Heisman Trophy odds update: Corral and Young set for showdown

While the eyes of the college football world will be focused on Tuscaloosa this weekend, when Ole Miss squares off with Alabama, the eyes of Heisman Trophy future bettors will be more focused on their quarterbacks.

With a massive shakeup to the Heisman odds on the horizon, let’s break down the current odds and discuss who you should keep an eye on in Week 5 of the college football season!

Corral and Young have separated from the pack

For all intents and purposes, the Heisman future has become a two-quarterback race, between Matt Corral of Ole Miss and Bryce Young of Alabama. Corral is slightly favored, at +125, to Young’s +150, but the gap between the top pair and third place has grown to widest margin of the season.

Both quarterbacks were +200 last week, and Corral jumped despite a bye, while Young threw for five touchdowns and completed 20 of his 22 throws in Alabama’s 63-14 thrashing of Southern Mississippi on Saturday.

Now, they will square off for a key moment in the SEC West race, and the winner will almost certainly come out as the Heisman favorite. That said, both quarterbacks could perform well and still be neck-and-neck next week.

Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown continues to climb the odds board and saw his odds move from +2500 to +2000, following Oregon’s 41-19 win over Arizona. Brown threw for three touchdowns but completed just 10 of his 21 pass attempts. Teammate CJ Verdell also saw a decent jump (+3300 to +2500), even though he rushed for just 45 yards and a touchdown against the Wildcats.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford also moved up (+3300 to +2500), after he threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns against Villanova.

The two biggest movers this week were Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham and Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson. Cunningham threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and added pair of rushing scores, in Louisville’s win over Florida State and moved from +8000 to +3300. The price for Henderson went from off the board to +5000, after he rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries. That came a week after he rushed for 279 yards and three scores. 

Willis and Rattler fading in the distance

It was a bad week for the preseason favorite to win the Heisman, as Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler continued his slide (+1200 to +2000).

The quarterback was booed by his own fans as they chanted for his backup, Caleb Williams, during Oklahoma's 16-13 victory over West Virginia. His numbers were not terrible, as he completed 26 of his 36 passes for 256 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. However, Oklahoma’s offense has scored a combined 39 points over the past two weeks and its inability to run the ball has caused problems.

Liberty quarterback Malik Willis was the third-favorite entering the weekend, at +800, but you can now get him at +3300 following the Flames' 24-21 defeat to Syracuse. Willis played decently, with 205 yards and three touchdowns passing, but it was his fumble with four minutes remaining that led to Syracuse’s winning field goal as time expired. With Liberty’s poor schedule, it’s unlikely he will be able to make up the ground needed to justify a wager.

There was a slight dip for Georgia quarterback JT Daniels, the new third choice, at +1200, and Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, whose price went from +1200 to +1600, but both remain in contention.

Daniels is being hampered by Georgia’s dominance. He played just one quarter in a 62-0 win over Vanderbilt, but he completed nine passes, for 129 yards and two touchdowns, on just 10 attempts. A strong performance against No. 8 Arkansas this weekend should move him up on the board.

Ridder is still the best "Group of Five" candidate for the Heisman, and a bye week accounts for his price change. However, the No. 7 Bearcats will travel to No. 9 Notre Dame this weekend, and if Ridder leads his team to victory with a strong performance, I would be shocked to see him anywhere north of +1000 next week.

What to keep an eye on

The Heisman odds will be strongly shaped by three ranked matchups this weekend. Unless a blowout takes place, Corral and Young will still be the top-two contenders for the trophy after this weekend, with the only question being which is ahead.

Daniels could see a significant rise in his odds, should he lead the Bulldogs to a win over Arkansas, while Ridder could vault himself into the conversation with a win over Notre Dame.

Should Georgia and Cincinnati win this weekend, we could see a preview of this year’s Heisman Trophy ceremony atop the Heisman futures odds board, with Daniels and Ridder joining Young and Corral.

This could be the final chance to get either of these players at better than +1000 to win the trophy, so if you believe their teams will win this weekend, now is the time to place your bets.