The preseason favorite is Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, who finished fourth last year behind Young, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett. Stroud’s odds are plus-200, which lead all college football players, according to the sports book Fanduel.com. Young is next at plus-400, followed by USC quarterback Caleb WIlliams at plus-600.
Williams played for Oklahoma last season but entered the transfer portal. After former Sooners coach Lincoln Riley took the job at USC, Williams soon followed.
The top defensive player currently in the mix is Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr., who finished fifth in last year’s voting and whom many felt should have been invited to New York City as a finalist. Anderson is fifth in this year’s preseason odds at plus-3000.
The 2022 college football season officially kicks off this Saturday, August 27, with 11 games, headlined by Nebraska and Northwestern squaring off in Dublin, Ireland. The rest of college gets underway the following Thursday (September 1) with 16 games, eight games on Friday (September 2) and a full set of marquee non-conference matchups that Saturday, then one game each on Sunday and Monday nights of Labor Day Weekend.
The Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Voting is comprised of 870 media members spread across six geographic regions, 58 living Heisman winners and one vote from a collective fan vote.
Heisman voters get to choose their top three candidates (in order) for the most-coveted individual trophy in college football.
Heisman Trophy finalists for 2022 will be named on Dec. 5, which is the same day as the voting deadline. The ceremony will take place Saturday, Dec. 10 when the winner is announced.
Here are the top 12 favorites with their odds to win the Heisman Trophy by season’s end. (Note: a $100 bet would win $200 for +200 odds, and $2,500 for +2500 odds, etc.)
+200 — CJ Stroud (QB, Ohio State) +400 — Bryce Young (QB, Alabama) +600 — Caleb Williams (QB, USC) +2500 — DJ Uiagalelei (QB, Clemson) +3000 — Will Anderson Jr. (OLB, Alabama) +3000 — Dillon Gabriel (QB, Oklahoma) +4000 — TreVeyon Henderson (RB, Ohio State) +4000 — Tyler Van Dyke (QB, Miami) +4000 — Bijan Robinson (RB, Texas) +5000 — Quinn Ewers (QB, Texas) +5000 — Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, Ohio State) +5000 — Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, Alabama)
Note: Newsweek deputy editor Scott McDonald is a voting member with the Heisman Trust, and the preseason odds do not necessarily reflect how he will vote at the end of the season.
