Heisman Awards Odds Stabilize With 3 Alabama Players On Top

• Alabama WR DeVonta Smith is the favorite by not only sportsbooks but anyone involved in the business of college football to be the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner.
• Three of the four players listed with odds to win the award all play for Alabama’s Crimson Tide.

NEW YORK – On January 5, 2021, through a virtual ceremony held from the ESPN Studios in Bristol, Connecticut, the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner will be announced and sportsbooks are already prepared with wagers up on who they believe will take home the award.

In just two weeks’ time, one lucky college football player will go down in history as being the most outstanding player for the 2020 season. Of the four names being thrown out there for the award, it’s Alabama’s WR DeVonta Smith (-190) that is favored to win it by legal sports betting operators.

Odds On Who Will Take The Trophy

It’s true DeVonta Smith has the best odds to be awarded the trophy and the title that it comes with but since 2000, 17 of the Heisman Trophy winners have been QBs while the other three were RBs. Smith is a WR and the last time a true WR won the award was in 1987 when Tim Brown took home the Heisman for his time as a WR with Notre Dame.

Statistically speaking on the award’s history alone, a WR hasn’t received this kind of recognition for over 30 years. But Smith has had such a notable season he could very well be the one to break the cycle of continued QB winners.

The senior from Alabama has had 98 receptions with 1511 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns this year. He has no doubt stepped up his game from previous years on the field and can very much be viewed as outshining his competition when it comes down to player performance statistics.

It’s for these reasons that Smith (-190) is expected to take home the Heisman.

Coming in with the second-best odds is Mac Jones (+150), Smith’s Crimson Tide teammate and the QB for the team. Jones is a junior at the school but like his teammate, he has had a stellar season in 2020 when compared to his college career as a whole.

The Alabama QB has thrown 32 touchdowns this season, covering 3739 passing yards with 250 pass completions.

The third most plausible choice for the Heisman is none other than Clemson’s QB Trevor Lawrence (+1000). Like Jones, Lawrence is also a junior playing in the same position.

Lawrence has been a standout player for the Tigers since 2018. For his third season with Clemson, the quarterback threw for 2753 yards with 198 pass completions and 22 touchdowns.

Jones has definitely had the better season based on the data which is why he has the better odds over Lawrence to win the award.

Alabama RB Najee Harris (+1800) rounds out the top four Heisman odds for mobile sportsbooks like Bovada. Everyone on this list has stepped up their game in 2020 and Harris is no different. The RB has had the best season of his college career rushing for 1262 yards with 32 receptions and 24 touchdowns.

Now What?

The Crimson Tide are currently number one in CFB heading to the College Football Playoffs which makes it all the more believable that three out of the four candidates for the Heisman Trophy are from Alabama’s team. There are two quarterbacks, one running back, and one wide receiver all up to win it. A betting man would either wager on the favorite DeVonta Smith or second in line Mac Jones.

Betting on Jones would be the cushion bet seeing as quarterbacks have statistically walked away with the trophy most and he’s a quarterback with the second-best odds. Everyone will get a front-row seat to the virtual festivities on January 5, but with as well as all these players have performed this season, each one of them has a good shot at taking that Heisman pose photo with the trophy in hand.

News tags: Alabama | Clemson | Clemson Tigers | Crimson Tide | Devonta Smith | ESPN Studios | Heisman Trophy | Heisman Winner | Mac Jones | Najee Harris | Notre Dame | Tim Brown | Trevor Lawrence