Heisman 2023 Odds: Tips on the Favorites and Best Values for Week 3

The college football world could learn more about the contenders to Caleb Williams in the Heisman Trophy race in Week 3.

A handful of top-tier programs start conference play on Saturday. Those games should give us a better look at how some unknown quarterbacks will perform.

Penn State's Drew Allar and Tennessee's Joe Milton should come under more focus in their first true road games of the season.

Georgia's Carson Beck will get his first taste of life as a starting quarterback in SEC play, when the Bulldogs host the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Williams is the clear favorite to repeat as Heisman winner through two weeks, but his list of challenges is growing.

Colorado's Shedeur Sanders made noise in Weeks 1 and 2 and Quinn Ewers' name should be brought up more after the Texas Longhorns beat the Alabama Crimson Tide on the road.

Heisman Trophy Odds

Tim Warner/Getty Images

AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 02: Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the game against the Rice Owls at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

For the latest Heisman Trophy odds, visit DraftKings

Caleb Williams (+400; bet $100 to win $400)

Jordan Travis (+900)

Michael Penix Jr. (+900)

Quinn Ewers (+1000)

JJ McCarthy (+1600)

Sam Hartman (+2000)

Shedeur Sanders (+2000)

Bo Nix (+2000)

Drew Allar (+2000)

Marvin Harrison Jr. (+2800)

Jayden Daniels (+3000)

Carson Beck (+3000)

Dillon Gabriel (+3000)

Joe Milton (+3500)

Favorites

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams (13) throws during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Stanford in Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The Heisman conversation starts with Williams until he does not put up amazing totals, or the USC Trojans fall flat in Pac-12 play.

Both of those things may not happen based on the first three games played by Lincoln Riley's side.

Williams has 878 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He had 278 passing yards and four touchdowns in just one half of action against the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday.

The USC quarterback holds an early edge over all of his competition because the Trojans played in Week 0. That advantage will go away in Week 3 with USC off before back-to-back road games against the Arizona State Sun Devils and Colorado Buffaloes.

Williams' head-to-head showdown with Sanders and Colorado will be the biggest game for the Heisman conversation in September.

Sanders gained immediate traction in the Heisman race through Colorado's road win over the TCU Horned Frogs in Week 1.

We will not learn anything new about the Colorado quarterback in Week 3's matchup with the Colorado State Rams.

The same can be said about Ewers and Texas, who host the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday night.

Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is the only player with low Heisman odds who could increase the talk around him in Week 3 since the Huskies visit the Michigan State Spartans.

However, Washington is expected to win that game by multiple touchdowns, which means there are already high stat totals expected out of the left-handed quarterback.

Best Values

Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 02: Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton III (7) runs the ball during a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Cavaliers on September 2, 2023, at Nissan Stadium, in Nashville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Week 3 presents some opportunities for potential Heisman finalists to show off their talents.

Allar and Penn State open Big Ten play away from home against Illinois, while Milton and Tennessee travel to Florida.

The pair of quarterbacks put up solid numbers through two weeks, but everyone expected them to do that against weaker opposition.

Allar and Milton each played a weak Power Five foe in Week 1 and then an FCS opponent in Week 2.

Neither player will catapult ahead of Williams, Ewers or Penix with a big game, but their odds may shift a bit if they put up massive passing numbers on the road.

Georgia's Beck and LSU's Jaylen Daniels will come into focus in Week 3 as well, as their respective teams open up SEC play.

Daniels faces a potentially difficult road game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, while Beck needs to be strong at home to avoid an upset from the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Daniels is at a disadvantage because LSU suffered a Week 1 loss, but with how wide open the SEC West looks after the losses by Alabama and Texas A&M in Week 2, he could play his way right back into the Heisman conversation.

Beck just needs to prove he can get the job consistently at Georgia. Stetson Bennett, UGA's previous quarterback, was never viewed as a Heisman favorite, but Beck can change that perception if he carries the Bulldogs throughout SEC play, where they may not lose a game.

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