BetMGM: Odds to Win 2022 Heisman For Favorites & Sleepers

Odds to Win 2022 Heisman

As the 2022 college football season rolls along, let's examine the 2022 Heisman Trophy odds market after Week 8.

Who Is the Current Favorite to Win the Heisman in 2022?

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (-125) remains the current Heisman betting favorite at the BetMGM online sportsbook. 

C.J. Stroud Heisman Odds

C.J. Stroud, the Ohio State quarterback, is the odds-on betting favorite (-125) to win the Heisman Trophy.

Stroud feels like one of the better options to win the award in a year that should be dominated by No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State. Both quarterbacks figure to be in the mix well into January and should be taken very seriously as Heisman candidates.

The betting market agrees:

• 8.8% of bets are on Stroud to win the Heisman
• 12.5% of the overall market handle backing Stroud

However, betting at the top of the market can lead to lousy ROI – especially in the Heisman market. 

Last year, for example, the preseason Heisman favorites included former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and former Georgia quarterback JT Daniels. 

You can see how that went. Two of those guys aren’t even at the same school anymore.

However, Stroud reasserted his place in Week 2 and has remained the clear Heisman Trophy betting favorite ever since. He strengthened his grip on the market and moved to an odds-on position after throwing for 361 yards and six touchdowns in a big win at Michigan State.

Hendon Hooker Heisman Odds

Hendon Hooker, the Tennessee, is currently +200 to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy.

With College GameDay on site for Tennessee’s marquee SEC divisional contest with Florida, Hooker passed for 349 yards (two TDs) and rushed for 112 yards (one TD). As a result, Hooker shot up to the No. 4 spot in the table.

When Hooker and the Vols outran Alabama in Week 7, Hooker took another big leap in the odds table. He’s now considered the chief threat to CJ Stroud, at least as far as the college football betting odds are concerned.

Caleb Williams Heisman Odds

Caleb Williams, the USC quarterback, is currently +1200 to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy.

Williams and the Trojans’ offense rolled early, but USC hit its first major snag of the season when it needed a late comeback to edge out Oregon State in Corvallis, 17-14. He finished 16-for-36 with 180 yards passing and one touchdown.

Williams was overtaken by Hooker in Week 7, when the Vols beat Alabama hours before USC suffered its first loss of the season.

Bryce Young Heisman Odds

Bryce Young, the Alabama quarterback, is currently +2200 to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy.

The betting public knows Bryce is capable of winning the Heisman Trophy for a very simple reason: He won it last year.

However, Young’s odds have slowly crept down the board after a series of setbacks in the market. That includes an injury that kept him off the field for several quarters of football in October, as well as a team loss in Knoxville to Tennessee.

Stetson Bennett Heisman Odds

Stetson Bennett, the Georgia quarterback, is currently +5000 to win the 2022 Heisman trophy.

Bennett was arguably the biggest winner of Week 1. The 2021 national champion confidently strode into a new season with an utter decimation of the Oregon defense, and the Ducks had no chance to keep up. Final stat line: 25-for-31, 368 yards, three total touchdowns.

Bennett opened the market at 100-to-1 and was bet down to 50-to-1 before the season kicked off. After a huge win against Oregon (and a sleepy shutout win over Samford), his odds shot all the way into the true contender zone.

However, as the season unfolded, the Georgia offense has fallen back to Earth, and Bennett has seen a commensurate fall in the Heisman odds market.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson Heisman Odds

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the UCLA quarterback, is currently +12500 to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy.

DTR and the Bruins already have two wins over teams that were ranked at the time the game was played: Washington and Utah. (Washington has since fallen out of the poll entirely.)

DTR posted five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) against Utah in Week 6.

Jalon Daniels Heisman Odds

Jalon Daniels, the Kansas quarterback, is currently off the board in the 2022 Heisman Trophy betting market.

As the quarterback at Kansas, Daniels was such a preseason longshot that he wasn’t even anywhere on the odds board.

However, with Kansas’ improbable hot start to the 2022 college football season, Daniels shot up Heisman betting boards a third of the way through the season.

After suffering an unfortunate injury against TCU, Daniels returned to his opening position: Completely off the board.

Defensive Player with Highest Odds

Will Anderson, the Alabama linebacker, has the best odds of any defensive player to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy at +20000.

Anderson has become a trendy pick to win the Heisman after his elite play in 2021, but the history of defensive Heisman winners is very short.

Charles Woodson is the last (and so far only) player to win the Heisman while playing primarily on the defensive side of the ball. The Michigan cornerback won the award for his stellar play during the 1997 season.

While a handful of defensive players have finished as Heisman finalists – including Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson during last year’s voting – Woodson remains the only defensive player to win the award.

Keep that in mind if you’re considering NCAAF odds for Alabama linebacker Will Anderson at +20000.

Heisman Odds: 2022 Heisman Winner Prediction

Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs (+5000) offers the best blend of value and realism.

As I said above, I expect the season to boil down to Alabama vs. Ohio State in January. That often means the eventual Heisman winner will be selected from one of those teams. 

Using that logic, QB Stroud remains the most likely option. If you’re sticking to the Heisman favorites, I recommend a play on Stroud, despite the poor return.

However, Gibbs presents a much more valuable ticket, and as I explained on a recent episode of The Lion’s Edge, there are plenty of football factors to back up.

Last year, Young won the Heisman in part because the Alabama run game was a mess. Running backs were getting hurt all the time. 

At one point last season, Alabama even moved linebacker Demouy Kennedy to the running backs room because it was one Trey Sanders injury away from running out of players.

As a result, Alabama turned to its stellar receivers and passing game more than ever, resulting in plenty of opportunities for Young to shine.  

You know what happened next. 

This year, we may see the opposite in Tuscaloosa. Alabama has bled NFL-caliber receivers into the pro game at a staggering rate over these last few years. As a result, they may be relatively young and inexperienced at receiver this year.

The running backs, on the other hand, should excel in 2022. Gibbs, who transferred in from Georgia Tech after 1,800 all-purpose yards last year, should be the best of the bunch.

Ask yourself the obvious question: If Gibbs can put up numbers like that at lowly Georgia Tech, what can he do behind Alabama’s offensive line?

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Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.