Heisman Trophy odds 2025: Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier lead SEC QB-heavy field

The Heisman Trophy favorite has two career starts. 

That is one indicator of the Arch Manning effect at Texas. The redshirt sophomore quarterback is the odds-on favorite for the 2025 Heisman Trophy heading into his first season as a full-time starter. 

Manning flashed that five-star talent in small doses last season, but that’s a big leap to a Heisman Trophy. Can he get there? The big stages will be there. Texas opens against No. 3 Ohio State. The Longhorns will face No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 11. Trips to No. 15 Florida (Oct. 4) and No. 5 Georgia (Nov. 15) highlight the rest of the SEC schedules. Manning will face all that with four new starters on the offensive line. 

MORE: Sporting News 2025 Preseason All-America Team

It's a lot – but Manning has the popular vote to start the season ahead of a crop of talented SEC quarterbacks that includes LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers. 

What about the family history? Archie Manning had two top-five Heisman seasons with Ole Miss. He finished fourth in 1969 and third in 1970. Peyton Manning had three top-10 seasons at Tennessee. He finished sixth in 1995, eighth in 1996 and second in 1997. Eli Manning finished third at Ole Miss in 2003. 

Will Arch Manning be the first Manning to win the Heisman Trophy? 

Here is a look at the current Heisman Trophy odds, the top contenders, sleepers and longshots heading into the 2025 college football season (Odds according to Caesars): 

SN QB RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | Big 12 | ACC

Current Heisman Trophy Odds

A look at the latest Heisman Trophy odds, according to Caesars. A total of 12 players have Heisman odds of +2000 or better:      

Best Heisman Trophy favorites 

Here is a closer look at the top six candidates in the Heisman Trophy race for 2025: 

Arch Manning, QB, Texas (+500) 

2024 stats: 939 yards, 67.8%, 9 TDs, 2 INTs 

The wait is over. Manning is the betting favorite to start the season, and the odds will be even more favorable if he leads the Longhorns past the Buckeyes in Week 1. Manning averaged 28.7 rushing yards per game with two TDs against UTSA, UL-Monroe and Mississippi State. 

MORE: Arch suited to handle being sport's biggest star since Tim Tebow

Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU (+700) 

2024 stats: 4,052 yards, 64.2%, 29 TDs, 12 INTs 

Nussmeier leads all returning FBS quarterbacks in passing yards, and he is a high-volume passer who will put up huge numbers for the Tigers this season. The opener at Clemson is a chance to make that first Heisman statement. Could he follow Joe Burrow (2019) and Jayden Daniels (2023) as the third LSU Heisman Trophy winner in seven seasons? 

Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson (+800) 

2024 stats: 3,639 yards, 63.4%, 36 TDs, 6 INTs 

Klubnik – a three-year starter – is the top returning QB outside the SEC. He can make that case in regular-season games against LSU and South Carolina. Klubnik averaged 255.4 yards per game with 21 TDs and three interceptions in ACC play last season. Deshaun Watson finished second in the Heisman voting in 2016. Trevor Lawrence finished second in 2020. Can Klubnik be the Tigers’ first Heisman winner?

LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina (+1000) 

2024 stats: 2,534 yards, 65.6%, 18 TDs, 7 INTs 

Sellers also rushed for 674 yards and seven TDs. He’s a popular Heisman pick, and with good reason. Sellers had six games with at least a 70% completion percentage last season, and he played well against ranked teams. If he can push South Carolina into the CFP, then he will have a chance. 

Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1000) 

2024 stats: 76 catches, 1,315 yards, 17.3 ypc., 15 TDs

This is value knowing Smith – a 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore, is widely considered the best player in college football and a future No. 1 pick. The trick is whether he gets enough production while sharing with Ohio State’s other receivers. Smith can make an opening statement against Texas and a closing argument against Michigan. That is a great path. 

Drew Allar, QB, Penn State (+1500) 

2024 stats: 3,327 yards, 66.5%, 24 TDs, 8 INTs 

Allar is a three-year starter on a top-five team, and he is safe knowing he has 53 TDs and 10 interceptions for his career. Allar has to perform well against Oregon (Sept. 27) and Ohio State (Nov. 1) to have a chance. Remember Penn State’s last unbeaten season in 1994? Ki-Jana Carter finished second and Kerry Collins finished fourth. Keep that in mind with Nick Singleton (+20000).

MORE: CFP projections | Bowl projections | Composite preseason Top 25

Best Heisman Trophy sleepers 

Here is a closer look at four sleepers for the Heisman Trophy – players with odds at either +2000 or +2500: 

John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma (+2000) 

2024 stats: 3,129 yards, 64.6%, 29 TDs, 7 INTs 

Mateer added 826 yards and 15 TDs at Washington State last season, and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is coming with Mateer to Oklahoma. That SEC schedule – and an early-season test against Michigan – makes Mateer one of the most-popular early-season Heisman sleepers. That could reach a high point heading into the Red River Rivalry. 

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DJ Lagway, QB, Florida (+2000) 

2024 stats: 1,915 passing yards, 59.9%, 12 TDs, 9 INTs 

Lagway is the fifth SEC quarterback on this list, and he has seven games against teams that are ranked in the top 25. That includes head-to-head matchups with LSU (Sept. 13) and Texas (Oct. 4) in the first five games. That means duels with Manning and Nussmeier. We’ll know by midseason whether Lagway will stick in the race. 

Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama (+2500) 

2024 stats: 48 catches, 865 yards, 18.0 ypc., 8 TDs 

Williams had 16 catches for 462 yards – an average of 28.9 yards per catch – with five TDs in four September games last season. If he can maintain that production through a full season with first-year starter Ty Simpson, then a DeVonta Smith-like run to the Heisman is possible.

Best Heisman Trophy longshots   

Here are three players with odds at +3000 or more that could get into the Heisman Trophy mix: 

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+3000) 

2024 stats: 163 attempts, 1,125 yards, 6.9 ypc., 17 TDs 

Love should be higher on this list, right? He is one of the most exciting players in college football, and the Irish are going to be in the College Football Playoff mix. So, what’s the issue? Will Love get enough carries? Derrick Henry is the last running back to win the Heisman Trophy, and that was in 2015. Henry had 2,219 yards and 28 TDs that season. That’s almost double the yardage Love had in 2024. 

Devon Dampier, QB, Utah (+5000) 

2024 stats: 2,768 yards, 57.9%, 12 TDs, 12 INTs 

Dampier transfers from New Mexico, where he had 1,166 rushing yards and 19 TDs last season. That number has our attention knowing quarterbacks such as Cam Newton (2010), Johnny Manziel (2012), Lamar Jackson (2016), Kyler Murray (2018) and Jayden Daniels (2018) won the Heisman with 1,000-plus yards rushing. If Dampier can put up those numbers and lead Utah to a Big 12 championship, then he could emerge as that out-of-nowhere player. 

Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech (+6000) 

2024 stats: 2,114 passing yards, 72.9%, 14 TDs, 2 INTs 

King also had 587 rushing yards and 11 TDs. If the Yellow Jackets make a playoff push out of the ACC, then King could endear himself to Heisman voters with his all-effort play – which we saw in the Georgia thriller last year. The Yellow Jackets have a spotlight game in the Friday night opener at Colorado, too. 

When is the Heisman Trophy Ceremony?

The Heisman Trophy will be awarded on Dec. 13, 2025; one week after the conference championship games. The ceremony will be televised at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.