Steve Starr
- After Week 7 of the college football season, BetOnline only lists five players in its 2019 Heisman futures
- Tua Tagovailoa (-175) has emerged as the clear favorite to win the bronze statue
- Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Jonathan Taylor, and Justin Fields (+1000) round out the field
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Before the college football season began, everyone and their mother assumed that Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence would stage an epic statistical battle for the ages.
But, instead of skipping classes like any reasonable young college student, Clemson’s long-haired quarterback decided to bail on the entire Heisman race.
After throwing for 30 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2018, Lawrence has tossed 11 TDs and six picks through the Tigers’ first six games and is now completely off the board in the 2019 Heisman odds. As recently as two months ago, he was listed as a +300 favorite.
His absence has left Tagovailoa (-175) as the heavy favorite at the halfway point of the season, but a couple of players are still in striking distance. Let’s look at the latest odds at BetOnline.
2019 NCAA HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS
| Player (Position, Team) | Odds |
| Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama) | -175 |
| Joe Burrow (QB LSU) | +375 |
| Jalen Hurts (QB Oklahoma) | +450 |
| Jonathan Taylor (RB Wisconsin) | +1000 |
| Justin Fields (QB Ohio State) | +1000 |
THE FAVORITE: TUA TAGOVAILOA
Facing his first ranked opponent of 2019, Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards and four scores in an easy 47-28 win over Texas A&M. While Tua was intercepted for the first time all year, he did set a new Alabama school record for touchdowns in a career.
The Crimson Tide quarterback now sits at 27 TDs and just one interception this season, and is completing 73.6 per cent of his passes at 11 yards per attempt.
Tua Tagovailoa stands alone!
79 passing TD — the most in @AlabamaFTBL history. pic.twitter.com/6H3Uustz2W
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 12, 2019
As an interesting sub-plot, the Dolphins lost to the Redskins 17-16 on Sunday thanks to a failed 2-point attempt with just six seconds left in the game. At 0-6, Miami is expertly “Tanking for Tua,” but the winless Cincinnati Bengals could pose a serious problem.
HOT ON TUA’S TAIL: JOE BURROW AND JALEN HURTS
Ranked 11th in the country, the Gators’ fierce defense was supposed to slow down Joe Burrow in Week 7. Safe to say, they did not. The LSU senior threw as many touchdowns (three) as incomplete passes, leading five scoring drives of five plays or less in a 42-28 drubbing of Florida.
On the year, Burrow is completing almost 80 percent of his passes with 25 touchdowns and three picks. He’ll have the opportunity to take the fight directly to Tua on Nov. 9th when the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa for what, in all likelihood, will be the biggest game in the college football season.
#LSU‘s Joe Burrow named National QB of the week a second time this season: https://t.co/TNdzlDbqhA pic.twitter.com/bwPajDlQR9
— TigerDroppings (@TigerDroppings) October 15, 2019
Jalen Hurts hooked up with receiver CeeDee Lamb for 171 yards and three scores in a 34-27 victory over No. 11 Texas in Week 7, but it wasn’t all good news for the Sooners’ signal caller. After committing two turnovers and looking a bit scattershot in the Red River Showdown, Hurts’ Heisman odds dipped from +350 a week ago to +450 today.
However, with only one game against a ranked opponent left on Oklahoma’s schedule, Tua’s former teammate has a clear runway to rack up stats en route to the College Football Playoffs.
