Three Cards Listed in Updated 2020 Heisman Trophy Odds
The race for the 2020 Heisman Trophy has gotten a little bit tighter, albeit for all the wrong reasons.
With the Big Ten & Pac-12 making the decision to postpone all fall sports as well as other conferences, countless candidates for the most prestigious individual award in college football are now no longer in the running - including mid-summer favorite Ohio State QB Justin Fields.
That being said, it has made way for a few Louisville Cardinals to climb up the board. Per BetOnline.ag's updated odds to take home the 2020 Heisman Trophy, quarterback Micale Cunningham is now listed at 66/1 with running back Javian Hawkins & wide receiver Tutu Atwell both at 75/1. Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is now the odds-on favorite at 2/1.
Earlier this offseason, all three players were named to the watch list for the 2020 Maxwell Award, as well as to the watch lists for their respective position. Cunningham was named to the 2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award watch list, Hawkins was recognized on the 2020 Doak Walker Award watch list, then the 2020 Biletnikoff Award Preseason watch list included Atwell.
Over 12 games and 11 starts, Cunningham threw for 2,061 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 482 yards and six scores as Louisville went 8-5 and placed second in the ACC Atlantic Division. His completion percentage of 62.36% ranked as the fifth-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and had his passing efficiency of 194.79 qualified nationally (he needed to attempt just two more passes), it would have been second only to Heisman Winner & No. 1 overall 2020 NFL Draft pick Joe Burrow.
After appearing in just three games and carrying the ball one time for seven yards before taking a redshirt in 2018, Hawkins ranked seventh in the nation in rushing with 1,525 yards as well as nine touchdowns last season. He not only broke the freshman rushing record for a running back held by Victor Anderson, but also the school single-season rushing record for a running back held by Howard Stevens.
Like Cunningham & Hawkins, Atwell had an incredible breakout year under year one of head coach Scott Satterfield. He recorded 1,276 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns in 2019, both of which led the ACC. Not only was his yardage mark eighth in the nation, but it broke the single-season school record previously held by Harry Douglas' 1,265 yards in 2007. His 12 touchdowns also ties a single-season school record with Ibn Green in 1998 & DeVante Parker in 2014.
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