Saturday.
Quarterbacks typically own Heisman betting, but in a year without a clear dominant player at the position, Hunter’s unique ability to play offense as a receiver and defense as a cornerback has attracted bettors in the market all season.
He’s caught 69 passes for 856 yards and nine touchdowns while also recording 20 tackles and two interceptions.
League of their own
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who’s on pace to eclipse 2,300 yards in 12 regular-season games, is listed third on several sportsbooks’ odds list and second in action and handle.
Hunter is getting 17.1% of the overall tickets at Fanatics Sportsbook while Jeanty is at 16.4%. At Fanatics, 24.5% of the money is on Hunter with 20.5% on Jeanty.
Those two candidates are “in a league of their own.”
“They each have over two times more tickets and more handle than any other player - which is impressive considering Hunter was outside the top 5 in each category before the season and Jeanty didn’t even have odds listed,” said Max Meyer, Fanatics Sportsbook senior editor. “If you look at the action since the season kicked off, Hunter and Jeanty have combined for more Heisman money than every other player lumped together.”
High percentages
ESPN BET told Covers that Hunter is getting 19.3% of the handle and 16.7% of the bets while Jeanty (+500) is second in bet percentage at 9.9%. His 11.5% of the handle is behind Ward’s 12.1%.
BetMGM, which opened Hunter’s odds at +3,500 in the preseason, has seen a whopping 30% of the handle come in on the receiver/defensive back. He’s the online sportsbook’s biggest liability, ahead of Jeanty and Ward.
DraftKings reported that Hunter has picked up 21% of the handle and 17% of the bets since the market opened, while Jeanty (+350) is at 12% and 13%.
The online operator also provided Heisman insights coming out of Week 1, and Hunter has gained 37% of the money and 33% of the tickets since Ward fell from first to fourth on the odds list.
Other candidates
While betting percentages and odds point to a two-candidate race with Hunter out in front, there are still five weeks, including conference championships, left on the schedule.
There’s time for things to change, and if betting since Week 11 is an indicator, this list of Heisman invites could be forming.
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel is listed behind only Hunter at +330 at DraftKings. He’s picked up 12% of the handle since Week 11 ended. Overall, he’s getting just 4% of the bets and 4% of the money. The top-ranked and undefeated Ducks play at Wisconsin on Saturday.
There was even some love shown for Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke, who has the perfect Hoosiers ranked fifth this week. Rourke, listed at +1,500, has seen 6% of the action and 5% of the money at DraftKings recently.
Ward is still hanging around at +700. He’s only at 9% and 7% overall, but he’s seen 10% of the money and 8% of the handle since Week 11 ended.
