2023 Heisman Trophy Odds Tracker, Week 8: Michael Penix Jr.'s massive lead is far from safe
Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2023 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back every Tuesday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. All odds via BetMGM. Past weeks here: Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7.
Well, it’s over, folks. We can skip the ceremony in New York and forget about tallying the votes.
Michael Penix Jr. is your 2023 Heisman Trophy winner. Oddsmakers — and more than a few pundits — have declared it so after Washington’s thrilling victory over Oregon on Saturday.
There’s just one teeny tiny flaw with their logic: After seven weeks last season, C.J. Stroud was the overwhelmingly clear favorite at -125. Eventual-winner Caleb Williams somehow held the third-best odds at +1200.
It turns out, in fact, the Heisman race does not end by Week 8. Instead it’s where things really begin to get interesting. Don’t take this the wrong way. Penix has absolutely captured the nation and narrative so far. He deserves all the attention that’s come his way. But if we’re doing a blind resume read through Week 7, it becomes obvious just how close this race actually is.
Take a look at the eight quarterbacks with the best odds to win the Heisman right now. See if you can figure out who’s who:
| Player | Games | Passing Yards | Completion Percentage | Passing Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rushing Yards | Rushing Touchdowns | QB Rating | Strength of schedule |
| 1 | 7 | 2,021 | 70% | 23 | 4 | 116 | 6 | 187 | 57 |
| 2 | 7 | 1,512 | 78.2% | 14 | 3 | 160 | 3 | 195.9 | 113 |
| 3 | 6 | 1,796 | 79.2% | 17 | 1 | 101 | 1 | 178.2 | 49 |
| 4 | 6 | 2,301 | 72.1% | 20 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 189.9 | 48 |
| 5 | 6 | 1,902 | 68.9% | 12 | 4 | 184 | 4 | 159.1 | 82 |
| 6 | 6 | 1,482 | 63.2% | 13 | 1 | 114 | 4 | 154.1 | 44 |
| 7 | 7 | 2,294 | 73.1% | 22 | 3 | 515 | 4 | 197.7 | 4 |
| 8 | 7 | 2,147 | 73.6% | 12 | 4 | 50 | 3 | 163.8 | 102 |
| 9 | 6 | 1,878 | 72.3% | 16 | 2 | 208 | 5 | 178.2 | 39 |
The answers are below
All of which is to say that if you were waiting for a week to buy the dip on a quarterback who is still in the Heisman race, this is your moment.
College fans know all too well that they don’t give out awards during the season for good reason. And we’re going to keep rolling out the top 10 favorites to win the trophy right now because any one of them could still take the lead. All it takes is one bad (or great) game from another player on this list, a new narrative emerging or an injury scare — as unfortunate as they are.
Let’s get into it.
Answers: 1 Caleb Williams, 2 J.J. McCarthy, 3. Bo Nix, 4 Michael Penix Jr., 5 Drake Maye, 6 Jordan Travis, 7 Jayden Daniels, 8 Carson Beck, 9 Dillon Gabriel.