Caleb Wilfinger
After a long and eventful offseason, the 2025 college football season is finally on the horizon. The battle for a spot in the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff begins on August 23 and won’t slow down until December. Last season’s NCAAF National Championship game saw Ohio State knock off Notre Dame to complete a dominant one month run en route to the program’s first title in 10 seasons. What will the 2025 campaign bring? It’s almost time to find out.
One of the most popular futures markets in college football is determining who will win the Heisman Trophy. Last season, this award went to two-way superstar Travis Hunter, as he posted a historic season for the Colorado Buffaloes in what was a rock solid campaign for that program. Looking at the odds, there are multiple contenders in this market, including a few intriguing longshot options. Let’s take a look at the 2025 Heisman Trophy best bets to target before the season starts.
Read our NCAAF National Championship best bets for the upcoming season, including a +4000 longshot!
2025 Heisman Trophy odds
Odds reflect best available lines at FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM and/or DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
- Arch Manning +600
- Garrett Nussmeier +850
- Cade Klubnik +950
- Jeremiah Smith +1100
- Drew Allar +1600
- LaNorris Sellers +1600
- DJ Lagway +1800
- Julian Sayin +2000
- Ty Simpson +2000
- Sam Leavitt +2200
It’s not surprising to see most of the names at the top of this market. Cade Klubnik is in a terrific situation, while big things are expected from Arch Manning and Texas this fall. Garrett Nussmeier is back for another season for an LSU team that is currently favored to make the College Football Playoff, while Jeremiah Smith might be one of the best wide receivers we’ve ever seen at the collegiate level. LaNorris Sellers is going to be relied upon a lot at South Carolina, even if the Gamecocks aren’t expected to be in the National Championship picture. Penn State is also one of the title favorites this season, as well, with Drew Allar expected to lead the way for a loaded Nittany Lions offense with Andy Kotelnicki calling plays from the booth.
As to be expected, there is only 1 non-quarterback in the top 10 of most Heisman Trophy odds boards. Therefore, I will be targeting one of the favorites for this award at the quarterback position, but I’ll also be targeting a longshot to give a bit of value to my Heisman portfolio. With that in mind, let’s get into our Heisman Trophy best bets for the upcoming college football season.
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Heisman Trophy winner best bet: Cade Klubnik (+950)
It’s no secret that the Heisman Trophy award is primarily dominated by quarterbacks. In fact, QBs have dominated this award in this century with 18 Heisman winners lining up under center. Other positions have generally been out of luck in recent memory, including wide receivers, but that was not the case last season with Hunter taking home the award for Colorado. However, this is an award that also typically goes to the quarterback on a team in contention for a national title, and that’s exactly what we have with Cade Klubnik at Clemson.
It’s no surprise that Klubnik’s odds to win this award have shortened a bit over the summer. After all, the fourth-year quarterback is one of the most experienced college QBs in the nation and is stepping into a perfect situation in what will be his third season as the starter at Clemson. The Tigers are absolutely loaded and Dabo Swinney has finally added skill position talent in the transfer portal to bolster this roster in their pursuit of another ACC title and College Football Playoff berth. Klubnik was tremendous during the second half of last season, culminating in an excellent performance on the road in a loss to Texas in the College Football Playoff. With an improved offensive line and a terrific group of wide receivers, Klubnik should be able to post his best season yet in Death Valley.
Ultimately, I have Clemson winning the ACC and being in the hunt to secure a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. If things go according to plan for Swinney’s group, it’s hard not to see Klubnik as one of the Heisman Trophy favorites heading into Championship Weekend. Klubnik has a chance to shine on the biggest stage in Week 1 against fellow Heisman hopeful Garrett Nussmeier on the other side, and the ACC schedule features a number of matchups against the likes of SMU, Georgia Tech and Louisville, where one of the best quarterbacks in the nation should be able to build up his statistical profile in wins over quality opponents. All things considered, I’ll take a stab on Klubnik to hoist the Heisman Trophy come December.
Heisman Trophy winner longshot bet: Devon Dampier (+6000)
This is a shot in the dark compared to some of the favorites on the board, but it’s an educated wager on a quarterback that I could see making a major leap this fall. Devon Dampier electrified the Mountain West at New Mexico a season ago, racking up 31 total touchdowns (including a whopping 19 touchdowns on the ground) in a season that saw him take a major step forward from his freshman campaign.
Now, the third-year starter steps into a promising situation with a Utah team that handed the reins over to former New Mexico offensive coordinator Jason Beck, a respected offensive mind and a surefire upgrade from what the Utes had last season. The Utes also upgraded their weapons on the perimeter via the transfer portal and get a pretty favorable schedule compared to a few other contenders in the Big 12. I’ve got Utah favored in 11 games and if the Utes are able to navigate their way through a couple of tricky conference games, they should certainly find themselves in the Big 12 title game come Championship Weekend. That alone gives this 60-1 ticket a ton of value, so Dampier is worth a sprinkle at this number.
