Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have put a vice-grip on the Heisman Trophy with his four-touchdown performance in the Hoosiers’ blowout win over Wisconsin on Saturday.
The junior moved from being a co-favorite at +175 along with Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin at BetMGM last week to the -115 favorite on Monday. That’s well ahead of Sayin, who had another strong outing in the Buckeyes’ 48-10 trouncing of UCLA.
Sayin now has 25 touchdowns against four interceptions on the season, but he is at the helm of an offense chock full of NFL talent. Mendoza has thrown 30 TDs against five interceptions and his monster game in the 31-7 win over the Badgers came on the heels of what might have been his “Heisman moment” with a game-winning touchdown at Penn State.
The only other player with shorter than +2200 odds is Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, who remained in the conversation at +500 after leading the Aggies’ massive second-half comeback against South Carolina.
Mendoza is the -105 favorite at DraftKings, followed by Sayin at +170, Reed at +500 and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia at +1500.
HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 12, CURRENT
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (+175), (-115)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+175), (+225)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+750), (+500)
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt (+12500), (+2500), (+2200)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+3000), (+2500)
Haynes King, QB Georgia Tech (+9000), (+10000), (+3500)
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+4000), (+4000)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+2500), (+6600)
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech (N/A), (N/A), (+12500)
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (+5500) (+550), (+15000)
*BetMGM
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who nosed into the favorite spot earlier this month, saw his Heisman hopes dashed with the Crimson Tide’s second loss of the season. He is now a +15000 longshot after throwing just his second interception of the season in a 23-21 home loss to Oklahoma.
The public got behind Simpson’s steady rise from a preseason longshot. He is currently the book’s biggest liability, having been backed by the most money at 15.5% ahead of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore at 12.1%. Moore is the book’s third-biggest liability, with Smith second. The Ohio State wide receiver leads the way with 8.5% of all bets placed on this year’s Heisman winner.
Sportsbooks stand to make out well in this year’s Heisman market. Quarterbacks Arch Manning (Texas), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Carson Beck (Miami), John Mateer (Oklahoma), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) and Moore are no longer part of the picture after spending time atop the list at various points during the season.
Meanwhile, Mendoza has drawn a modest 5.7% of all bets since opening as a +5500 longshot. He has one regular-season game remaining at Purdue, which will take a nine-game losing streak into the Nov. 28 game.
