Joe Burrow Soars Up Heisman Odds After LSU’s Week 1 Rout of Georgia Southern
By Chris Amberley in College Football
Updated: April 22, 2020 at 10:45 am EDTPublished:
- Joe Burrow’s Heisman odds have shortened from +5000 to +2000
- Burrow earned SEC Co-Player of the Week honors after a five-touchdown performance versus Georgia Southern
- Is there value betting Burrow to win the Heisman?
Joe Burrow’s Heisman odds are on the rise. The LSU senior led the Tigers to 55-3 blowout win in Week 1 and is now a top-8 contender for college football’s most coveted trophy.
2019 Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Trevor Lawrence | +260 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | +270 |
| Jalen Hurts | +900 |
| Jake Fromm | +1200 |
| D’Andrew Swift | +1400 |
| Justin Fields | +1600 |
| Sam Ehlinger | +1800 |
| Joe Burrow | +2000 |
| Shea Patterson | +2200 |
| Travis Etienne | +2500 |
| JT Daniels | +2800 |
| Jonathan Taylor | +2800 |
| Justin Herbert | +2800 |
| Jerry Jeudy | +4000 |
| Khalil Tate | +4000 |
Odds taken 09/04/19.
His 2019 Heisman odds have improved from +5000 to +2000 after just one game, which puts him ahead of big time NFL prospects like Justin Herbert and Jerry Jeudy.
He’s the SEC’s Co-Player of the Week, along with Tua Tagovailoa. This past Saturday, he looked like a quarterback capable of leading LSU to the College Football Playoff.
Moving on Up
Burrow’s Week 1 outing was one of the most impressive performances by a quarterback in LSU history. He tied a Tiger record by throwing five touchdown passes in the first half and he finished the game with more TD passes (5) than incompletions (4).
#SEC Completion % Leaders Week 1…
1. Joe Burrow #LSU
2. Tua Tagovailoa
3. Terry Wilson
4. Kellen Mond
5. Tommy Stevens
6. Jake Fromm
7. Jarrett Guarantano
8. Kelly Bryant
9. Feleipe Franks
10. Riley Neal–
*Burrow leads the #SEC with an 85.2% pic.twitter.com/ZQJRzElBIb
— Josh Lemoine (@LsuFBallTruth) September 4, 2019
He led LSU to its most points in a season opener in 19 years and he vaulted into the seventh spot on ESPN’s Heisman watch list.
All told, 70.8% of the 27 passes he threw were charted as accurate by Pro Football Focus and he finished with an impressive adjusted completion percentage of 88.9%.
It’s early, but it appears the Tigers new up-tempo, no-huddle scheme is an ideal fit for his talent. We’ll certainly learn much more after LSU’s Week 2 game at Texas.
Is Burrow’s Heisman Bump Too High?
Not to take anything away from Burrow’s five touchdown game, but let’s not forget who the opponent was. Georgia Southern isn’t exactly a powerhouse program and was ranked 81st in Bill Connelly’s preseason S&P projections. Burrow doesn’t have a history of elite play, throwing for just 16 touchdowns in his only season as a starter, and was forced to leave Ohio State after not being able to win a starting job.
Me: calm down it’s Georgia Southern
Me to me: get a tattoo of Joe Burrow with the Heisman trophy on your leg pic.twitter.com/m6RlAaMnyc— Matthew Maldonado (@M01Matthewl) September 1, 2019
Eight of the past nine Heisman winners have been quarterbacks, so he has that working in his favor, but asking him to usurp future NFL stars like Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence seems unlikely. That’s not to say there isn’t value to be found on Burrow, but you need to be willing to shop around at different books.
Burrow’s Heisman odds are still +8000 at some sportsbooks, which represents incredible value if you’re able to attack that line before the oddsmakers properly adjust.
Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
