Nearly 20% of Early Heisman Market Is Targeting the Ohio State Offense

With the 2026 college football season now officially on the horizon, many bettors are getting increasingly serious about preseason research and betting. 

At BetMGM, that means the futures markets are getting more crowded – and, theoretically, more efficient.

I’ve already written about the early 2026 Heisman Trophy odds market a few times. Most recently, I wrote about how Arch Manning’s failure to meet expectations in 2025 hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm to bet on his Heisman campaign in 2026. 

As of this writing, that remains unchanged. At BetMGM, Manning leads all players with 14.2% of the Heisman ticket share.

But there’s a multi-player plurality that is even bigger than Manning’s share of the market. That’s because a combined 18.3% are targeting key Ohio State offensive players to win the award.

Quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith are expected to be two of the best players in college football this year. After the season is over, they’ll be among the best players eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft.

Right now, Sayin is one of only three players with a Heisman ticket share of at least 10%. Smith is the No. 5 most popular Heisman bet – and the most popular non-quarterback – with 6.5% of tickets.

That’s nearly one in five Heisman bettors counting on a key figure in the Ohio State offense to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy.

You could do a lot worse than betting into this corner of Ohio State football odds. The Buckeyes are the early favorite in BetMGM’s college football national championship odds, and Sayin was an incredibly efficient player last year, considering Ohio State’s slow pace of play. He was a Heisman front-runner all the way to the end of the regular season, when eventual Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza led Indiana to a win against Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. 

Smith finished the year as the most popular Heisman ticket at BetMGM. He finished sixth in the Heisman voting, earning four first-place votes and 84 total points. 

Sayin finished fourth in the voting with 432 points.

It’s been 20 years since Troy Smith won Ohio State’s last Heisman Trophy, and it’s easy to argue that the Buckeyes are probably due in this department. The program has produced multiple championship teams and top draft picks, but the Heisman has eluded its top playmakers for two decades. The early attention on Sayin and Smith makes sense, given the player pedigree and how last year ended. 

But last year’s causes for bearishness also remain present. Each player’s greatness may take away from the other’s chances at the Heisman, since it’s hard to know where Sayin’s achievement stops and Smith’s greatness begins.

Frankly, that’s probably a major reason why these prices look more midrange than the chalky, market-topping figures a player like Manning has. 

This is a very strong preseason class of potential Heisman contenders, and several other players from contending teams could quickly make a leap toward Heisman favorite status. That includes Miami’s Darian Mensah, Indiana’s Josh Hoover, and LSU’s Sam Leavitt.

We also don’t know what the Ohio State offense will look like with Arthur Smith calling the plays this year, and the expanded, NIL-rich Big Ten is no longer just a shallow pool for Ohio State and Michigan. 

Sayin and Smith are both great players. If Ohio State lives up to the preseason market expectations, there’s a good chance one of them will lift Columbus’ first Heisman Trophy in 20 years.

But the market prices are telling a quiet story about the Heisman viability of both Ohio State players. Despite the fact that Sayin and Smith both finished in the top six for Heisman voting last year, and the other four players all left college football, they’re heaped in the midrange mix with a big grouping of other players. They’re noticeably back of the top of the market, longer than the co-favorites. 

One-fifth of the market likes an Ohio State player. But if you’re considering a Heisman bet, the best bets may be elsewhere on the board.