Finding value in 2014/15 Heisman Lines
While the current buzz is about World Cup soccer, football fans of the pro and college ranks are starting to salivate, as summer means that football talk and projections are heating up.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at a few candidates for the 2014 Heisman Trophy for best player in college football. Can Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston retain his hardware, or will a new contender wrest it from him?
All Odds from Bovada
JAMEIS WINSTON, QB, Florida State (5/2)
All the standard reasoning suggests to us that Winston is a prime candidate to repeat as Heisman Trophy winner; he is the top player returning to the consensus #1 team in the nation. Yet, real life often gets in the way of standard rationality.
Basically, it’s tricky enough to repeat as a two-time Heisman winner (hasn’t happened since Ohio State RB Archie Griffin did it in 1974 and ’75) without brushing against legal trouble. Accusations of sexual assault and shoplifting seafood certainly tarnish Winston’s image in the eyes of voters.
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All the same, Winston made things look easy as a freshman last year, and the FSU Seminoles have the requisite pieces to make Winston’s smooth stewardship of the offense a two-time occurrence.
MARCUS MARIOTA, QB, Oregon (5/1)
Many were surprised when the super-athletic Mariota did not declare for the NFL Draft this past offseason. He has the physical tools to have been a desired commodity even with the glut of QB prospects available.
However, barring unforeseen injury the decision to return to Oregon was the right one for Mariota. In 2013 he had 3,665 passing yards, 715 yards on the ground and a 31-4 TD/INT ratio. Pretty awesome stats, and he’s got a chance to at least match them in a Ducks uniform this season.
Oregon had a couple of fluky losses to Stanford and Arizona last season; Mariota will have to tidy those up if he’s to bring home the hardware in New York this time around.
MELVIN GORDON, RB, Wisconsin (18/1)
This award goes to the best player in the collegiate ranks and quite simply, Gordon made playing running back look extremely easy in 2013. The Badgers were blessed with depth at the position last year, with the graduated James White also providing an explosive threat behind Gordon.
Still, the sophomore amassed 1,609 rushing yards to go with 12 TDs last season. If the offensive line is as strong as usual in Madison, Gordon could close in on 2,000 yards this year.
There are other RBs that deserve consideration (Georgia’s Todd Gurley and Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon come to mind) but Gordon is a phenom and if he can help Wisconsin keep pace with Ohio State in the Big Ten, he’ll be in the mix at the end of the season.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy 2014:
- Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State 5/2
- Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon 5/1
- Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State 11/2
- Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor 10/1
- Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia 12/1
- Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA 14/1
- Everett Golson, QB, Notre Dame 14/1
- T.J. Yeldon, RB, Alabama 14/1
- Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin 18/1
- Mike Davis, RB, South Carolina 18/1
- Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State 25/1
- Nick Marshall, QB, Auburn 25/1
- Trevor Knight, QB, Oklahoma 25/1
- Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska 28/1
- Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama 28/1
- Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State 28/1
- Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State 28/1
- Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State 33/1
- Duke Johnson, RB, Miami-Fl 33/1
- Karlos Williams, RB, Florida State 33/1
- Myles Jack, LB, UCLA 33/1
- Matt Johnson, QB, Bowling Green 66/1
- Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall 66/1
Odds provided by Bovada
