Heisman Trophy Odds & Betting Favorites For 2026

Notre Dame QB CJ Carr is the +165 favorite to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy entering Week 11, followed by Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (+300) and Miami QB Darian Mensah (+300).

Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker (+1500) and Utah QB Devon Dampier (+1500) round out the top tier.

Week 10 results upended the late-season Heisman Trophy market, producing a new favorite and several surprisingly vulnerable frontrunners. I can’t remember a time when there was this much value down the board this late in the season. 

Bookmark this page, and read on for a name-by-name look at the developing market for college football’s top award.

Heisman Trophy Odds 2026

Heisman Trophy Odds 2026: Week 11 Heisman Watch

Week 10 delivered some of the season’s defining results, and those results have completely reshaped the Heisman Trophy odds market with only three Saturdays left in the regular season.

Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr is once again the short shot, just as he was in preseason. (In an upcoming section, I’ll explain why this market position is a wild overreaction.)

Mensah, the most popular market option since Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin’s injury, is still quite relevant. So is Jeremiah Smith, who was the odds-on favorite before Sayin got hurt.

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, who’s been a complete non-factor in the market up until now, was adjusted all the way down to 15-to-1 after the Utes’ rivalry win over BYU. Utah remains one of the last undefeated teams in college football. 

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton also took a big adjustment down – as I predicted last week – after a blowout win in Oxford.

Keep reading for player-specific analysis.

Heisman Odds: CJ Carr

CJ Carr, the Notre Dame quarterback, is currently +165 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Carr entered the season as the most popular Heisman bet. As of Nov. 2, he still accounts for 8.2% of all Heisman tickets at BetMGM, more than any individual player except Smith.

And as Carr engineered a critical Notre Dame win against Miami on Saturday – 319 passing yards, three touchdowns, 89.3 QBR – the market returned him to favorite status at the top of the market.

Notre Dame’s win over Miami is a critical development for the Fighting Irish, as it’s now functionally impossible for them to be left out of the 2026 College Football Playoff. But the market is also rolling that futures equity into Carr’s Heisman position, assuming the big Notre Dame win will launch Carr into a strong position.

In my opinion, this is a huge reach that massively overreads a single game result. In the Athletic’s Week 9 Heisman Straw Poll, Carr doesn’t register a single top-3 vote among any of the 26 sample voters. After one game, he’s suddenly going to be a top-end contender? 

And remember – Carr has no chance for an extra data point during conference championship week!

Given the limited opportunities Carr has had against top competition this year, I’m not even sure Carr will be invited to New York as a finalist. He simply cannot be a betting target for late-arriving Heisman bettors at a short price like this. 

Heisman Odds: Darian Mensah

Darian Mensah, the Miami (FL) quarterback, is currently +300 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Three days after his top weapon suffered an ankle injury in practice, Mensah completed just 56% of his passes as the Hurricanes lost for the first time this year. 

In a vacuum, Miami’s loss to Notre Dame is simply one result in a three-month season. But the result may also prompt voters to take a more sober look at what Mensah has done this year, which is to mostly beat up on bad ACC teams with Toney & Co.

Mensah leads all FBS quarterbacks with an 88.9 QBR, but he’s also just 1-1 against teams currently in the Top 25. 

Mensah remains a more likely finalist and winner than Carr, in my opinion. But at cost, Mensah is a less attractive candidate than some of the midrange options like Stockton and Dampier – both of whom have played and beaten far more impressive competition this year. 

Heisman Odds: Jeremiah Smith

Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State wide receiver, is currently +300 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Smith, who was a huge favorite to win the Heisman about a month ago, continues to backslide away from the top of the market. Since Luke Fahey entered the game for the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter of their Week 7 game at Indiana, Ohio State has been outscored 77-46. 

That includes Week 10, where the Buckeyes lost at home to Oregon, 41-28. 

But Smith hasn’t been a non-factor in this game. In fact, there have been times when Fahey force-feeds the ball to Smith. He finished the Oregon loss with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Nevertheless, Smith’s Heisman position continues to degrade. That could be because a lot of his recent production has come in garbage time, with the game already decided. 

More likely, though, is the fact that Heisman voters typically prefer great players from good teams, and Ohio State is now 6-3. 

If I had a vote, I would probably still vote for Smith. But with Ohio State now 6-3 and trending toward playoff irrelevance, the market assumption increasingly appears to be that voters will look somewhere else. 

That’s a shame. Smith is clearly the best player in college football, regardless of who’s playing quarterback for the Buckeyes. 

Heisman Odds: Malachi Toney

Malachi Toney, the Miami receiver, is currently off the board.

Toney is one of college football’s most electric playmakers this year, but he suffered an ankle injury three days before Miami’s showdown against Notre Dame in South Bend. Early reports are that he’s done for the regular season but will be available to return for the College Football Playoff. 

Toney was in a strong position to earn a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist and possibly win the award. Before the injury, he was +325 at BetMGM with 5.4% of all tickets.

At this point, it’s likely a dead ticket.

Heisman Odds: Devon Dampier

Devon Dampier, the Utah quarterback, is currently +1500 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Right now, there’s only one FBS quarterback who was the starter in Week 1 and whose team remains undefeated. That’s Dampier, who was 250-to-1 as recently as a couple weeks ago.

With Utah looking like a potential 13-0 conference champion that could grab the No. 1 seed in the playoff, the market has finally realized Dampier’s existence. After Utah’s win in Saturday’s Holy War game, Dampier was adjusted from 100-to-1 last week all the way down to 15-to-1. 

Dampier has thrown for 2,053 yards and 20 touchdowns, with an additional 480 yards and seven scores on the ground. He’s a senior, a dual-threat, and the quarterback of an undefeated team – all details that tend to implicate Heisman status.

If you’re only considering Dampier now, then you’ve obviously missed the best of the number. Still, at 15-to-1, Dampier remains a midrange candidate who’s very much in the mix as a Heisman contender and carries good value for at least one more week. 

Devon Dampier @ +1500

Heisman Odds: Drew Mestemaker

Drew Mestemaker, the Oklahoma State quarterback, is +1500 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Mestemaker ranks second nationally with 2,962 passing yards and is atop FBS with 29 passing touchdowns. His offensive prowess has made Oklahoma State a very fun mid-table Big 12 team, even if the defense can’t get stops.

He’s not going to win the 2026 Heisman, so this price point is all about market respect. Expect him to potentially open next season as a Heisman favorite. 

Heisman Odds: Gunner Stockton

Gunner Stockton, the Georgia quarterback, is currently +2500 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Stockton jumped back into major Heisman contention after Georgia’s 42-7 blowout win at Ole Miss on Saturday. But in truth, Stockton didn’t really do much. He threw four touchdown passes, but he ended the game just 9-for-15 with 186 passing yards. He also had six rushes for 28 yards.

This adjustment is best seen as a market correction. Georgia is now favored to win the national championship, and Stockton is a dual-threat quarterback leader on the team. Naturally, he’s going to be relevant in the Heisman market. As I’ve pointed out for weeks now, it was always a little crazy to have him priced as long as he was. 

This midrange price feels like a more appropriate number for Stockton. 

Gunner Stockton @ +2500

Heisman Odds: Keelon Russell

Keelon Russell, the Alabama quarterback, is currently +3000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Russell was overcorrected into longshot territory after Alabama’s back-to-back losses. After a road win at LSU, Alabama is moving in the right direction in the SEC standings again, and Russell is benefitting.

Like Stockton, this return to a midrange price is more of a correction to an inefficient market than an actual reaction to Russell’s Week 10 performance. But unlike Stockton, I find it hard to envision a path for the Alabama quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. 

At the very least, it would probably involve a win in the SEC Championship Game. 

Keelon Russell @ +3000

Heisman Odds: LaNorris Sellers

LaNorris Sellers, the South Carolina quarterback, is currently +5000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Sellers has been a preseason Heisman darling for multiple seasons, but he always seems to fall off the radar once the Gamecocks have to start winning games. That’s life in the SEC. 

Now that South Carolina has ripped off four straight wins and is ranked in the CFP Top 25, Sellers is getting more in-season Heisman respect than he has in recent memory. 

Keep an eye on Week 12, when South Carolina will host Georgia in Columbia.

LaNorris Sellers @ +5000

Heisman Odds: Trinidad Chambliss

Trinidad Chambliss, the Ole Miss quarterback, is currently +10000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Chambliss has been a Heisman-relevant quarterback all season, but the Georgia game felt like the end of his candidacy. Ole Miss took its third loss of the season, and Chambliss accounted for zero touchdowns, threw one pick, and was sacked four times.

Trinidad Chambliss (MIS) @ +10000

Heisman Odds: Sam Leavitt

Sam Leavitt, the LSU quarterback, is currently +15000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

The LSU quarterback will always be a popular Heisman target inside the state of Louisiana, but three losses with three weeks to go leaves Leavitt in longshot territory.

Sam Leavitt @ +15000

Heisman Odds: Gio Lopez

Gio Lopez, the Wake Forest quarterback, is currently +15000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

The Demon Deacons have been slicing their way through the ACC for most of the season, and journeyman NCAA quarterback Gio Lopez is a big reason why. Through Week 9, he’s thrown for 2,176 yards and 18 passing touchdowns, plus another 317 yards and six scores on the ground.

Gio Lopez @ +15000

Heisman Odds: Arch Manning

Arch Manning, the Texas quarterback, is currently +25000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Manning has been a popular preseason Heisman betting target for two straight seasons. But the nephew of Peyton and Eli simply has not been good enough to merit consideration. Bettors have been repeatedly blinded by his last name.

Arch Manning @ +25000

Heisman Odds: Jesse Legree

Jesse Legree, the Oregon State wide receiver, is currently +25000 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Legree – not Jeremiah Smith – leads all FBS players in receiving yards (1,209) and receiving touchdowns (14). 

With all that said, betting on an Oregon State freshman receiver to win the Heisman is probably not a great bet. 

Jesse Legree @ +25000

Heisman Favorites 2026: What to Know Before You Bet

Previous Heisman Trophy Winners