Steve Starr
- BetOnline has updated its 2019 Heisman Trophy odds after Week 5 of the college football season
- Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa (+175) is a slight favorite over Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts (+180)
- Ohio State’s Justin Fields (+500) made another leap up the board after crushing Nebraska on Saturday
Three of this year’s top Heisman Trophy contenders are transfer quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts went from Alabama to Oklahoma; Joe Burrow left the Buckeyes for LSU; and Justin Fields made the move from Georgia to Ohio State.
Imagine the transfer portal worked this well for students. One day you’re floating along with a 2.7 GPA at Rutgers, and the next you’re smashing a 4.0 at Harvard and cruising towards medical school.
Let’s check out the latest odds at BetOnline and analyze whether any of the terrific transfers have a chance to displace Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa as the betting favorite.
2019 NCAA Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player (Position, Team) | Odds |
| Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama) | +175 |
| Jalen Hurts (QB Oklahoma) | +180 |
| Joe Burrow (QB LSU) | +400 |
| Justin Fields (QB Ohio State) | +500 |
| Jonathan Taylor (RB Wisconsin) | +1000 |
| Jake Fromm (QB Georgia) | +2000 |
| Trevor Lawrence (QB Clemson) | +2200 |
| Sam Ehlinger (QB Texas) | +3300 |
JALEN HURTS
Let me use this section to make an important public service announcement: The best time to bet futures is before the season begins. Back in April, I recommended Hurts at 13/1 to win the Heisman and now he’s almost in a dead-heat with Tua (+175) at +180.
Running the same Lincoln Riley offense that produced the past two Heisman winners (Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield), Hurts has already thrown for 1,295 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 443 yards and five more touchdowns on the ground.
Jalen Hurts has been BALLIN’ ?
He’s the first Big 12 player with three 60-yard completions in a game since Patrick Mahomes in 2016.
(? @MercedesBenzUSA) pic.twitter.com/VaNtt2qGHe
— ESPN (@espn) September 28, 2019
Known primarily for his rushing ability coming into the year, the 6-foot-2 dual-threat star currently leads the nation in both QBR (97.5) and passer rating (249.9) with a sky-high 77.65 completion percentage.
JOE BURROW
Last week, I compared Joe Burrow’s ascent in the Heisman Trophy odds to owning Apple stock in the early 2000s. In fact, it looks like the only thing that could cool off his surging contender status was a week off.
While Hurts and Fields used dominant performances to continue rising up the board, the Tigers’ Week 5 bye caused Burrow to slip from 3/1 to 4/1.
#LSU QB Joe Burrow’s #SEC Rankings…
Rating: #1 – (225.63)
Yards: #1 – (1520)
TD’s #1 – (17)
Comp% #1 – (80.6)
Yards/G #1 – (380.0)
Yards/A #1 – (12.3)
– pic.twitter.com/mx3DkoxHDL— Josh Lemoine (@LsuFBallTruth) September 28, 2019
At the helm of an uncharacteristically exciting LSU offense that’s putting up an average of 57.8 points per game, Burrow is completing 80.6 percent of his passes (1st in the nation) and throwing for more than 380 yards per game (2nd in the nation).
The bad news is that LSU faces a lot of tough SEC defenses the rest of the way, including Florida, Auburn, and Alabama. The good news is that, if he continues to ball out in those playoff-relevant games, he’ll have the attention of every voter.
JUSTIN FIELDS
Still listed at 11/1 in August, Fields was my Heisman “best bet” before the season began.
Through the first five games, he’s actually making it look like I know what I’m talking about, throwing for 1,092 yards, 16 touchdowns, and no picks with 222 rushing yards and seven more scores.
? @justnfields has never thrown an interception in his college career pic.twitter.com/v8IWcEPTMe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2019
Now sitting at 5/1 after lighting up Nebraska in Week 5, Fields will face a stiff test against Michigan State’s defense this Saturday, but expect him to be up to the challenge. The Spartans’ defense is not impenetrable. It surrendered 31 points at home to Indiana last Saturday. The Hoosier offense is 32nd in efficiency at ESPN. The Buckeyes are 3rd.
There’s not much value left in betting on any of the star transfers, but the Buckeyes quarterback is still my favorite in the field.
