Nothing has actually happened in college football since Tua Tagovailoa‘s 41-yard rainbow landed in DeVonta Smith‘s hands to win Alabama the 2017 national title, but that hasn’t stopped fans from laying bets on the 2018 Heisman winner.
According to the updated odds released Monday by LVSuperBook, Stanford running back Bryce Love is still the favorite, trailed by Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor -- same as the initial 2018 odds and the most recent update. Love opened at 7-to-1, moved to 5-to-1 last month and sits at 6-to-1 today. Taylor started at 8-to-1, increased to 7-to-1 last month and is now back at where he started, 8-to-1.
But those runners have been joined by the man who ended the 2017 season: Tagovailoa. After starting in fourth place (10-to-1) and remaining there in June, Tagovailoa is now level with Taylor at 8-to-1.
Tagovailoa’s ascent has come at the expense of Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate, who started in third place at 9-to-1 and is now among a gaggle of fourth-place contenders at 15-to-1.
6-to-1: Love
8-to-1: Tagovailoa, Taylor
15-to-1: Georgia QB Jake Fromm, Oregon QB Justin Hebert, Penn State QB Trace McSorley, Tate
18-to-1: Alabama RB Damien Harris
20-to-1: Washington QB Jake Browning, Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins, West Virginia QB Will Grier, Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray, Michigan QB Shea Patterson, Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham, Georgia RB D’Andre Swift
Vegas -- or, at least, those who give their money to Vegas -- is banking on Heisman voters breaking form in a major way by riding with Love as the favorite. The last non-Alabama running back to win the Heisman was USC’s Reggie Bush in 2005, and the last one before that was Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne in 1999. Meanwhile, no Alabama quarterback has ever won the Heisman.
Love is the nation’s leading returning rusher, carrying 263 times for 2,118 yards (8.05 a pop, the most for any player with at least 200 carries) and 19 touchdowns. Taylor ranks just behind Love with 1,977 yards and 13 touchdowns on 299 totes. Tagovailoa completed 49-of-77 passes for 636 yards with 11 touchdowns against two interceptions while rushing 27 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns; though the sophomore appeared in nine games in 2017, he has yet to start one.