Top 5 College Quarterbacks

Are you missing your football fix? Are you counting down the days until kickoff? Are you itching to take to the gridiron against the bookies?

BettingSports.com knows how you feel. But with 19 weekends between now and the start of the college football season, we’re all going to have to wait a little longer.

Rather than let you wallow in your own self-pity though, we’ve had a rummage through the sportsbook to see what the early lines are.

As you might imagine, after an undefeated season Florida State tops the college football futures list with 9/2 odds of winning the first post-BCS era title. Defending a championship is a tough task, which means looking down the list is heartily recommended at this point.

Beyond the futures list though, online sportsbook Bovada is offering early Heisman Trophy odds. Of course, with a quarterback having won the trophy in four straight seasons – not to mention 12 times since 2000 – quarterbacks feature prominently on the list.

As such, we’ve picked out the top five QBs according to the bookmakers.

5. Brett Hundley (UCLA)

Hundley led UCLA to a 10-3 record and an Alamo Bowl victory in his sophomore season, but the Bruins will be looking to do better this coming season. Currently ranked 14th in ESPN’s recruitment rankings, many prognosticators expect the team to compete for a Pac-12 title this season, and perhaps even the National Championship. How far the Bruins make it will likely depend on how Hundley fairs. Another season like his first two – he has combined for 6,811 yards and 53 touchdowns – would have to be considered a success.

Last year: 14 games / 3,740 yards / 29 TD / 11 INT / 66.5 % completion / 748 yards, 11 TD (rushing)

Current odds to win Heisman Trophy: 14/1

4. Bryce Petty (Baylor)

Petty posted some gaudy numbers (4,200 yards with just three interceptions!) a season ago as Baylor (11-2) snuck up on the rest of the Big 12 and stole the title and a place in the Fiesta Bowl. Big things are expected from Oklahoma – ranked fifth with the bookmakers right now – this season which could knock the Bears back a few pegs. Even if Petty has another monster year, a Heisman trophy rarely goes to a conference runner up.

Last year: 13 games / 4,200 yards / 32 TD / 3 INT / 62.0% completion / 209 yards, 14 TD (rushing)

Current odds to win Heisman Trophy: 10/1

3. Braxton Miller (Ohio State)

Leading Ohio State (12-2) to an undefeated regular season and finishing fifth in Heisman voting was more than enough to have Miller punching his NFL ticket, but the 21-year-old elected to stick around for his senior year, which is good news for Urban Meyer and everybody else in Columbus. Miller has combined for 6,472 all-purpose yards (4,133 passing, 2,339 rushing) over the past two years. The average would represent another quality year and be enough to at least be included in the Heisman conversation. But are the Buckeyes good enough to threaten for a title and in turn strengthen Miller’s case? The bookmakers think so; OSU is currently fourth on the futures list and fourth gets you into the playoff picture this year.

Last year: 12 games / 2,094 yards / 24 TD / 7 INT / 63.5% completion / 1,068 yards, 12 TD (rushing)

Current odds to win Heisman Trophy: 11/2

2. Marcus Mariota (Oregon)

Mariota followed a breakout freshman year with almost 4,000 passing yards and a 31-4 touchdown-interception ratio. Not bad but not enough to join the Heisman conversation. Mariota’s main obstacle was the fact that Oregon (11-2) got very little respect, and lost its two biggest games of the year. However, with year two under Mark Helfrich looming, the Ducks look like a title contender, and Mariota looks like he’ll be the engine once more. While those odds are short, the junior from Honolulu looks good from this vantage point.

Last year: 13 games / 3,665 yards / 31 TD / 4 INT / 63.5% completion / 715 yards, 9 TD (rushing)

Current odds to win Heisman Trophy: 5/1

1. Jameis Winston (Florida State)

Winston was a no-brainer when it came to last year’s Heisman voting. After all, he led Florida State (14-0) to an undefeated season and its third national championship. But after a dynamic freshman year, how will the 6-foot-4 triggerman fair in his sophomore year and, perhaps more importantly, how much of his focus will be on the NFL? While he’s the bookies’ favorite, Winston isn’t likely to see much attention from bettors for one simple reason; it’s been nearly 40 years since Archie Griffin picked up consecutive Heisman awards in 1974 and 1975, and nobody’s done it since.

Last year: 14 games / 4,057 yards / 40 TD / 10 INT / 219 yards, 4 TD (rushing)

Current odds to win Heisman Trophy: 5/2

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Of course, betting on the Heisman trophy this early on in proceedings essentially makes it a crap shoot. That’s part of the fun though, right?

The past two awards have been snapped up by headline-making freshman QBs; Winston last year and Johnny Manziel the season before. Are we in for a frosh hat trick? Maybe it’s time to start paying close attention to those spring quarterback battles.

Next week BettingSports.com will bring you a rundown of the top five running backs according to the bookmakers.

All Heisman odds quoted come courtesy of Bovada.

All statistics quoted come courtesy of Sports Reference.