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Spencer Rattler Holding Steady in Preseason Heisman Odds

Rattler's odds stayed 12/1 as he moved from up a spot by oddsmaker SuperBookUSA, but history shows preseason favorites almost never take home the award
John E. Hoover|
Spencer Rattler Holding Steady in Preseason Heisman Odds
Spencer Rattler Holding Steady in Preseason Heisman Odds

Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler didn’t move up so much as Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman moved down.

Those are according to the latest Heisman Trophy odds, provided by SuperBookUSA.

Rattler has been static with most sports books as a 12/1 favorite to win the Heisman, behind Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.

But Newman, the Wake Forest transfer expected to start at Georgia, has slipped from his 10/1 previous offering to now 16/1.

Rattler — who still needs to formally beat out Tanner Mordecai to be declared the Sooners’ starter — is holding steady at 12/1.

When SuperBookUSA first provided betting odds on the 2020 Heisman race in January, Rattler was 12/1 — ahead of Newman at 14/1.

Offseason betting odds make for entertaining conversation, but the reality is that Heisman favorites seldom pan out.

The last two years, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow both came from well off the front page to win sport’s most prestigious trophy. Murray was 12th before the 2018 season with 22/1 odds, and Burrow was not widely offered going into 2019, although some books had him at 200/1.

At 7/1, Baker Mayfield was third on some lists going into 2017 behind Sam Darnold and Saquon Barkley, but Mayfield had been a Heisman finalist in 2016.

Lamar Jackson came from nowhere as a 100/1 long shot to win in 2016. Derrick Henry was 25/1 in 2015. Marcus Mariota was 7/1 in 2014. Jameis Winston was 33/1 in 2013. Johnny Manziel wasn’t on the board in 2012. In 2011, Robert Griffin won despite starting the year 28/1. And in both 2010 and 2009, Cam Newton and Mark Ingram both started the season off the board.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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