Great College Football Future Bet to Win 2023 Heisman Trophy

While most eyes are on USC and quarterback Caleb Williams, there’s another Pac-12 QB who has enjoyed a phenomenal start to the season and that’s Washington lefty Michael Penix Jr.

The No. 8-ranked Huskies are 3-0, with blowouts over Boise State, Tulsa, and Michigan State (avg. win margin: 34.7 points), and it all starts with Penix Jr.

The senior’s gaudy passing stats: 1,332 yards, 74.3 completion rate, 12 touchdowns and only one interception.

This has made Penix Jr. the number two betting favorite to win this year’s Heisman, just below Williams, who’s trying to win back-to-back awards.

Washington wideouts Rome Odunze (22 catches, 419 yards, 2 TDs), Jalen McMillan (20 catches, 311 yards, 3 TDs) and Ja'Lynn Polk (13 catches, 300 yards, 2 TDs) form the top receiving trio in the country.

Under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer, the Huskies have been unstoppable on offense.

Before the season, I wrote this:

“Washington, meanwhile, is my pick to win the extremely competitive Pac-12 this season over favorites USC, Utah and Oregon.

Why?

Because this Huskies team is loaded on both sides of the ball and could have four first-round draft picks – edge rushers Zion Tupuola-Fetui and Bralen Trice, wide receiver Rome Odunze and, crucially, top-notch quarterback Michael Penix Jr. – in next year’s NFL Draft.

That’s crazy.

Plus, Washington’s schedule is reasonable and the Huskies could have a shot at making the four-team CFP.”

I still think that’s still a real possibility but the Huskies’ schedule gets considerably tougher – just like everyone else’s in this year’s stacked Pac-12 conference.

But back to those Heisman odds.

The odds I’m using are from FanDuel Sportsbook, one of our favorite sports betting sites among many, including DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM. And good news: All of them, along with others, accept PayPal and/or Venmo.

FanDuel Sportsbook’s Odds to win 2023 Heisman Trophy

Caleb Williams +350

Michael Penix Jr. +480

Quinn Ewers +550

Sam Hartman +1000

Jordan Travis +1200

Bo Nix +2000

J.J. McCarthy +2500

Jayden Daniels +2500

Shedeur Sanders +2500

Dillon Gabriel +2500

Tyler Van Dyke +3000

Marvin Harrison Jr. +3500

Drew Allar +4000

Drake Maye +4000

Kyle McCord +5000

Blake Corum +5000

Carson Beck +6000

Audric Estime +6000

Conner Weigman +8000

Jalon Daniels +8000

DJ Uiagalelei +8000

Riley Leonard +10000

Dante Moore +10000

TreVeyon Henderson +10000

Jaxson Dart +12000

Joe Milton +12000

I should have mentioned Penix Jr. as one of my dark horse Heisman picks since his odds have gone from +1600 to +480 in just three weeks.

But I wanted to stick with just two last month and I’m still pleased with my choices. Sam Hartman’s odds have gone from +1500 to +1000 and Jordan Travis' from +1400 to +1200.

We’ll find out plenty this weekend when Hartman and Notre Dame host Ohio State and Travis' Florida State bunch head to Death Valley to play Clemson.

Penix Jr. and his Huskies, meanwhile, have two more easy games coming up:

This Saturday (Sept. 23) at home against Cal and then at Arizona a week later (Sept. 30). That’s two straight games for Penix Jr. to pad his already incredible stats and I suspect he’ll do just that.

After that, the Huskies face some serious tests in conference play: Oregon (at home Oct. 14), USC (in SoCal Nov. 4), Utah (at home Nov. 11), Oregon State (in Corvallis Nov. 18) and then the Apple Cup at home against Washington State to close out the season on Nov. 25.

That’s um, brutal, but so is every other team’s slate.

USC faces Coach Prime and Colorado in Boulder (Sept. 30), plays at Notre Dame (Oct. 14), hosts Utah (Oct. 21), also hosts Washington (Nov. 4), travels to Oregon (Nov. 11) and finishes the year at home against crosstown rival UCLA (Nov. 18).

That won’t be easy, but it’s not a terrible slate with three of their last five huge games at home.

But if I had to make a call right now, I’m going with Hartman to win the Heisman.

The Fighting Irish’s two toughest games left are coming right up and they’re huge, but both are also at home: This Saturday night’s showdown (Sept. 23, 5:30 p.m., NBC) and then the battle against USC (Oct. 14).

I think Hartman, the Wake Forest transfer who’s been a divine intervention at football’s most important position for the Irish, will play well in both games. If Notre Dame wins each of those games, he likely will overtake both Williams and Penix Jr. – as well as Texas Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers – as the frontrunner.

As always, good luck out there in the wild world of gambling and please bet responsibly.