Everyone’s got an opinion in the short, hype-filled NCAA football season.
Yeah, even us. But there’s no filter, no bias here.
Check out the early odds for the Heisman Trophy, CFP teams, and National Championship winner.
Heisman Trophy Odds
On Saturday, December 13th at 8pm EST, the newest winner of the Heisman Trophy will be named.
Sharps are getting in their best Heisman Trophy odds in now though, with bigger payouts and more value available the farther out we are.
Travis Hunter took the most recent Heisman in 2024, one of only four wide receivers to take it since the trophy was first awarded 90 years ago.
This year’s crop of Heisman candidates is, like usual, loaded with quarterbacks. Maybe even more so than in recent years, when we had non-QBs like Ashton Jeanty and Micah Parsons in the mix.
Arch Manning was the favorite heading into Week 1 of the college football season, but his first game against Ohio State was a rocky one. Some spots had him dropping 800 points overnight. Seems a little harsh, but it’s the way the books and public mood goes these days. Fickle bunch.
Check out the other names to follow for a Heisman preview. And maybe score great odds early.
Garrett Nussmeier
Currently, it’s LSU’s Nussmeier leading the way. On top of the numbers he’s already posting, he’s also a senior. If it’s a close race between him and a junior or a soph, he’ll catch a few sympathy votes just because it’s his final year. But his game is seemingly improving every week while he’s already an elite passer.
One heads-up: Nussmeier’s Heisman odds got what might be an artificial boost from LSU’s huge Week 1 win over Clemson. Fans and sportsbooks might have been reacting to the hype and headlines from that win, but it was a major team effort that won it, not his individual performance. It was LSU’s D that held Clemson to a crazy 1.2 yards per carry, not their QB.
Arch Manning
What can we say about the newest Manning? Although last season he did step right in and turn heads, the pedigree alone will only take him so far.
And Week 1 of this NCAA season did happen. Manning crashed hard in the Heisman odds after a disastrous performance against an intense Ohio State defense. The oddsmakers took him from the preseason top of the list to third, even fourth place.
But it wasn’t all Arch’s fault in that game, and it’s a 4-month season, not 60 minutes. He bounced back with an aerial assault the next weekend against a lesser team.
If you’re the contrarian type, Manning’s fallen odds may not offer such a big payout again for the rest of the season, so grab him now.
Carson Beck
The former Georgia standout already made a name for himself for years playing for the Bulldogs. But he comes with question marks.
Will that name familiarity hurt him or help him when it comes to Heisman voting? It gives him a lot to live up to, even as it helps him stay on voters’ minds. And will changing to Miami through the transfer portal last offseason prove to be the right move?
His Week 1 win over a tough Notre Dame D – with no picks – helped move him up the list of Heisman odds.
John Mateer
Keep an eye on Mateer. A longshot pick heading into the 2025 NCAA football season, he has the momentum right now, catching the exact kind of legend-building and dark horse buzz that we like in our style of betting.
Mateer dominated Michigan early this season. But the tough schedule for much of the year from now on is a mixed bag for his Heisman hopes. The Sooners play Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama and a number of other hard games. This gives him lots of exposure on the Heisman publicity train. If he does well, it boosts his chances even more. If he struggles to put up numbers, it’s hard to make him the winner in December.
Dante Moore and LaNorris Sellers are worth a good look too, but so far they’re real longshots. Keep an eye on them catching some buzz with a standout performance in the next few weeks.
College Football Playoff Odds
Like the Heisman voting, in the short NCAA football season, weekly swings are part of the CFP conversation.
We’ll hear a lot about the CFP selection committee in the coming months, and we like them about as much as you do. But with hundreds of Div I teams, it’s the system we’re stuck with.
Right now, the 12 teams with the best CFP odds are mostly the brand names we know. With a couple of surprises, like Florida State, USF, Iowa State and Illinois. Ohio State leads the way ever since they beat Texas in Week 1. Then Miami, returning to the glory days of the U, is at number 2. Followed by LSU at #3 and the rest of big names like Penn State, Oregon, Tennessee, etc.
The smart money knows that this year, the selection committee is giving weight to strength of schedule. This will factor into Ohio State and LSU’s placements especially, since they have the toughest schedules the rest of the way.
Smart money will also watch for the teams with a surprising loss so far, like Notre Dame and Texas. A couple more L’s for either team and sharps will find their replacements in the Top 12 before the public money or the books catch on.
National Championship Odds
It’s a logjam for the NCAA football title odds so far. No team has totally stood out, and Week 2 had a bunch of expected blowouts against weaker teams.
Right now, Ohio State and Penn State top the list of National Championship odds at +575 each, with Georgia and Texas close behind.
Watch for LSU (+900) with a bigger payout now than if Nussmeier continues to cook, and Miami at even longer odds (+2200) if Beck dominates the rest of the season.