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November 1, 2018Ohio State releases trailer for Blackout game against Nebraska
November 1, 2018Even though Dwayne Haskins watched college football from the comfort of his own couch this past weekend much like the rest of us, the Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback saw his odds to win the Heisman Trophy improve, just like the Buckeyes improved in the rankings as well.
With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season, there are now just nine candidates listed on Bovada:
- QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama: 4-to-11
- QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma: 333-to-100
- QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State: 9-to-1
- QB Shea Patterson, Michigan: 12-to-1
- RB Travis Etienne, Clemson: 16-to-1
- QB Will Grier, West Virginia: 18-to-1
- QB Trace McSorley, Penn State: 20-to-1
- QB McKenzie Milton, UCF: 2o-to-1
- QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson: 40-to-1
Honestly, I’m not sure how Haskins jumped from 12-to-1 to 9-to-1 without doing anything. Maybe it’s because there are only nine players listed? Maybe because the players behind him received less of the bets while he and the top-two received more? I truly don’t know, but it is what it is, I guess. The Buckeyes not only have to win out in order to keep their Playoff hopes alive, but they also have to do so in order to keep their quarterback among the top of the Heisman Trophy rankings as well. As of right now, he has the most passing yards and passing touchdowns among the top-three candidates, but it’s his five interceptions and a loss on his resume that hurts him the most.
Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa is still a well-deserved favorite by quite a bit, but at this point, anything is possible. When you add in the fact that the Crimson Tide have to travel to LSU to take on a No. 4-ranked Tigers team Saturday afternoon and so much is still up in the air, even if it seems obvious right now. Not only are Playoff implications on the line, but potentially some Heisman ones as well. Even after his four-touchdown performance at Alabama this past weekend, Tua’s odds remained the exact same, which is a bit of a surprise. His most remarkable stat this season: He’s yet to throw an interception. If he has yet another dominant game and leads Alabama to a win over LSU in Death Valley, he could potentially lock up the Heisman Trophy even with a few weeks remaining in the regular season.
The biggest jump in the odds this week seems to be Clemson’s Travis Etienne. Just a few shorts weeks ago, he wasn’t even listed. Now his 16-to-1 odds are the fifth-best in the country and only seem to be improving as the season rolls along. Considering the Tigers are currently the No. 2-ranked team in the country, if Lawrence and Etienne continue to do well, they will not only keep the Tigers among the top teams in the country, but each will continue to see their odds improve as well.
According to ESPN experts, Haskins sits in third in the Heisman rankings but is barely ahead of Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew. Haskins has 18 points while Minshew has 17. Tagovailoa is at the top of the list with 50 points (and all first-place votes).
It seems as though at this moment, Haskins has done enough to at least be in the top three, which is important considering the top-three vote-getters are invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. Even if he doesn’t win it, that would still be a cool moment both for him and Buckeye Nation.