Heisman Odds 2022: Quarterbacks lead the field, but Will Anderson cracks top 5

2022 Heisman Odds feature 3 quarterbacks at the top, but Will Anderson looms

The 2022 Heisman odds for the upcoming college football season is here. While CJ Stroud and Bryce Young have been at the top since the odds came out earlier this year, Caleb Williams has recently closed some of the game between Bryce Young at no. 2 and Caleb Williams at no. 3. As we’ve seen, there has been a high volume of bets on the USC Trojans and similar action has catapulted Caleb Williams up the odds charts for the Heisman Trophy.

It’s not surprise that quarterbacks top the odds charts, as a quarterback has won the Heisman Trophy 18 times since 2000. However, there’s a defensive menace on the tail of the nation’s top pass throwers…

Alabama’s Will Anderson has been known to pursue quarterbacks on the field, and now Anderson is closing the gap between himself and the Heisman hopeful quarterbacks on the odds board as well. Since Anderson’s incredible 2021 season, there has been a lot of talk about whether Anderson could be the first defensive player to win the Heisman since Charles Woodson in 1997. Anderson had 17.5 sacks during the 2021 season.

Saturday Down South recently named Will Anderson the top player in college football ahead of the 2022 season. From writer Matt Hinton: “As a true freshman, he started every game and led the nation with 60 QB pressures. As a sophomore, he was the most unblockable player in the college game, generating a staggering 82 pressures and setting the FBS record for tackles for loss (34.5) since the NCAA began tracking the statistic in 2000. On a down-to-down basis, he posted the top PFF grade against the run on a unit that ranked No. 4 nationally in rushing defense. He was a unanimous All-American, won the Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player, and finished 5th in a Heisman vote that by all rights he should have won.”

Here are the real-time 2022 Heisman odds across all major sportsbooks:

	🏈 Heisman Trophy Odds 2022
📲 Sportsbook Odds Utilized	Caesars Sportsbook
💰 Top Promo	$1,500 Risk-Free Bet
✍️ Written/Created by	Robby Sabo
⏰ Odds Last Updated on	May 24, 2022
✅ Provided by	Saturday Down South

Who will be the kid to take the Heisman from Alabama’s Bryce Young, Alabama’s game-breaking quarterback who captured sports’ most prestigious trophy for his work in the 2021 college football season? Will it move back north, perhaps to … oh, I don’t know … Columbus?

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud certainly had his fair shake to capture the Heisman in 2021 but could not get it done in the end. For much of the preseason, Stroud and Young have remained firmly in the top 2 of the Heisman odds.

Young enters the 2022 season with a glorious opportunity: To become the first (and only) man to win the Heisman Trophy for a second time—save for Ohio State’s Archie Griffin who accomplished that feat in 1974 and 1975.

No matter how the 2022 Heisman race shakes out, fortunately for the football-hungry fans of the SEC and elsewhere, Saturday Down South has the country covered via 2022 Heisman Trophy odds from an in-depth and expert perspective.

Hop in the game today with an incredible $1,500 sportsbook bonus from Caesars Sportsbook:

Heisman Trophy Odds Movement

• August 11, 2022: Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud currently leads the pack at +205, just ahead of Alabama’s Bryce Young (+372). QB Caleb Williams has climbed up to +695. These odds are average odds across a number of major sportsbooks.
• May 24, 2022: Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud currently leads the pack at +300, just ahead of reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young (+350).
• Dec. 11, 2021: Alabama QB Bryce Young wins the 2021 Heisman Trophy.

Heisman Trophy 2022 News & Articles

Keep up with the latest 2022 Heisman Trophy odds by sticking with Saturday Down South’s legendary news coverage.

Heisman Trophy 2022 Preseason Favorites

C.J. Stroud (QB, Ohio State)

Depending on which book’s odds you’re looking at goes a long way. Some may have Bryce Young—the reigning Heisman Trophy winner—as the summer-time favorite to repeat. Others, however, have Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud as the front-runner.

With a total of 399 points, the Buckeye signal-caller finished fourth in the Heisman voting a year ago. After an impressive year featuring 4,435 yards on 317 of 441 passing (71.9 percent completion percentage), Stroud heads into the 2022 college football campaign as the Heisman front-runner—at the very least one of two kids in a two-man preseason race.

Bryce Young (QB, Alabama)

“What matters is not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.” Although that popular quote cannot officially be attributed to any one man specifically, Ohio State’s Archie Griffin shouted it out while winning back-to-back Heisman Trophies nearly a half-century ago.

Although Bryce Young is bigger than the 5-foot-9 Griffin, the former’s 6-foot frame isn’t anything to write home about at the quarterback position. He enters 2022 as one of the favorites for the Heisman, and if he captures it, he’ll become only the second man in history to win more than one.

Who’s Going to Win the 2021 Heisman Trophy?

The last three Heisman Trophy winners played in the SEC. Alabama’s Bryce Young and DeVonta Smith, and LSU’s Joe Burrow, are the three southeast ballers who took the hardware home.

Young could certainly go back-to-back, but never count out the Big Ten and Ohio State—where C.J. Stroud impatiently awaits his turn.

2021 Heisman Prediction

For now, our pick is Bryce Young simply due to the power of Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. Rarely out of a game and out of National Championship contention, Bama’s quarterback will have every opportunity to make history.

Prediction: Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.

How to Bet on the Heisman Trophy

The winner of the Heisman Trophy is consistently one of the top college football futures betting markets. One wonders if John Heisman, the first athletic director of the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City and namesake of the trophy, envisioned the magnitude of today’s Heisman-sports betting market back in 1935. In a betting world, the odds aren’t great on that thought.

In order to bet on the Heisman winner, follow these simple steps:

• Register for an online sportsbook account (SDS recommends Caesars Sportsbook).
• Log into your account and make a deposit.
• Find the college football betting menu and select the “futures” option.
• Select “Heisman Trophy” and then pick a player.

Where to Bet on the Heisman Trophy

There are plenty of legal online sportsbook options that offer Heisman Trophy betting. Here are some of the top options, along with a huge free bet at Caesars Sportsbook.

Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook is Saturday Down South’s top sports-betting recommendation for SEC fans everywhere. Since acquiring William Hill, Caesars’ app and platform have impressed the masses in a variety of ways.

💰Get started today for $1,100 in first-time user bets ($1,100 first-bet insurance) to bet on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at DraftKings Sportsbook.

DraftKings Sportsbook

DraftKings Sportsbook offers up to $1,060 of free bets and has a robust offering of college football games and futures markets. Perhaps most importantly, DraftKings Sportsbook is among the best online operators when it comes to offering both in-game live betting options and pregame profit boost specials.

💰Get started today for $1,050 in first-time user bets ($50 risk-free bet and $1000 deposit bonus) to bet on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at DraftKings Sportsbook.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook offers a first-rate app experience and an industry-best $1,000 No-Sweat First Bet for new users. Like other top sportsbooks, FanDuel has expansive college football betting options and provides a Heisman market throughout the year.

💰Get started today for a $1,000 No-Sweat First Bet to wager on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Barstool Sportsbook

Barstool Sportsbook is the self-described “disruptors of the industry,” and it has not failed to live up to that tagline. Dave Portnoy, Big Cat and the crew have carved out a nice niche in the college football sports-betting category and they are not going anywhere, anytime soon.

💰Get started today for a $1,000 risk-free bet while wagering on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at BetMGM.

BetMGM

BetMGM is backed by one of America’s most prestigious gaming brands and offers new players a $500 first deposit match. Like its competition, BetMGM offers a full range of college football games and futures markets, including Heisman odds.

💰Get started today for a $1,000 risk-free bet while gambling on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at BetMGM.

Past Heisman Trophy Winners (NCAA College Football History)

Here is a look at the past Heisman Trophy winners, dating back to the 2000 season.

Winners by school:  Oklahoma (4),  Alabama (3), Florida State (2), USC (3), Nebraska (1), Ohio State (1), Florida (1), Baylor. (1), Oregon (1), LSU (1), Auburn (1), Texas A&M (1), Louisville (1)

Winners by position: quarterback (17), running back (3)

Heisman Betting History

A look at the recent Heisman Trophy winners, as well as their opening and closing odds.

Heisman Betting Strategy

The Heisman Trophy race is often misunderstood by the general betting public. The general public still views Heisman candidates in the same way that political parties view their candidates — through the lens of electability. Or, in the case of the Heisman, viability. Conventional wisdom dictates that you have to be an established player from an established and powerful program to even entertain the notion that you could be enshrined as one of the game’s greats.

The preseason Heisman odds going into the 2019 college football season offer us an important example. Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa entered the 2019 season as co-favorites to hoist the trophy at 3:1 odds. They had just played against each other in the national title game and were the faces of the two most dominant programs in the sport. To casual fans, it was a no-brainer for them to share the spotlight as preseason Heisman favorites. But to savvy veterans of the sports gambling space, the only thing noteworthy about two players separating themselves from the pack over the summer was that it inflated odds for everyone else.

To put it bluntly, the prevailing wisdom surrounding Heisman odds is wrong and that disconnect is born out in the final Heisman voting year after year. Only one preseason Heisman favorite has gone “wire-to-wire” since 2000. All it took from Marcus Mariota (9:2 preseason odds) was a near-flawless season (TD-INT Ratio 42:4) and a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff. In contrast to Mariota’s favorite-to-recipient feat, is the fact that eight of the past 10 Heisman winners weren’t considered Top 10 candidates in the preseason by oddsmakers. Joe Burrow (40:1), Kyler Murray (30:1), Lamar Jackson (100:1) and Derrick Henry (25:1) represent a new wave of Heisman profitability for sports gamblers. And after a run of one-year wonders who took home the hardware as preseason “FIELD” bets (Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston) in the early 2010s, sportsbooks finally started to post more comprehensive preseason lists. The average offering has essentially doubled from the 20-25 player range in 2010 to a 35-40 range in 2019.

Heisman longshots have proven to be incredibly profitable in the past 10 years, but their odds quickly come down to earth once the general public has seen them play. The Heisman winners over the 2015-2019 seasons saw their preseason odds fall by an average of 68% from the preseason through Week 3.

This illustrates that for a gambler to capture worthwhile value, they often need to have skin in the game before the season starts.

The start of the 2020 season offered a similar situation as our 2019 example. Neither Lawrence nor Tagovailoa were Heisman finalists in 2019, but that didn’t stop oddsmakers from setting up the 2020 preseason Heisman odds in nearly identical fashion. Lawrence was joined by Justin Fields as a co-favorite falling in the 4:1 to 9:2 range. And as we now know, of course, neither Lawrence or Fields are expected to win the trophy.

Hedging Strategies When Betting The Heisman

Hedging is when a gambler places a bet on the opposite side of their original wager in order to reduce losses or to guarantee a profit. Despite the simplicity of the tactic, casual gamblers often fail to consider hedging opportunities. For small-stakes gamblers, in-game hedging might not be worth their time, but that isn’t true of futures betting. Even small wagers can net huge returns and are worthy of thoughtful hedge strategies.

Season-long futures for individual players and teams present a host of hedge opportunities, some clear and others more convoluted. As shown above, pundits and the public are awful at predicting who will end up as a Heisman finalist. In fact, four of the five Heisman presentations between 2015-2019 have included at least 1 finalist who entered the season as a 100:1 longshot or higher. Simply having a finalist with long odds can guarantee you money by properly hedging is a game-changer for most casual bettors.

If you were fortunate enough to place a bet on Joe Burrow before Week 3 of the 2019 season, you had a ticket paying out between 40:1 and 200:1 on the Bayou Bengal. Even if you had waited until the end of the regular season to hedge, the 3 other eventual finalists all presented decent value and insurance with Fields (6:1), Jalen Hurts (17:1), Chase Young (100:1) all offering handsome payouts.

While it appeared that Burrow was a “lock” by Week 13 during the 2019 season, this same hedge strategy would have saved Tagovailoa bettors the year prior. The Crimson Tide signal-caller was listed as a -900 favorite during Week 13 but would be overtaken by Kyler Murray just two weeks later. If you had spread out your risk by betting the likely finalists in Week 13 (Murray+600, Dwayne Haskins+6000, Will Grier+1100) you would have turned a gambling heartbreak into a decent payday.

If you are making preseason Heisman bets, targeting longshots with the potential to become finalists instead of winners is one way that you can turn an all-or-nothing proposition into a less volatile and more profitable long-term strategy. This brings into play running backs, wide receivers and defensive players that you might not have considered at all in previous seasons.

Heisman Odds 2022 FAQ