2026 Heisman Trophy betting odds: Favorites, contenders, future picks for Week 3 including Manning, Smith

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The Heisman Trophy got a lot more interesting this weekend when Arch Manning led Texas to a 20-point fourth quarter comeback over Jeremiah Smith and #1 Ohio State. Both players crack the top three this week and we have two drop outs from the top 10 — one as you can guess is Dante Moore after the Oregon Ducks lost at Oklahoma State as three touchdowns favorites! Heisman Trophy odds are courtesy of DraftKings. Let's get started!

Darian Mensah and Miami torched Florida A&M into a burnt crisp. The Hurricanes offense posted a school-record 856 yards and that comes with five minutes being shaved off the fourth quarter. Mensah didn't play the second half and sat the fourth against Stanford, so he has eight touchdowns and 653 yards through five quarters of action. Wake Forest is next on the schedule and they just allowed Purdue to throw for 329 yards and a touchdown on 32-of-42 passing.

Texas may have won the game, but Jeremiah Smith won the night! Smith had an extraordinary stat line for a top five matchup. He caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. Smith could have easily had 200-plus yards and three touchdowns if he and Julian Sayin could have connected on two tough contested catches in the end zone.

With Indiana, USC, Oregon, and Michigan on the schedule, Smith will have plenty of Heisman moments, but Ohio State will likely have to win at least three of those four games to win the Heisman.

Arch Manning led a 20-point comeback in the fourth quarter against the No. 1 team in the country at home. The game marked Texas' largest comeback since 2007 and the snapped a streak of 194-straight games the AP Poll team had won with a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter dating back to 2004. Manning led three touchdowns on the final three drives and went 8-for-11, with 91 total yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, Manning's performance in the first three quarters and the final stat line of 195 passing yards on 23-of-37, 24 rushing yards, and one touchdown to one interception wasn't pretty enough to put him No. 1 or No. 2. This is the best win of Manning's career though.

How do you follow up 12 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns in season opener? You get back in the end zone and stack 96 yards on top of four catches. Malachi Toney didn't have to do much against FCS Florida A&M, but with conference play back in action Friday at Wake Forest, expect Toney to be heavily involved in the game plan and find his way to the end zone again.

Toney had -900 odds to score against Florida A&M, which is the largest odds I've ever seen from a wide receiver professional or collegiate.

CJ Carr sat his first fourth quarter this season in the 52-0 routing of Rice. Notre Dame opened the game with a fumble returned for a touchdown on the second play of the game, then Carr extended the lead to 21-0 in the first quarter with two touchdown passes. Carr tied a career-high with four passing scores and was an efficient 16-of-20 (80%) through the air for 253 yards. Michigan State is up next and Purdue is on deck for Notre Dame. The Irish won't have a real challenge until they go to BYU on October 17. A loss before then would be shocking.

One of the weirdest stat lines you will see all week came from Josh Hoover. The Hoosiers quarterback completed six passes against Howard and four of those went for touchdowns! Hoover only threw the ball 11 times as Indiana dismantled Howard 55-0. Hoover obviously looks fine because how could anyone on Indiana not looked good in their 36 and 55-point wins? Over the next three games, Indiana hosts Western Kentucky and Northwestern, plus goes to Rutgers. That's a beautiful schedule to continue driving on cruise control before the real season begins.

Indiana will go on a six-game stretch versus Nebraska (A), Ohio State (H), Michigan (A), Minnesota (H), USC (H), and Washington (A). The Hoosiers will switched time zones, face some of the best defenses in the conference, and get a few top 25 opponents in that six-game and seven-week stretch.

USC has a big three forming. Jayden Maiava, King Miller, and Tre Mosley. The trio has been explosive through three games and Maiava has been close to perfect. USC scored a season-high 49 points against Louisiana as Maiava tossed a career-high five touchdowns and completed 19-of-29 passes for 261 yards. With Oregon losing to Oklahoma State, there is an opportunity for USC to leapfrog the Ducks this season if the Trojans beat Oregon in Los Angeles on September 26. Mark your calendars!

It was probably unfair for me to have Trinidad Chambliss out of the top 10 last week with guys like Dante Moore ahead of him, but we all make mistakes. After leading a game-winning drive versus Louisville following a defensive collapse from Ole Miss, Chambliss went 23-of-26 for 225 yards and two touchdowns against Charlotte.

Next up is LSU at home and Chambliss will face his former coach Lane Kiffin. Nobody knows Chambliss better than Kiffin, so it will be fun to see whether LSU sends the dogs and attacks Chambliss or if they attempt to spy him and keep him in the pocket.

Georgia scored 70 points on Western Kentucky and Gunner Stockton threw a career-high five touchdown passes tying a school record. Stockton is 28-of-32 (87.5%) on the season with eight touchdowns and 436 yards. He obviously played two cupcakes, but a road contest at Arkansas will allow Stockton to begin building his Heisman resume on what could be the most talented team in the country.

Julian Sayin looked like a lock to be top three in the Heisman rankings after leading Texas 20-3 at the half, but then the meltdown happened and he falls to No. 10 for me. In the second half, Ohio State's drives went as following: punt, made field goal, punt, punt, missed field goal, and interception. Ohio State managed 129 yards and three points in the second half.

Plainly, Sayin was unable to make enough plays in the second half to hold off Texas' momentum. Sayin's next potential Heisman moment will likely be at Indiana on Oct. 17. If Ohio State loses at Indiana, Sayin and Jeremiah Smith won't have a chance at the Heisman anymore.

Out of the Top 10

Dante Moore and the Ducks dropped a surprising contest at Oklahoma State on Saturday as -23.5 point favorites, which really damaged his Heisman case. Moore and Oregon barely survived Boise State in the opener, and despite not turning the ball over at Oklahoma State, Moore didn't make enough plays or gain enough yards. Moore threw for 191 yards and the Ducks had 281 as an offense getting outgained 554-281 in total yards. Oregon at USC on September 26 just became one of the most important games of the Big Ten's season.

Sam Leavitt threw three interceptions against Louisiana Tech, including two in the red zone and one that was returned for a touchdown, but he also ran for three touchdowns in the 45-14 win. Leavitt ended up throwing the ball 45 times and running it 11 for 56 total touches, 366 yards, four touchdowns and three turnovers. A win over Ole Miss could help his case, but with four interceptions through two games, turnovers may be an achilles heel for LSU and Leavitt.

New to the Top 10

Trinidad Chambliss or Sam Leavitt could be leaving next week in the top five for the Heisman and quite possibly their teams inside the top five of the AP Poll. It will be all-out war as LSU versus Ole Miss headline Week 3.

The other options for the final two spots would have to be either Kamari Taylor (+2500) of Mississippi State or Kevin Jennings (+4500) out of SMU. Stockton has been nearly perfect with four incompletions in two games and Georgia may be the best in the country, which is why I gave him the nod.

DraftKings Betting Odds Top 10	Vaughn Dalzell's Top 10
1. Darian Mensah (+550), Miami	1. Darian Mensah (+550), Miami
2. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (+700)	2. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (+700)
3. Arch Manning, Texas (+1000)	3. Arch Manning, Texas (+1000)
4. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (+1050)	4. Malachi Toney, Miami (+1300)
5. Malachi Toney, Miami (+1300)	5. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (+1050)
6. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (+1300)	6. Josh Hoover, Indiana (+1750)
7. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (+1500)	7. Jayden Maiava, USC (+1800)
8. Josh Hoover, Indiana (+1750)	8. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (+1300)
9. Jayden Maiava, USC (+1800)	9. Gunner Stockton, Georgia (+2500)
10. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State (+2500)	10. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (+1500)

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos

2026 Heisman Trophy betting odds: Favorites, contenders, future picks for Week 3 including Manning, Smith

Out of the Top 10

New to the Top 10

Archives