Heisman Trophy 2023 Winner Odds, Favorites & Predictions

In a little over two weeks, the 2023 college football season will get underway when longtime rivals Notre Dame and Navy kick things off in Dublin, Ireland. That matchup will feature a couple of notable debuts. Navy head coach Brian Newberry will be making his head-coaching debut, while new Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, will be looking for a winning start with the Fighting Irish.

Hartman is one of many who will be aiming to stand in the way of some history in 2023. To date, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, who won the award in 1975 and 1976, remains the only two-time and back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner.

Many famous names in college football have had a chance to match Griffin’s achievement but were unable to do so. This year, USC quarterback Caleb Williams will take his crack at doing so.

Last season, Williams tallied 544 first-place votes and 2,031 total points, beating out TCU QB Max Duggan by 611 points. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett rounded out the top four, while 2021 winner Bryce Young finished sixth.

Of the top six finishers in 2022 Heisman Trophy voting–Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker finished fifth–Williams is the only returnee. But while he is a firm favorite, there are a lot of players with the potential to help Griffin maintain his hold on history for at least one more year.

Most of those players are quarterbacks, which you will see with both Heisman Trophy and NFL MVP odds.

Odds to Win the 2023 Heisman Trophy

Odds are via BetUS as of Thursday, August 10, 2023.

• Caleb Williams, QB, USC +550
• Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas +1200
• Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU +1200
• Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State +1400
• Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson +1400
• Bo Nix, QB, Oregon +1600
• Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington +1600
• Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina +1600
• Sam Hartman, QB, Notre Dame +1600
• Carson Beck, QB, Georgia +1800
• J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan +1800
• Kyle McCord, QB, Ohio State +2000
• Drew Allar, QB, Penn State +2500
• Joe Milton, QB, Tennessee +2500
• Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State +2500
• Blake Corum, RB, Michigan +2800

Who Are the Top Heisman Trophy Candidates This Year?

2023 Heisman Trophy Favorites

Caleb Williams, QB, USC

If Williams doesn’t repeat this year, it likely won’t be because of his own performance.

Even if he compiles comparable or better numbers on the way to helping USC reach the College Football Playoff, someone could outperform him.

Also, you do have to wonder about hesitancy on the part of Heisman Trophy voters. Will they do something that has been done only once in almost nine decades? He may have to be truly spectacular numbers to put that possibility beyond doubt.

Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

Daniels has the potential to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards, which could earn him a trip to New York, at minimum.

But his candidacy will be contingent on how he and LSU navigate a schedule that sees them face Florida State in Orlando to open the season and travel to Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Alabama in SEC action.

Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State

Speaking of FSU, the Seminoles are getting a lot of love as a potential College Football Playoff team this season. Travis is a big reason for it after making a big leap in 2022.

After facing LSU and then visiting Clemson on September 23, the schedule is quite favorable for FSU. If they can win those two games, running the table becomes a real possibility.

If that happens, Travis will almost certainly be on a plane to New York in December.

Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

Will Nix be able to follow his fantastic 2022 season? He accounted for over 4,000 yards and 44 total touchdowns last season and bypassed the NFL Draft after late-season losses to Washington and Oregon State ended Oregon’s Pac-12 title and CFP chances, as well his potential to be a Heisman finalist.

This year, he and the Ducks have a much more favorable season opener than last season’s opener against Georgia. So, that certainly doesn’t hurt.

But this year’s schedule features road games against Texas Tech, Washington, and Utah, as well as home games against USC and Oregon State. All of those teams are ranked in the recently released Coaches Poll.

Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington

When former Fresno State coach Kalen DeBoer was hired at Washington, there was a lot of speculation Jake Haener would go with him. Instead, Haener stayed at Fresno State. Penix, meanwhile, transferred in from Indiana to battle Dylan Morris and Sam Huard for the starting job after a disappointing 2021 season.

Penix won the job and promptly threw for over 4,600 yards and 31 touchdowns in leading the Huskies to an 11-2 season. That more than erased the stink of the brief and disastrous Jimmy Lake era.

Thanks to that success, Penix finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. He is the second-highest returnee behind Corum, who finished seventh.

Provided Washington doesn’t trip up before November–their toughest games before then are their season opener against Boise State and a trip to Michigan State on September 16–Penix’s Heisman hopes will be defined by a three-week stretch in November, in which the Huskies visit USC, host Utah, then visit Oregon State.

Other Possible Heisman Candidates

All of the above candidates are there because they are proven commodities who play for potential contenders.

But much is expected of Klubnik, Allar, Beck, and McCord, who are short on experience but high on potential. At least one of them, if not more, is likely to be in the Heisman conversation deep into the season.

Ewers had some notable ugly moments last season, but the expectation is that both he and Texas will be much better this season. Given the amount of false hope that has been attached to the Longhorns in recent years, any high hopes for Ewers come with a lot of caution.

The same can be said for Hartman and Notre Dame. Over his last two seasons at Wake Forest, Hartman threw for 7,929 yards and 77 touchdowns but also threw 26 interceptions.

If the interceptions go down and the accuracy goes up–his career completion percentage is 59.1%–he will give the Irish a chance to make some noise in a schedule that sees them visit North Carolina State and Clemson and host Ohio State and USC.

2023 Heisman Trophy Predictions

Heisman Trophy Winner Prediction: Caleb Williams, QB, USC

Obviously, history is not on Williams’s side.

All recent winners who had a chance to repeat the following season had some sort of drop-off, whether in their own success or their team’s success. Sustaining success for consecutive seasons isn’t easy as an individual or a team.

The second half of the season will make or break things for Williams and the Trojans (at Notre Dame and Oregon, vs Washington, Utah, and UCLA, as well as the Pac-12 title game).

But USC’s offense should overwhelm most teams, even after losing leading rusher Travis Dye and leading receiver Jordan Addison.

If they are better on the defensive side of the ball after struggles in that area cost them dearly in their three losses in 2022, they will be in the CFP mix for the duration. If Williams puts up big numbers all the while, it will be hard to justify knocking him off of his preseason spot as the Heisman Trophy favorite.

Where to Bet on College Football

Most top online sportsbooks offer a wide variety of college football odds throughout the season. In addition to being able to make weekly college football picks all the way from Week Zero to the College Football Playoff National Championship, you can also bet on Heisman Trophy odds, conference championship odds, win totals, and much more.

• Bovada

Along with BetUS, where the Heisman odds in this article are from, there are plenty of sports betting sites you can choose from that are good for college football betting. The above books are some of the others that we highly recommend.