2016 Heisman Trophy Odds Update: Stanford's McCaffrey Leads Betting Favorites

Christian McCaffrey of the Stanford Cardinal came on late last season to finish second in Heisman Trophy voting behind winner Derrick Henry of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The two running backs beat out quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Clemson Tigers, who entered this year as one of the favorites before two underwhelming performances dropped him slightly to +500 (bet $100 to win $500) on the odds to win the Heisman Trophy this year behind favorite McCaffrey at +400, according sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

McCaffrey has picked up where he left off last season, when he broke the NCAA single-season all-purpose yardage record that Barry Sanders held for almost 30 years. While he has played just one game, he showed his abilities rushing (22 carries for 126 yards) and receiving (seven catches for 40 yards) while scoring two touchdowns in a 26-13 win over the Kansas State Wildcats in their season opener two weeks ago.

Next up is a Pac-12 matchup with the USC Trojans on Saturday, which should allow him to pile up more big numbers and help his cause as long as the Cardinal avoids getting upset.

Watson will also get the opportunity to pad his stats against the South Carolina State Bulldogs on Saturday, but three other top Heisman candidates will be playing in the same game when the Florida State Seminoles visit the Louisville Cardinals in an early ACC showdown. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson has been one of the fastest risers on the betting board, moving up to +600 after sitting at +5,000 on August 30.

Jackson is tied with another couple of signal-callers, Florida State’s Deondre Francois and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett, as the third choice behind McCaffrey and Watson at +600 on the Heisman Trophy odds. However, running back Dalvin Cook is also worth watching for the Seminoles at +1,000 since he was more highly regarded than Francois heading into the season.

Barrett will face one of his toughest tests of the young season for the Buckeyes when they visit the Oklahoma Sooners as well. He threw for 349 yards and six touchdowns in a 77-10 rout of the Bowling Green Falcons in their season opener and then rushed for 55 yards and two scores in a 48-3 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane last week.