Heisman Trophy futures betting sees change among favorites

Realignment is dominating the college football conversation this summer after UCLA and Southern California of the Pac-12 announced their exodus to the Big Ten Conference.

Meanwhile, another type of movement has been taking place.

The futures betting for the Heisman Trophy winner saw a noticeable shift at the top, with Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud overtaking Alabama QB Bryce Young as the favorite at most sportsbooks.

“It’s just an interesting market,” Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said Monday.

Young captured the award last season as a sophomore and is looking to join Archie Griffin as the only two-time winners. He is the the first reigning Heisman winner to return to school since Lamar Jackson at Louisville in 2017.

Westgate opened Stroud and Young as the 7-2 co-favorites, but took a “decent-sized wager” from a respected bettor and now has Stroud at 2-1. Young remains at 7-2, while USC quarterback Caleb Williams continues to see public money and is down to 8-1 after opening at 14-1.

At Caesars Sportsbook, Young opened as the +250 favorite, with Stroud posted at +350. But the two have flipped places on the board, with Stroud now the 2-1 favorite and Young at +350.

Station Casinos has Stroud as the +175 favorite to win the Heisman, with Young at +350. Williams is at 7-1, while the field is +260.

“(Nikola) Jokic in the NBA defied that this year in that people get tired of voting for the same guy in multiple years,” Salmons said. “The other thing with Alabama is that team is so good this year, there’s going to be a lot of fourth quarters where (Young) just isn’t in the game.”

Stroud is the most popular Heisman wager at Caesars by total number of tickets (10.5 percent) and handle (13.8 percent). Meanwhile, Young isn’t even the most popular bet on his own team, with more money being wagered on Crimson Tide linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

Anderson, who led the nation in sacks last season, is one of the trendiest plays for the Heisman. He went from 40-1 to 20-1 at Westgate and has garnered almost 7 percent of the Heisman handle at Caesars, which is fourth overall.

Anderson also is third in total tickets written at Caesars with 7.1 percent and is 40-1 to win the award. Only Stroud and Louisiana State quarterback Myles Brennan have more tickets written, according to a news release from Caesars.

Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was second in the Heisman voting in 2021, which could bode well for Anderson this season.

“I thought I opened (Anderson) low enough just because outside of Charles Woodson, a defensive player has never won it,” Salmons said. “I thought at the time 40-1 was low enough. But if I opened 20-1 they would have bet on Will Anderson.”

Salmons noted that Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel has received a lot of attention from bettors recently, calling him the “flavor of the month.” The transfer from Central Florida went from as high as 50-1 to his current odds of 25-1.

“The last week, everyone seems to be betting him,” Salmons said.

Westgate has received enough money on North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary to lower his odds from 300-1 to 100-1, according to Salmons. Texas running back Bijan Robinson has been a popular public play, as has Utah quarterback Cameron Rising.

Salmons said the Westgate also took a bet on Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker and dropped his odds from 80-1 to 50-1.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.