Matt Corral sat from the comfort of his own home and watched his Heisman Trophy odds cut for the fourth consecutive week as chaos enveloped college football in Week 4. Despite being on a bye week, the Ole Miss quarterback is now the favorite to win college football’s biggest individual prize. Can anyone challenge Corral, and could his biggest challenger come from outside the Power Five?
Heisman Trophy odds following Week 4
- Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss +150
- Bryce Young, QB, Alabama +175
- Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati +1500
- Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma +2500
- JT Daniels, QB, Georgia +2500
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State +3000
- C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State +3000
- Malik Willis, QB, Liberty +3500
- Jake Haener, QB, Fresno State +4000
- Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State +4000
DraftKings cut Matt Corral, Desmond Ridder’s Heisman Trophy odds despite bye week
The murkiness of the 2022 NFL Draft quarterback class has cast its gloomy shadow over college football’s pursuit of excellence. As boos rang out for Spencer Rattler and Sam Howell found himself on the ground more than in the end zone, Matt Corral and Desmond Ridder had their Heisman Trophy odds slashed by DraftKings.
The Ole Miss signal-caller is now a +150 favorite. At the same time, the Cincinnati quarterback saw his odds slide from +1800 to +1500 as the Bearcats bid for a College Football Playoffs berth benefited from a week off and the surrounding bizarre beauty of the nation’s most fantastic sport.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s Bryce Young continued his electric start to the season in a crushing 63-14 win over Southern Miss. The Crimson Tide talent went 20/22 for 313 yards and 5 touchdowns. Despite throwing the first interception of his, excuse the pun, young career, his Heisman Trophy odds were cut slightly to +175 from +200. Young and Corral are now considerably shorter money than anyone else in college football following Week 4.
Once the favorite for both the Heisman Trophy and the QB1 of the 2022 NFL Draft class, Oklahoma’s Rattler rallied late to lead the Sooners to a narrow win over West Virginia. Now with +2500 DraftKings odds to lift the Heisman Trophy, his struggles led to calls from the crowd for teammate Caleb Williams to replace him.
Tanner Mordecai and Jake Haener enter the conversation
Yet, it’s a former teammate of Rattler’s that is making moves following Week 4. As SMU continued their unbeaten run with a 42-34 win in a slugfest with TCU, Tanner Mordecai appeared on the Heisman Trophy odds for the first time this season.
The master of the Mustangs’ offense has been carving up college football defenses all season long. After putting up 4 touchdowns on the Horned Frogs, he now leads the nation with 20 passing touchdowns. Furthermore, Mordecai’s 1,268 passing yards land him in the top 10 passers in the country following Week 4.
While Mordecai has been masterful, Jake Haener has been heroic as Fresno State challenges the college football elite. The Bulldogs played Oregon close in Week 1 and defeated UCLA in Week 3. Although their 38-30 win over UNLV isn’t quite as impressive, Haener leads the nation in passing after throwing for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns on Friday night.
You can now get odds of +4000 from DraftKings for the Fresno phenom to lift the Heisman Trophy in December. He sneaks into the top 10, just behind Liberty quarterback Malik Willis. Despite the loss to Syracuse on Friday night, the creative dual-threat QB saw his Heisman Trophy odds shortened to +3500 from +4000.
Could TreVeyon Henderson see a running back take home the trophy?
While some odious offensive line play has put multiple quality quarterbacks in a quandary, could we see a running back hoist the Heisman Trophy for the first time since 2015?
Both Kyle McCord and C.J. Stroud have had their struggles under center, leaving freshman sensation TreVeyon Henderson to drive the Ohio State offense. DraftKings has cut Henderson’s Heisman Trophy odds to +3000 after his 2 touchdowns and 93 yards in a 59-7 win over Akron. He now has 439 yards (a ridiculous 9.54 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns through Week 4 of his debut season.
While Ohio State is routinely one of the best teams in college football, Michigan State has been scarily substandard in recent years. However, the Spartans are emerging as a genuine contender in the Big Ten this season. One of the reasons is the emergence of running back Kenneth Walker III.
Although he only rushed for 61 yards at 3.2 ypc on Saturday night, Walker burst into the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy odds. His 23-yard run in overtime set up the game-winning field goal in a narrow 23-20 victory over Nebraska. You can now get odds of +4000 on the nation’s leading rusher to take home the Heisman Trophy for the currently undefeated Spartans.
Other noticeable Heisman Trophy odds following Week 4
How the mighty have fallen. Clemson started the season as a favorite to lift the national championship but are all but out of the running to reach the College Football Playoffs after their defeat to North Carolina State in a thrilling overtime tussle.
These are struggles of unprecedented proportions in the recent Dabo Swinney era. Although a thoroughly turgid offensive line hasn’t helped, DJ Uiagalelei is struggling to fill the shoes left by Trevor Lawrence. Having been one of the prime preseason candidates for the Heisman Trophy, his odds are now +7500 following the 27-21 defeat.
Despite finding the end zone twice on Saturday, wide receiver Justyn Ross has an extremely long shot at replicating DeVonta Smith as a Heisman-winning wide receiver at +30000. Even though he was largely bottled up in the Wolfpack win, NC State running back Zonovan Knight has shorter Heisman Trophy odds than Ross at +25000.
If you’re looking for a wide receiver to reel in the Heisman Trophy, USC’s Drake London offers the shortest odds at +8000. The Trojans were butchered by the Oregon State Beavers 45-27 on Saturday. However, London continued to prove he’s one of the top pass catchers in college football by snagging 165 yards on 10 receptions from the stuttering Kedon Slovis.
While Smith was the latest Alabama player to lift the Heisman Trophy, they’ve unbelievably never had a quarterback recipient of the award. With that in mind, Young and Ole Miss’ Corral go head-to-head next Saturday in a can’t-miss clash that could decide the trophy’s destination, even at this early stage of the season.