There’s a no leader in the Heisman Trophy clubhouse, according to Bovada. It should come as no surprise given how the weekend of college football just went down, but Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has taken over the lead on the Heisman Trophy board from Bovada. He replaces Penn State running back Saquon Barkley as the favorite according to the sports book.
Mayfield set a school record for passing yards in a shootout win over Oklahoma State. Mayfield has now led the Sooners to two good quality wins on the road against Ohio State and Oklahoma State and has the Sooners in position to make a push for the Big 12 championship and, potentially, into the College Football Playoff. He will be tested this week against TCU, but Mayfield’s big day came at the best possible time to seize the Heisman Trophy momentum.
Barkley saw his 15-game touchdown streak snapped in Penn State’s loss at Michigan State, the second loss in a row for the Nittany Lions. Bryce Love of Stanford didn’t have a big game in a loss against Washington State, and JT Barrett followed up a Heisman-worthy performance against Penn State with a dud against Iowa. Mayfield outdid Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and Notre Dame running back Josh Adams was taken out of the game early after minimal production due to an injury concern against Wake Forest.
As of Monday, the odds for the Heisman Trophy, which include last year’s winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville, look like this...
Latest Heisman odds from @Bovada:
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) November 6, 2017
Mayfield -175
Barkley +150
Adams +800
Love +1000
Rudolph +2800
Barrett +3300
Jackson +4000
The top spot in the Heisman odds has changed a couple of times this season, although Barkley has been holding to the top spot for a while. If Mayfield follows up last week with another good showing in a win against TCU, there will not be much standing in the way to slow him down in the final weeks of the season. Barkley will need some big performances against weaker opponents (Rutgers, Nebraska, Maryland) to stand a chance of catching him as Penn State is out of the playoff hunt.