The Ohio State Buckeyes not only beat TCU in a top-15, Texas-sized showdown in primetime last Saturday night, but it was also the most-watched game of the year so far. With 8.7 million viewers, plenty of college football fans were able to take in the new-look Buckeyes’ offense led by quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
With so much exposure and while helping lead Ohio State to their biggest non-conference win of the season, the gunslinger’s odds to win the Heisman Trophy (surprisingly) remained the same following Week 3, according to Bovada. Although his odds to win college football’s most prestigious award at season’s end remained steady, he climbed from the third-best odds to the second best, tying West Virginia quarterback Will Grier at 13-to-2. Both of which are far behind Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has been the favorite since the preseason and currently has 7-to-4 odds.
Whether it was Haskins’ arm — throwing for 344 yards and two touchdowns while completing 24-of-38 passes — or his legs — rushing for eight yards and a touchdown — the quarterback was able to showcase his full arsenal, one that consists of an NFL-ready arm that can throw it throughout all different parts of the field at any given time.
Acting head coach Ryan Day was impressed with the way his quarterback played against TCU.
“This was a test to see where he was at. I thought he passed. There were a couple times he scrambled, took a shot,” Day said. “He scored on the pull down in the red zone, took a couple hits on a couple sacks early in the game, hung in there, made some big throws, and, again, worked through some adversity along the way.”
While Haskins jumped to No. 2 in the list, running back J.K. Dobbins made sure that he wasn’t the only Buckeye in the top 10. Consider among the top 10 prior to the season, Dobbins’ odds took quite a hit during the first two weeks of the season, falling all the way to 50-to-1 following the second week of the season. It wasn’t because he isn’t talented, but the fact that he shares carries and playing time with a talent like Mike Weber, along with many quarterbacks stealing the Heisman spotlight so far this fall, Dobbins’ odds continued to fall.
With his impressive performance against TCU and much of the college football landscape able to watch him play Saturday night, the sophomore jumped into the top-10 Heisman odds ahead of Week 4, all the way up to No. 7, actually. He may not have scored a touchdown, but with 18 carries for 121 yards, carries that included showing off his speed, elusiveness, and ability to break open even if nothing looked available, Dobbins made a name for himself (again) Saturday night and college football seemingly took notice.
The top-10 Heisman odds
- QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama: 7-to-4
- QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State: 13-to-2
- QB Will Grier, West Virginia: 13-to-2
- QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma: 19-to-2
- RB Johnathan Taylor, Wisconsin: 10-to-1
- QB Trace McSorley, Penn State: 16-to-1
- RB J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State: 20-to-1
- RB Bryce Love, Stanford: 2o-to-1
- QB McKenzie Milton, UCF: 25-to-1
- RB D’Andre Swift, Georgia: 25-to-1
Due to him being a defensive end and the fact that he was injured during the win against TCU and is expected to miss some time, Nick Bosa has fallen out of the rankings. He may be the best player in college football, but odds were against the defensive end from the start. Even he has acknowledged that.
For those that are keeping track of that team, Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson currently sits at 33-to-1, which is good for the 13th-best odds. After his odds increased following Week 2, they took quite a fall this past weekend, dropping from 20-to-1, which was previously the 11th-best in the country.