2025 Heisman Trophy odds, picks and predictions
Last season, dual-threat WR/CB Travis Hunter of the Colorado Buffaloes took home the hardware, finishing ahead of runner-up Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty in the voting.
With Hunter being selected No. 2 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2025 NFL Draft, Ohio State RB Archie Griffin's record as the only consecutive Heisman winner (1974 & '75) in college football history remains safe. However, we'll have a very familiar name vying for college football's top prize in 2025.
Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning (+600) is the early favorite -- or chalk -- to hoist the Heisman, looking to become the first member of his prestigious family to hoist the trophy. His grandfather Archie Manning (Ole Miss) and his uncles Peyton Manning (Tennessee) and Eli Manning (Ole Miss) certainly made plenty of headlines in college football -- and in the SEC -- in their playing days. Peyton was the Heisman runner-up in 1997 behind Michigan's Charles Woodson, while Eli finished third in 2003 behind winner Jason White of Oklahoma and Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald. Grandpa Archie was third in 1970 when Stanford's Jim Plunkett won and Notre Dame's Joe Theismann finished second.
Those were then. This is now. So, let's take a look at the best bets for the 2025 Heisman Trophy as the favorites in the preseason don't always end up in the same spot after a full season. Sometimes, we get player to come out of nowhere to rise up and take the top prize.
2025 Heisman Trophy odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Last updated Thursday, July 17, at 11:28 p.m. ET.
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2025 Heisman Trophy picks / best bets
(*-FanDuel Sportsbook lists Manning at +700)
Manning is the chalk, and he will have a well-funded public relations campaign as well as having one of the most famous names in all of sports. If you thought the Shedeur Sanders hype train was too much at Colorado last year, watch out.
Manning showed last season, in glimpses when taking over from QB Quinn Ewers, that he isn't just a big name with no skill. He threw for 939 yards with 9 TDs against 2 interceptions last season, including a 26-of-31 performance for 325 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs in a 35-13 victory over Mississippi State in late September. He also rushed for 4 TDs on 25 carries last season, occasionally getting his name called when the Longhorns needed a few yards for a first down or score.
Manning completed 61-of-90 passes and was sacked 6 times last season, so that's something to watch. He might not be quite as cement-legged as Uncle Peyton, but he isn't going to confuse anyone for Michael Vick, either.
Manning's 2025 Heisman Trophy campaign could get derailed before it even begins if he stubs his toe badly at Ohio State in the opener on Aug. 30. If he lights up the defending national champs, the hype could rise to insane levels.
The Tigers won the ACC Championship Game and made the 12-team playoff as the final seed only to get ousted in the opening round by the fifth-seeded Longhorns 38-24 in Austin, Texas. Clemson finished 10-4 and Klubnik was a huge part of the success.
However, it was a complete disaster in the season opener as Clemson was overmatched and pounded 34-3 by No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta. That type of early season loss can't happen again. Klubnik and his Tigers host LSU and the No. 2 favorite in the Heisman race in QB Garrett Nussmeier in their season opener Aug. 30.
Klubnik is a player many NFL scouts are salivating about. There are whispers he could potentially be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. After the LSU game, the schedule opens up for Klubnik and Clemson, with few tests until road trips to Louisville (Nov. 14) and South Carolina (season finale Nov. 29). There is also a visit to Chapel Hill when the Tigers face Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels (Oct. 4).
(*-FanDuel lists Smith at +1300)
It's unusual for a wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy, but it has happened. In fact, it happened last season with Hunter in Colorado, although it was due to his work on both sides of the ball. You only need to look to 2020, when Alabama's DeVonta Smith was the last true wide receiver to win the award. Prior to that, though, it was 1991 when Michigan WR/KR Desmond Howard won the award from the position.
Smith put up massive numbers in his freshman campaign, bursting onto the scene with 76 receptions, 1,315 yards and 15 TDs, helping lead the Buckeyes to the national championship. He did all of that working with QB Will Howard, who was a good, but not great, quarterback -- and now with the Pittsburgh Steelers after being selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
This season, Smith will be working with QB Julian Sayin, a signal caller with a much higher ceiling and pedigree, so could we see even more improvement from Smith? Smith won't have the luxury of WR Emeka Egbuka (drafted in the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) on the other side of the field to take some pressure off. The super sophomore will be facing the best cover man week in and week out, but it might not matter.
(*-FanDuel lists Johnson at +5000)
If you really want to go deep on the list, looking for that dark-horse candidate to come out of nowhere, let's take a look at K-State's Johnson.
Johnson's emergence under center in Manhattan made the aforementioned Howard expendable for the Wildcats in 2024, thus his move to Columbus to win a title with the Buckeyes. It worked out for everybody.
The Kansas-born Johnson completed 58.3% of his pass attempts for 2,712 yards and 25 TDs against 10 picks last season. He also finished with 605 yards and 7 TDs rushing. It was his second consecutive season running for 7 scores.
If Johnson is able to cut down the miscues, and perhaps lead his team to a ranking and very few losses, he could sneak into the picture. The non-conference schedule (North Dakota, Army) isn't terribly challenging, while the toughest road games might be Arizona (Sept. 12), Baylor (Oct. 4), rival Kansas (Oct. 25) and Utah (Nov. 22), none of which is against the monsters of the college football landscape.
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