In this week's FPBcast, Gerry Ahern and Mike Szvetitz talk Week 0 college football games and the end of NFL preseason.
The college football season kicks off Saturday with Week 0. While none of the teams in action will feature a player on the Heisman Trophy odds board, the start of the season means it’s time to start looking at the contenders to lift the most coveted individual award in the game.
A pair of quarterbacks who were invited to New York for last year’s Heisman ceremony, including the eventual winner, headline the list. But while Alabama’s Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State might seem like no-brainer picks, be aware that only once since 2009 has one of the top two preseason Heisman favorites actually won the award, that being Marcus Mariota in 2014.
Young and Stroud aren’t the only top-five finishers from last season who are back in college in 2022. Alabama outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. won the Bronko Nagurski Award presented to the best defensive player in the country after he racked up a ridiculous 31 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks a season ago.
Anderson finished fifth in Heisman voting. He’s widely projected as the No. 1 prospect for next spring’s NFL Draft, but can he do enough to become the first defensive player to win the Heisman since Charles Woodson in 1997?
Another much-hyped quarterback cracks the preseason top five, as does a proven playmaker for a program that could use a big season out of him.
FrontPageBets looks at the five Heisman favorites entering the 2022 season and the early-season contests that could impact their odds.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings and are subject to change)
CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State (+220)
Stroud is back for his junior season and will quarterback a loaded Buckeyes offense. He showed last year that he could put up big numbers, throwing for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns in his first season as a college starter. He will have a plethora of weapons at his disposal in 2022, including wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+2500) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (+3500), both of whom are also among the preseason top 10 Heisman favorites.
Stroud will also have the benefit of playing on a team that should win most, if not all, of its games and will be in the spotlight plenty. That starts right away, as OSU opens the season by playing host to Notre Dame in prime time on Sept. 3. A big game from Stroud could see his odds drop even lower.
Bryce Young, QB, Alabama (+380)
It might seem strange for the defending Heisman winner not to start the following season as the favorite, especially when he plays for the No. 1 team in the preseason polls. But whether it’s due to voter fatigue or the pressure of following up a Heisman campaign, history has shown that a repeat is unlikely.
It’s been nearly 50 years since Ohio State’s Archie Griffin won the award twice in 1974 and 1975. Since then, 10 winners have returned to school and failed to repeat. Young does have a few things going for him, though. Like Stroud, he plays on a team that should be favored in every game this season and broadcast nationally just about every time it takes the field.
And while he did lose his top two receivers from last season in Jameson Williams and John Metchie, it’s not as if Alabama is low on talent. The big early-season showcase for Young will be when Alabama travels to Texas in Week 2.
Caleb Williams, QB, USC (+700)
A year after he was the No. 1 quarterback recruit out of high school, Williams became the top target in the transfer portal when he left Oklahoma.
To no one’s surprise, Williams followed head coach Lincoln Riley to USC. As a sophomore, he will start for a Trojan offense that Riley completely revamped via the transfer portal. Between fellow Oklahoma transfer Mario Williams and Pitt transfer Jordan Addison, last season’s Biletnikoff Award winner as the top receiver in the country, Williams should have plenty of talent to target through the air.
Williams flashed his ability last season, throwing for 1,810 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushing for another five scores after taking the starting job from Spencer Rattler. Concerns would be whether the USC offensive line will hold up and how quickly a team that will feature so many newcomers will gel.
After the Trojans open their season against Rice, we should get our first real indication for how they look the following week when they travel to Stanford.
Will Anderson Jr., LB, Alabama (+1600)
Anderson’s numbers last season were ridiculous. He led the nation in both sacks and tackles for loss -- the latter by 11.5 over the next-closest player. The fact that he’s the fourth-favorite to win the Heisman during the preseason when no other defensive player has odds better than +20000 is a testament to his dominance.
The biggest obstacle to him actually lifting the trophy will likely be the aversion of voters to present the award to a defensive player. If it was ever going to happen, last season, with no singularly dominant quarterback, seemed like the year. Yet Anderson couldn’t even get an invite to New York and Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson fell short of Young.
More eyes will be on Anderson throughout this season, which should help his chances, so if he can match his numbers from 2021, he might have a chance. But more attention will be paid to him by opposing offenses, as well.
Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas (+2200)
Robinson should serve as the centerpiece of the Texas offense as a junior. He accumulated 1,422 scrimmage yards and 15 total touchdowns last season despite playing in just 10 games.
It feels like we’re due to have a running back at least earn an invite to New York. No player from the position has wound up among the top three in Heisman voting since Bryce Love finished second in 2017. Between 2009 and 2017, eight running backs earned top-three honors, including a pair of winners in Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry.
If Robinson can build on his 2021 campaign and stay healthy for the entire season, he might have a chance to break the dry spell. But the biggest impediment could be Texas’ success as a team. The Longhorns went just 5-7 last season. And if Texas does recapture its mojo and win double-digit games, might the attention gravitate toward former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers?
Regardless, the big test for Robinson’s Heisman campaign will come on Sept. 10, when he will face off against Anderson and Alabama. If he can put up a big game and help Texas at least compete with the Crimson Tide on that marquee stage, it would stamp him as a real contender.
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Mitchell Forde is a freelance writer who covers college football for FrontPageBets. Follow him @Mitchell4D
