Updated 2020 National Championship and Heisman Odds After Week 8

• Ohio State’s odds to win the national championship (+325) trail only Clemson (+125) and Alabama (+300) after Week 8
  
• Justin Fields’ impressive debut against Nebraska caused his Heisman odds to soar to +150
  
• Najee Harris ran for another three touchdowns in Alabama’s 48-17 win over Tennessee
  

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At long last, the Big Ten is back. Ohio State predictably destroyed Nebraska 52-17 while their rivals in Michigan came out of the gates strong with a 49-24 victory over Minnesota.

Before looking at how Week 8 of the college football season impacted the Heisman race, let’s look at the latest national championship odds at Bovada.

ALABAMA LOSES KEY PIECE

With Clemson (+125), Alabama (+300) and Ohio State (+325) all winning their respective games in blowout fashion, not a lot changed on the board above. However, Nick Saban’s chances of claiming his first national championship since 2017 were severely diminished when electric wide receiver Jaylen Waddle broke his ankle on the opening kickoff of the Crimson Tide’s 48-17 win over Tennessee.

With Waddle now lost for the season after averaging 139.3 receiving yards per game, one has to wonder if Alabama’s offense still has enough firepower to compete with the Buckeyes and Tigers come playoff time.

Justin Fields is officially back 😤

What a dime

(via @CFBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/bFUA5aUs8j

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 24, 2020

The other big development of the day was No. 7 Penn State losing to Indiana 36-35 in overtime and, basically, being eliminated from CFP contention right off the bat. Taking their place as a periphery playoff contender is Michigan (+5000), who got an outstanding performance from Joe Milton in a 49-24 victory over the Golden Gophers.

The Wolverines first-year starting quarterback moved into the top-six of Heisman contenders after finishing with 277 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Let’s take a look at the whole list at BetOnline:

JUSTIN FIELDS DELIVERS

Last week, we pointed out that Justin Fields was an incredible value at +700 and that buying window predictably slammed shut after the Buckeyes QB threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns against Nebraska, adding 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground for good measure.

Fields is now at +150 to win the award, just behind Trevor Lawrence (-120) who threw for two scores in a 47-21 win over Syracuse in Week 8.  After going 12 games without tossing an interception, the Tigers QB has now thrown picks in consecutive weeks, perhaps opening the door a crack for Fields. 

Najee Harris is ridiculous 🔥

(via @CBSSports)pic.twitter.com/KBRtBMDgms

— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) October 24, 2020

Mac Jones (+600) fell behind Fields on the board above after he failed to throw a touchdown in Alabama’s 48-17 win over Tennessee. That’s because his teammate Najee Harris (+2000) rumbled in for three scores and now has 14 through the season’s first five games.

The bruising back only needs to cross the goal line nine more times in the Crimson Tide’s remaining six contests (including the SEC championship game) to surpass Mark Ingram’s all-time school record of 42 touchdowns.

Best bet: Najee Harris (+2000) again