Its time to take a sneak peak into the 2013 college football season, now that the Super Bowl is over. Courtesy of Bovada.LV (formerly known as Bodog.com), the 2013 Heisman odds are out. By no surprise, Texas A&M QB and recent Heisman winner Mr. Johnny Manziel sits atop the list at 4-1. Johnny Football was the first freshman in college football history (include redshirts) to ever win the award this past season.
Bovada’s 2013 odds include only three other players that received votes in this past December’s Heisman voting- Ohio State QB Braxton Miller (7:1), USC WR Marquis Lee (9:1), and South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney (12:1). Of the 23 players listed, Clowney is the only defensive name you’ll find. The rest of the pack includes 14 QBs, 6 RBs, and 2 WRs.
image credit: sportingsnews.com
2013 Odds for the Heisman
Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel, 4:1
Ohio State QB Braxton Miller, 7:1
USC WR Marquis Lee, 9:1
Georgia QB Aaron Murray, 10:1
Oregon RB De’Anthony Thomas, 10:1
Alabama QB A.J. McCarron, 12:1
Miami RB Duke Johnson,12:1
South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney, 12:1
Louisville QBTeddy Bridgewater, 12:1
Clemson QB Tajh Boyd, 15:1
Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez, 15:1
Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah, 18:1
Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, 18:1
Alabama RB T.J. Yeldon, 18:1
UCLA QB Brett Hundley, 20:1
Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk, 20:1
Notre Dame QB Everett Golson, 22/:1
Miami QB Stephen Morris, 25:1
Oklahoma QB Blake Bell, 30:1
Florida QB Jeff Driskel, 30:1
Arizona RB Ka’Deem Carey, 33:1
Michigan QB Devin Gardner, 40:1
Maryland wide WR Stefon Diggs, 40/1
Its way too early to take the majority of these odds and even candidates seriously, but I’ll provide a few of my initial thoughts when I initially saw the list. First and foremost, when will people realize Taylor Martinez is a mediocre quarterback? Jeff Driskel…seriously? Marquis Lee is incredible, but he won’t have Matt Barkley throwing him the ball anymore, so any type of Heisman year is out of question, particularly when the award is heavily weighted towards QBs winning it. Lastly, my initial gut reaction to Oklahoma rookie QB Blake Bell being on the list was laughter, but then I remembered the name Johnnie Football.
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Raju Kansagra
Biggest threat to johnny football is Teddy Bridgewater. Kid is a straight up stud that will be 10x better this season.
Simply put, defensive players don’t win the Heisman Trophy….literally. The only pure defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy is Charles Woodson, so lets remove his name off the list right off the bat. I don’t know why these oddsmakers even bother with defensive players. they have NO chance…
Elvis- thanks for the comment, but let me remind you that these are betting odds, not realistic “who is going to win the Heisman” odds. That said, Manti “catfished” T’eo was a finalist this season. Not that he had a real shot to win, but for betting purposes I’m sure him being in the final three, turned heads. I think if Clowney can live up to his potential (and he showed tremendous improvement this past season), he has a legit shot to be a finalist, but probably not a real shot to actually win.
If you want to talk about people who don’t belong on this list, lets start with Devin Gardner and Everett Golson. What the hell has Golson ever done for his name to even be mentioned in the Heisman conversation? He’s unbelievably overrated, not to mention he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed either. The one intriguing name with less than 20:1 odds other than Manziel is Mariota at Oregon. I’m excited to see what he can do in 2013.
Johnny Manziel came out of nowhere this past season. I don’t think he’ll sneak up on anyone in 2013. If anything, he’ll have a target on his back. SEC defenses will be focused on stopping him.