College Football Odds: 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner prediction and pick

The College Football season is right around the corner, and a multitude of pass-catchers will be looking to come home with honors this year. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a special 20203 Fred Biletnikoff Award Winner prediction and pick.

Since 1994, each year the Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented to the top receiver in the nation by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. Named from former Florida State wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, the award is given each year to the player voted to be the top pass catcher, regardless of position, in FBS football.

The list of winners is a who's who of some of the best college football players to ever catch the ball. The first award was handed to Bobby Engram out of Penn State in 1994. Since then, players such as Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, and Calvin Johnson have won the award. Two players have come home with the honor twice as well. Michael Crabtree in 2007-08 and Justin Blackmon in 2010-11 both are two-time winners.

There will not be another two-time winner this year, but there are plenty of worthy candidates to look at for the award.

Here are the College Football Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award Winner

Marvin Harrison Jr: +200

Rome Odunze: +1200

Xavier Worthy: +1200

Emeka Egbuka: +1200

Brock Bowers: +1400

Jalen McMillan: +1500

Malik Nabers: +1500

Dorian Singer: +1500

Jacob Cowing: +2000

Keon Coleman: +2000

Evan Stewart: +2000

Troy Franklin: +2500

Mario Williams: +2500

Jermaine Burton: +2500

Johnny Wilson: +2500

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Favorites to Win 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award

Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State is the runaway favorite to win the award this year. The junior wide receiver is coming off a break-out season in 2022. He caught 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. That ranked him sixth in the nation in receiving yards and eighth in receiving yards per game. He was also fourth in the nation in receiving touchdowns and did this all as a sophomore. He ended up as a unanimous All-American and won the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year award while being a finalist for the award last year. There are two major hurdles for him to overcome to win. He will not have CJ Stroud at quarterback this year, and Ohio State has not named a starting quarterback. Second, he has to split some looks with Emeka Egbuka, who is also one of the top guys to win the award.

Egbuka is tied for second in odds with two other top pass catchers. Last year it was 1,151 yards for Ebuka with ten receiving touchdowns. That ranked him 19th in yards per game while sitting 13th in touchdowns in the nation. The junior wide receiver from Ohio State was a second-team All-Big Ten player last year and now is near the top of the odds to leap to being the best pass catcher in the nation. This would be a big jump going from the second option on a team and a second-team all-conference to winning the award, but it has happened. Marqise Lee did that from 2011 to 2012. Robert Woods was the top wideout going into 2012, after being a finalist for the award in 2011. Lee was a second-team All-Pac 12 player but got the award in 2012.

Rome Odunze is also a top candidate for the award. Last year he has 1,145 yards with seven touchdowns for Washington. The rising junior was tenth in the nation last year in receiving yards, but among the top ten receivers in yardage, he was ahead of only one other player in terms of scoring touchdowns. With Jalen McMillan still around, the touchdowns may be an issue again this year, as he led the team with nine. Still, he has a great returning quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Last year, Penix Jr. was second in FBS in passing yards while sitting tenth in passing touchdowns.

Xavier Worthy is next on the list for odds. While Worthy took a step back from 2021, with only 760 yards and nine touchdowns, he is still a solid candidate. Quinn Ewers missed time last year, and that resulted in Hudson Card taking over. Worthy's best games last year were when Ewers came back to the lineup. Further, one of his worst games last year was against TCU. He will not have to face the same level of corner this season, and he may be able to take a big step this year.

Rounding out the top finalists is Brock Bowers. A tight end has never won this award, but they have been close. In 2020 Kyle Pitts was a finalist for the award. He played in just eight games that year but had 770 yards for 12 touchdowns. Last year, Bowers had 942 yards for seven touchdowns. If Bowers can increase his yardage per game and touchdowns, he will have a great chance at this award. With Darnell Washington gone at tight end, and Kenny McIntosh not taking receptions out of the backfield, those statistics should increase this year.

Sleepers to Win 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award

Dorian Singer would be a solid pick to win the Biletnikoff Award this year. Singer is a transfer to USC this year from Arizona. Last year at Arizona, he caught 66 passes for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns. He had some huge games last year including a seven reception 141-yard and three-touchdown performance against USC. Last year he had three games in which he received for over 140 yards, with another game at 103 yards and one at 99 yards. He will come in and be asked to replace Jordan Addison, who went for 875 yards and eight scores. He also upgrades at quarterback, going from Jayden de Laura to Caleb Williams. That should give him a few more of those huge games, and make him a threat to win this award.

If Florida State is going to make the jump to where they want to go, Keon Coleman is going to have to be a part of that. Last year he went for 798 yards and seven touchdowns. That was at Michigan State though. There, he still had big games against tough defenses. He went for 155 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Michigan last year. He also did that with Payton Thorne throwing him the ball. One of the favorite predictions for the Heisman this year will be throwing to this Biletnikoff hopeful. Jordan Travis will be slinging the ball to him, which should boost his statistics and stature.

Final 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award Winner Prediction and Pick: 

The prediction for the Biletnikoff Award is that it will be a much tighter race for the award than the odds suggest. With Marvin Harrison Jr. sitting at just +200, it is a major risk to take him considering that he has to split receptions with Emega Egbuka and does not have an established quarterback. Meanwhile, it is also hard to bank on the first tight end ever winning the award, and Bowers also has some quarterback concerns. Further, only two transfers have ever won this award after transferring. That is Randy Moss, who was dismissed from Flordia State, and DeDe Westbrook who had to attend Blinn College due to grades. This leaves one clear choice, who has an established quarterback and was on the right trajectory to make this leap? The pick for the 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award is Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze.

Final 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award Winner Prediction and Pick: Rome Odunze (+1200)