2012 Heisman Trophy Odds and Predictions: Favorites to Avoid

2012 NCAA Football Heisman Trophy Odds and Predictions – Favorites to Avoid Betting On: The Heisman Trophy is the most-prestigious individual honor that a college football player can win, and being named a frontrunner for the award prior to the start of the season can certainly help a player’s chances of taking home the hardware. After all, Heisman voters and the media know which players are being hyped as potential contenders, and their games are televised more and talked about more. That being said, being named as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy doesn’t guarantee that a player will be on stage in New York. Just last year, Andrew Luck was probably the most-hyped player in college football in a decade, but Baylor’s Robert Griffin III came out of nowhere to win the Heisman. With that in mind, here is a look at some of the players being touted as frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy in the 2012 college football season that have the potential to disappoint.

2012 NCAA Football Heisman Trophy Odds and Predictions – Favorites to Avoid Betting On

1.      Geno Smith, Quarterback, West Virginia, 11/2 odds

Smith has certainly produced eye-popping stats in his first two years as a full-time starter, throwing a combined 55 touchdowns compared to just 14 interceptions. He has also completed more than 65 percent of his passes for his career, and he is coming off a season when he topped 4,300 passing yards. With two great receivers returning in Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin and with the Mountaineers moving to the pass-happy Big 12, Smith should be in for another monster statistical season. The problem is that voters around the country know that a move to Big 12 can inflate any quarterback’s stats, and while QBs Jason White and Sam Bradford have both won the Heisman Trophy as members of the conference in recent years, they also led their teams to the national title game. Thanks to West Virginia’s shaky defense Smith is going to have a tough time doing the same in a conference full of teams that can score as well as the Mountaineers. The numbers will be there for Smith, but the wins won’t be.

2.      Tyler Wilson, Quarterback, Arkansas Razorbacks, 16/1 odds

When he was finally given the reins of the offense full time last year, Wilson responded by throwing for more than 3,600 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also helped Arkansas beat every opponent on its schedule with the exception of LSU and Alabama. Unfortunately for Wilson, the Tigers and the Crimson Tide are in the same division of the same conference as the Razorbacks. Arkansas was beaten handily by both teams last year, and with both programs still super talented, a similar outcome is likely in 2012. It doesn’t matter how great Wilson’s stats are in the other games, his performance against LSU and Alabama will decide his Heisman chances. There is just no way Wilson is going to win over the voters if the Razorbacks end up the third-best team in their own division once again. He picked the wrong time to be a really good QB in the SEC West.

3.      A.J. McCarron, Quarterback, Alabama Crimson Tide, 20/1 odds

All he did in his first year as starter at Alabama is lead the Crimson Tide to a national championship, completing almost 67 percent of his passes along the way. The problem is that McCarron didn’t lead Alabama as much as he managed the game. Sure, he looked great in the BCS title game and threw just five interceptions all season, but let’s face it. McCarron’s arm isn’t going to carry the Crimson Tide to back-to-back titles. If Alabama does repeat, it will be because of the power running game and the defense. Being the quarterback for one of the top teams in the country is certainly a recipe for winning the Heisman, but McCarron simply isn’t a big enough part of the Crimson Tide’s plan on offense to put up the numbers needed to win the award. There is a good chance that someone else could have been under center last year and Alabama’s defense and Trent Richardson’s legs would have still carried the team to the title. McCarron does what he is asked to do in Nick Saban’s system, but he isn’t the main reason this team has been or will be successful.

Odds to win the 2012 Heisman Trophy
4001 Aaron Murray +1200
4002 A J McCarron +2000
4003 Collin Klein +5000
4005 Dayne Crist +2000
4006 De’Anthony Thomas +2000
4007 Denard Robinson +650
4008 EJ Manuel +3000
4009 Geno Smith +800
4010 James Vandenberg +5000
4011 Keith Price +2800
4012 Landry Jones +650
4013 Marcus Lattimore +1500
4014 Matt Barkley +385
4015 Montee Ball +500
4016 Rex Burkhead +2000
4017 Robert Woods +4000
4018 Sammy Watkins +2000
4019 Tajh Boyd +3000
4020 Taylor Martinez +3000
4021 Tyler Wilson +2000

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