With five weeks remaining in the regular season, all signs point to Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson as the overwhelming favorite to take home the 2016 Heisman Trophy. There are still at least two players, though, who could have a significant say in the stiff-armed race before it’s all said and done.
In early October, Jabrill Peppers, Michigan’s do-it-all, all-purpose star, was 33/1 to win the 2016 Heisman according to Bovada.lv. Last week, those odds dropped to 15/2; this week, coming off yet another highlight-filled performance,they’ve shortened even further and now stand at 9/2.
That’s 15/2-to-9/2 move is the same one-week move as Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, although both still lag significantly behind Jackson at 1/3. The sophomore was at 1/3 a week ago as well.
To put the current state of the race into perspective, at this time last year the ultimate winner of the 2015 Heisman, Alabama running back Derrick Henry, stood at 2/5. Watson, another finalist for last year’s award, was at 3/1. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, the third finalist and runner-up to Henry, was a longshot at 50/1.
Just four other players are on Bovada‘s board this time this year, and all four have longer odds than a week ago: Washington quarterback Jake Browning at 10/1 (20/1 Oct. 24), Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett at 33/1 (12/1), Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts at 33/1 (22/1) and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook at 50/1 (40/1).