The Heisman Trophy race has narrowed itself to two main contenders as we pass the halfway point in the season.

• Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud is even-money as the Buckeyes have really turned it on in October following an uncharacteristically-sluggish first few weeks on offense. By their standards, anyway. Stroud is completing 70% of his passes, averaging 10.6 yards per attempt, with a 28-4 TD/INT ratio. He finished fourth in voting last year, though he probably should have been second behind Alabama's Bryce Young.
• Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is next at +200 at DraftKings as the Vols surged to No. 3 in the country after beating Alabama. Hooker is also completing 70% of his passes at 10.8 yards per attempt, with 21 total touchdowns and just one interception. He's also added 40+ yards per game on the ground.

The Heisman race is far from over, as Tennessee still has Kentucky and Georgia on its schedule in the next two weeks. Ohio State will get maybe its stiffest defensive test of the season so far against Penn State this week, but the Buckeyes are nearly a two-touchdown favorite.

After Stroud and Hooker, a handful of quarterbacks on strong teams. The most surprising among them could be Oregon QB Bo Nix, who has looked like a completely different player following his transfer from Auburn. While his numbers aren't quite as impressive as Stroud or Hooker's, he'll be in the mix if the Ducks don't lose again in the regular season.

While any player in college football can win the Heisman Trophy, it almost always goes to a quarterback who puts up big raw numbers on a Power 5 team that wins double-digit games. So make sure your selections check those boxes before betting.

2022 Heisman Odds

Odds via DraftKings, updated October 24. Confused? Learn more about American odds.

Who Can Win the Heisman?

There are plenty of players on this odds board who can’t win the Heisman, or are very unlikely to relative to their odds.

The Heisman Trophy winner:

• Is almost always a quarterback
• Wins 10+ games
• Puts up strong raw stats. Efficiency is less important, and touchdowns matter
• Plays in a Power 5 conference

How Does Heisman Voting Work?

870 voters across six regions get three total spots on their ballot, with players getting 3, 2 or 1 point for each vote.

The voters are comprised of primarily sports writers, with past Heisman winners also getting votes.

The regions do matter, because voters are more fixated in the southeast, northeast and midwest. The west coast voters cover a large percentage of the country, but don’t make up a large percentage of the vote. So there can be a bit of an east coast/southeast bias in Heisman Trophy betting and voting.