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The shocking betting favorite to win 2025 Heisman Trophy

Originally posted on NCAA Football on ClutchPoints
By Jaren Kawada | Last updated Jan 21, 2025 3:17 PM ET

With the 2024 college football season officially in the past, Las Vegas oddsmakers are already preparing for 2025. Opening betting lines have already been released, including the Heisman Trophy odds, which peg LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and Texas’ Arch Manning as the initial favorites.

Nussmeier and Manning are priced at +850 to win the award, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. Early odds made Nussmeier the slight favorite, but the line quickly shifted to put the two SEC quarterbacks on even ground. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has the next-best odds at +1200.

Penn State’s Drew Allar, Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith are all also atop the list. With the lines released so far ahead of the season, the lines are clearly going to change several times before the season even begins.

While Nussmeier is the more proven player of the two, Manning is comfortably the bigger star. Despite being the backup to Quinn Ewers through his first two seasons, Manning has been one of the biggest draws in the sport due to his family lineage and fan-friendly play style.

In his first season as a full-time starter, Nussmeier threw for 4,052 passing yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. Despite being considered a fringe draft prospect, he opted to return to college for a fifth year.

Manning started just three games in 2024 but shined in each of them. He threw for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 108 more yards and four scores on the ground. Despite his limited sample size, both Texas fans and coaches are convinced that he is more than ready to become the next great Longhorns quarterback.

2024 Heisman Trophy finalists

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter poses for a photo after winning the Heisman Trophy award during the 2024 Heisman Trophy Presentation. Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

If either Nussmeier or Manning is to claim the 2025 Heisman Trophy, they will need to make a significant leap over the offseason. Neither one of them finished within the top 10 of the final voting results in 2024.

Assuming another Travis Hunter-like player does not emerge from the shadows, the Heisman Trophy will likely go back to an offensive player in 2025. Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is the defending award winner, claiming the trophy in 2024 in a tight race with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

Hunter and Jeanty surged far ahead of the pack, making the 2024 voting results a two-man race. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel was a distant third, receiving just 516 compared to Jeanty’s 2,017 and Hunter’s 2,231. Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished in fourth with Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo in fifth.

Behind Skattebo’s 170 votes, no other player earned more than 100. Hunter, Jeanty, Ward and Gabriel were the four finalists to make it to New York.

This article first appeared on NCAA Football on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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