The off-field “situation” into which Jameis Winston has found himself thrust has had at least a minimal impact on the way one wagering website views his chances of winning the most prestigious award in college football.
In addition to being the overwhelming favorite of actual Heisman voters, the Florida State was an overwhelming favorite of Bovada.lv a week ago with 1/5 odds. After the revelation a week ago that a long-dormant complaint of alleged sexual assault against Winston had been forwarded to a state’s attorney and an investigation opened, the redshirt freshman’s Heisman odds dropped slightly to 4/11.
Johnny Manziel, on the other hand, continued his steady climb after a “turbulent” offseason. Prior to the resolution to his infamous autograph case, Manziel was at 15/1; Bovada currently puts the reigning Heisman winner’s odds at 5/2, up from 4/1 a week ago.
The only other players that appear on Bovada‘s Heisman board are Alabama’s AJ McCarron (13/2) and Baylor’s Bryce Petty (10/1). Those are shorter odds for both -- 7/1 last week for the former, 20/1 for the latter.
And, no, I have no idea why Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, who was considered the Heisman front-runner by this very service just a couple of weeks ago and the prohibitive favorite a month ago, is not listed on their board.
Based solely on stats, Mariota certainly deserves to at least be part of the discussion, gambling and otherwise.
