Not only did USC’s loss to Stanford take the shine off the Trojans in the eyes of the oddsmakers as a team, it also had an impact individually for one of the pivotal characters in the defeat.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley, a 3-1 favorite entering the season, now sits at 5/1 in Bovada.com‘s odds to win the 2012 Heisman. The new favorite? West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith at 5/2; he was at 8-1 prior to the start of the new season.
Putting Smith up as the favorite makes sense after three weeks as the senior is second in the country in QB rating; third in passing yards per game; first in completion percentage, with the same amount of incompletions as touchdowns (nine); and tied for fourth in scoring passes, all the while not throwing an interception in his 75 attempts thus far.
The player who’s taken the biggest tumble since the final preseason odds were released is Montee Ball. The Wisconsin running back entered 2012 as with 6/1 odds to win the Heisman, second behind Barkley. After rushing for just 320 yards and two touchdowns -- and averaging just 3.8 yards per carry -- Ball has seen those odds tumble to 30/1.
Below are the complete set of 2012 Heisman odds, courtesy of Bovada.com and with the preseason odds listed in parentheses:
Geno Smith -- West Virginia -- QB -- 5/2 (8/1)
Matt Barkley -- USC - QB -- 5/1 (3/1)
De’Anthony Thomas -- Oregon -- RB -- 15/2 (20/1)
Landry Jones -- Oklahoma -- QB -- 15/1 (8/1)
Collin Klein -- Kansas State -- QB -- 15/1 (75/1)
Braxton Miller -- Ohio State -- QB -- 15/1 (65/1)
Le’Veon Bell -- Michigan State -- RB -- 15/1 (125/1)
EJ Manuel -- Florida State -- QB -- 18/1 (30/1)
Denard Robinson -- Michigan -- QB -- 20/1 (15/2)
Aaron Murray -- Georgia -- QB -- 20/1 (15/1)
Marcus Lattimore -- South Carolina -- RB -- 20/1 (18/1)
Tajh Boyd -- Clemson -- QB -- 20/1 (45/1)
AJ McCarron -- Alabama -- QB -- 28/1 (22/1)
Montee Ball -- Wisconsin -- RB -- 30/1 (6/1)
Taylor Martinez -- Nebraska -- QB -- 30/1 (80/1)