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Along with releasing its final preseason College Football Playoff championship odds, online sportsbook Bovada issued its updated 2014 Heisman Trophy odds on Wednesday. Wisconsin running Melvin Gordon is tied for the fourth-highest with Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall and Baylor's Bryce Petty. Only three players are ahead of them -- defending Heisman winner and Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley.
So much of Gordon's candidacy seems to hinge on Saturday's season-opener vs. LSU. That, by far, is the Badgers' biggest game of the season, and a standout performance against an elite SEC team would do wonders in raising Gordon's national profile. Wisconsin, as you may have heard, also has a very weak-on-paper schedule this season, providing an another opportunity for Gordon to amass some incredible numbers.
B5Q's Sam Brief examined Gordon's Heisman candidacy earlier this week. As Sam explained, there is some historical precedent for identifying Gordon as a favorite to head to New York as a finalist for college football's most renowned trophy.
Alabama's Mark Ingram was the last non-quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy when he took the honors to Tuscaloosa in 2009.
It's worth noting that his statistics that season weren't far off from Gordon's 2013 numbers. On 271 carries, Ingram rushed for 1,658 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, numbers not too far ahead of Gordon's 1,609 yards and 12 touchdowns on 206 attempts.
Melvin Gordon’s 2013 numbers weren’t far off from Mark Ingram’s Heisman-winning campaign in 2009. Gordon is also expected to command between 20 and 25 percent more carries than he did last year. Mark Ingram in 2009 Att Yds Avg TD 271 1,658 6.1 17 Melvin Gordon in 2013 Att Yds Avg TD 206 1,609 7.8 12 In today’s air-oriented college football landscape, it will be tough for him to take down frontrunners like Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota in the Heisman race, but it’s clear that the redshirt junior has a legitimate shot at scoring an invitation to the ceremony in December.
Below are the complete Heisman odds released by Bovada on Wednesday.
| Odds to win the 2014 Heisman Trophy, per Bovada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Odds on 1/24/14 | Odds on 8/5/14 | Current Odds | |
| Jameis Winston (QB Florida State) | 2/1 | 9/2 | 9/2 |
| Marcus Mariota (QB Oregon) | 7/2 | 6/1 | 5/1 |
| Brett Hundley (QB UCLA) | 12/1 | 14/1 | 10/1 |
| Melvin Gordon (RB Wisconsin) | 16/1 | 16/1 | 12/1 |
| Nick Marshall (QB Auburn) | 9/1 | 16/1 | 12/1 |
| Bryce Petty (QB Baylor) | 6/1 | 12/1 | 12/1 |
| Todd Gurley (RB Georgia) | 12/1 | 14/1 | 14/1 |
| Trevor Knight (QB Oklahoma) | 25/1 | 18/1 | 18/1 |
| Everett Golson (Notre Dame) | 25/1 | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| Derrick Henry (RB Alabama) | Off the Board | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| T.J. Yeldon (RB Alabama) | 5/1 | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| Connor Cook (QB Michigan State) | Off the Board | 40/1 | 25/1 |
| Ameer Abdullah (RB Nebraska) | Off the Board | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Mike Davis (RB South Carolina) | 15/1 | 28/1 | 33/1 |
| Leonard Fournette RB (LSU) | Off the Board | 66/1 | 33/1 |
| Duke Johnson (RB Miami) | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Karlos Williams (RB Florida State) | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Myles Jack (LB UCLA) | Off the Board | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Rakeem Cato (QB Marshall) | 66/1 | 75/1 | 50/1 |
| Jacob Coker QB (Alabama) | Off the Board | 50/1 | 50/1 |
| Christian Hackenberg QB (Penn State) | Off the Board | 50/1 | 50/1 |
| Sean Mannion (QB Oregon State) | Off the Board | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| Dak Prescott (QB Mississippi State) | Off the Board | 50/1 | 50/1 |
| Javorius Allen RB (USC) | Off the Board | 66/1 | 66/1 |
| Cody Kessler QB (USC) | Off the Board | 50/1 | 66/1 |
| Thomas Tyner RB (Oregon) | Off the Board | 66/1 | 66/1 |
| Kyle Allen (QB Texas A&M) | Off the Board | Off the Board | 100/1 |
| Devin Gardner (QB Michigan) | Off the Board | Off the Board | 100/1 |
| Matt Johnson (QB Bowling Green) | 66/1 | 100/1 | 100/1 |
| Taylor Kelly (QB Arizona State) | Off the Board | 100/1 | 100/1 |
| Braxton Miller (QB Ohio State) | 4/1 | 15/2 | Off the Board |