There’s a new Heisman favorite after Week 8 and the race has tightened significantly.
No. 2 Michigan’s dominating win over Michigan State combined with No. 5 Washington’s upset scare late Saturday night against Arizona mean that Wolverines QB J.J. McCarthy is now the Heisman frontrunner at BetMGM ahead of Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
It’s a stunning odds shift after Penix entered the weekend at -145 to win the Heisman following Washington’s win over Oregon in Week 7. But the Washington offense had its worst game of the season by far in a 15-7 win over Arizona State.
Penix had four turnovers and the Washington offense failed to score a TD against the Sun Devils as the winning touchdown came in the fourth quarter on an 89-yard pick-6 by Mishael Powell. Penix finished the game 27-of-42 passing for 275 yards. He had two interceptions and two fumbles.
Penix is now at +300 to win the Heisman and right behind McCarthy at +200. The Michigan QB takes over as the Heisman favorite as the Wolverines continue to dominate their opponents. Michigan beat Michigan State 49-0 and the game was so lopsided that McCarthy was able to take a seat on the bench in the third quarter.
McCarthy was excellent when he was on the field. He was 21-of-27 passing for 287 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the game. Michigan scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters as Michigan State’s offense failed to tally 200 total yards.
McCarthy has been extremely efficient so far this season, though he’s not passing the ball nearly as much as Penix and other quarterbacks. For the season, McCarthy is 132-of-169 passing for 1,799 yards and 18 touchdowns with just three interceptions.
The 10.6 yards per pass McCarthy is averaging is now ahead of Penix (10.0) and only behind No. 19 LSU QB Jayden Daniels (11.5). Daniels is now the No. 3 Heisman favorite at +600 following LSU’s lopsided win over Army.
Daniels is completing 73% of his passes so far this season. He’s 163-of-223 passing for 2,573 yards and has thrown 25 TDs to just three interceptions. Daniels has also rushed for 521 yards and five scores. Only Penix has thrown for more yards than Daniels and the LSU QB is fourth among QBs in rushing yards.
Florida State’s Jordan Travis and Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel are also in the thick of the Heisman race too. Travis is +700 following No. 4 FSU’s win over Duke on Saturday night and Gabriel is at +800 after No. 6 Oklahoma survived a scare from UCF on Saturday afternoon. Neither Travis nor Gabriel have the eye-popping stats of the three favorites, but they’re in the mix as the starting quarterbacks of undefeated teams ranked in the top 10.
No other player has odds better than +3000. North Carolina QB Drake Maye’s odds are now at +5000 after the Tar Heels’ shocking loss to Virginia in Week 8.
Post-Week 8 Heisman Trophy odds
-
Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy (+200)
-
Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (+300)
-
LSU QB Jayden Daniels (+600)
-
Florida State QB Jordan Travis (+700)
-
Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel (+800)
-
Oregon QB Bo Nix (+3000)
-
Georgia QB Carson Beck (+3000)
-
Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (+3000)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
