Saquon Barkley Enters Week 5 as Heisman Trophy Favorite
The Penn State Nittany Lions are 13-1 straight up and 11-1-2 against the spread over their last 14 games. As the Nittany Lions continue to dominate, star running back Saquon Barkley's stock continues to rise.
Barkley is now the betting favorite on the odds to win the Heisman Trophy at +175 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Penn State running back had hovered in the +700 to +900 range for the last few months, but that changed after he racked up a remarkable 305 total yards from scrimmage in the team's 21-19 win over Iowa last Saturday.
It seems pretty clear at this point that Barkley will not have to worry about splitting votes with Trace McSorley (+5000 to win the Heisman) and will put up Heisman-caliber numbers this season; the keys to locking up the trophy will be staying healthy and keeping the Nittany Lions in the win column.
Of course, six of the last seven players to win the Heisman Trophy were quarterbacks, so Barkley's spot as the Heisman favorite may be a vulnerable one. Baker Mayfield isn't far behind on the board at +300 to win the hardware, and he has a sterling 13-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio to go along with 1,329 passing yards through his first four games.
With Mason Rudolph (+700) and Lamar Jackson (+700) already having picked up a loss this season, Mayfield's undefeated record and big game at Ohio State separate him from the pack.
Sam Darnold (+700) is also still undefeated, though USC's 4-0 SU mark comes with a shaky 1-3 ATS record. Darnold has already thrown seven interceptions this year, but if he gets on track and USC keeps winning, the committee may have a short memory on his recent struggles.
Value hunters may want to keep their eye on other currently undefeated quarterbacks including Jalen Hurts (+3300), Luke Falk (+3300), and Jake Browning (+4000). If conference play forces some of the current favorites to slip up, guys like these could be in place to pick up the pieces.
Falk has a 14-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio with 1,378 passing yards this season, and his odds would likely rocket up if he can lead the Cougars to an upset win over USC this week.
For more info, picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the new OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes, or check it out at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
