The Heisman Trophy race appears to have been trimmed in half to a two-player race over the weekend, with Colorado’s Travis Hunter continuing to distance himself at the top.
The Buffaloes’ two-way star caught five passes in a commanding 49-24 win over Utah. That boosted Hunter’s season total to 74 receptions for 911 yards and nine touchdowns to go along with three interceptions as a lock-down corner.
Hunter emerged as the Heisman Trophy favorite for the first time last week at +130 at DraftKings, and he is now the odds-on favorite at -350. The Buffs travel to Kansas this weekend, then return home to close out the regular season against Oklahoma State before a potential date in the Big 12 championship game.
With Buffs coach Deion Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders seemingly prioritizing Hunter’s Heisman candidacy, it might not matter how many yards Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty racks up.
The junior now has 1,893 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground after rumbling for 159 and three scores in a 42-21 win over San Jose State. Jeanty is averaging 7.4 yards per carry, but still saw his Heisman odds lengthen from +300 to +380 this week.
Boise State closes the regular season with games at Wyoming and home against Oregon State, giving Jeanty two games to close the gap on Hunter before the Broncos potentially play in the Mountain West Conference championship.
The movement over the weekend was even more damaging to the prospects for the top two quarterbacks on the board. Cam Ward shifted from +800 to +1300 with Miami idle, while Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel slid from +330 all the way to +2500 with the Ducks escaping an upset bid by Wisconsin.
HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS (via DraftKings)
PLAYER, TEAM, JULY ODDS, WEEK 1, LAST WEEK, CURRENT
Travis Hunter, Colorado, N/A, N/A, +130, -350
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, N/A/, N/A, +300, +380
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, +750, +800, +330, +2500
Cam Ward, Miami, +2200, +950, +800, +1300
Kurtis Rourke, Indiana, N/A, N/A, +1500, +3000
Jalen Milroe, Alabama, +1500, +1100, +1800, +2800
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, +1400, +850, +2000, +4000
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, N/A, +2200, +4000, +7500
Quinn Ewers, Texas, +1000, +1400, +4000
Hunter extending the gap between himself and Jeanty came with DraftKings reporting 62 percent of all Heisman money wagered since Saturday has backed the Buffs’ star. Jeanty had drawn 25 percent, while Gabriel was at 6 percent and Ward at just 2 percent.
Meanwhile, BetMGM reported that Hunter and Jeanty are the book’s two biggest liabilities in the Heisman market. Hunter has been backed by 35.2 percent of all money wagered and 17.3 percent of all bets, with Jeanty drawing 11.3 and 9.9 percent, respectively.
