On Tuesday, January 5th, College Football will hand out their top honors as they announce the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner via virtual ceremony due to the pandemic.
Just prior to Christmas, the following four finalists were revealed: Alabama QB Mac Jones and WR DeVonta Smith, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, and Florida QB Kyle Trask.
Unlike the 2019 Heisman race, this year has more intrigue. Last year, Joe Burrow was arguably the biggest favorite to win the trophy in the history of the prestigious award. This season, it really can go to at least one of three different finalists.
Alabama is looking to be the first school to have teammates finish 1-2 in voting since Army did it in 1945 when Doc Blanchard won and Glenn Davis finished second. The next year, Army had three finalists in the Top 5, a feat that Alabama matched this year as RB Najee Harris finished 5th in voting.
Following the announcement of the Heisman finalists, College Football betting sites released their odds on who they think will win the award. Let’s huddle up to examine these odds and then strike the Heisman pose with our winning prediction.
🚨 YOUR 2020 HEISMAN FINALISTS 🚨
-Mac Jones
-Trevor Lawrence
-Kyle Trask
-DeVonta Smith pic.twitter.com/cUPaQIDBHI— ESPN (@espn) December 25, 2020
Previous Heisman Trophy Winners
The following is a list of the previous Heisman Trophy winners dating back to 2010:
- 2019 – QB Joe Burrow LSU
- 2018 – QB Kyler Murray OK
- 2017 – QB Baker Mayfield OK
- 2016 – QB Lamar Jackson LOU
- 2015 – RB Derrick Henry AL
- 2014 – QB Marcus Mariota OR
- 2013 – QB Jameis Winston FSU
- 2012 – QB Johnny Manziel TAM
- 2011 – QB Robert Griffin III BAY
- 2010 – QB Cam Newton AUB
As you can see, over the last 10 years, quarterbacks have won this award nine times. Devonta Smith is trying to be the first non-quarterback to win since RB Derrick Henry did it in 2015.
Heisman Trophy Betting Odds
The following betting odds are courtesy of BetOnline:
- DeVonta Smith – Alabama Crimson Tide WR (-190)
- Mac Jones – Alabama Crimson Tide QB (+160)
- Trevor Lawrence – Clemson Tigers QB (+500)
- Kyle Trask – Florida Gators QB (+2000)
DeVonta Smith – Alabama Crimson Tide WR (-190)
DeVonta Smith has become the odds on favorite to win the 2020 Heisman Trophy award after putting together a stellar season.
Smith leads the nation with 98 receptions and 1,511 yards. He’s second in FBS with 17 TD catches. His teammate, and fellow finalist, QB Mac Jones had the following comments about Smith:
“He’s the most electric player in college football. He means the most to us here at Alabama football. You can watch the games and see that, what type of person he is with how he plays.”
Smith started out as a freshman behind NFL stars Jerry Jeudy, Calvin Ridley and Henry Ruggs III. However, not only did he eventually work his way up to being the main passing weapon, he could do something that none of those 1st round NFL selections did – win the Heisman Trophy.
Smith’s SEC Championship performance was a masterpiece as he finished with 15 catches for 184 yards and 2 TDs against Florida.
In the 81 years that this award has been handed out, wide receivers have won it just three times:
- Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers in 1972
- Notre Dame’s Tim Brown in 1987
- Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991
Can Smith become the 4th wide receiver to ever win this award?
Mac Jones – Alabama Crimson Tide QB (+160)
It’s pretty remarkable how at one point in 2017 and 2018, Alabama had three Heisman QB finalists on their roster at the same time with Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones.
Hurts and Tua both missed out on winning the award, but Mac Jones has a realistic shot this year if he can upstage his teammate WR DeVonta smith.
Jones & Smith
Alabama boasts two of the four candidates for college football’s most prestigious award.
Running back Najee Harris finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
🗒️: https://t.co/DdTtYIRdgq#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/C0FF5H0w5E
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) December 25, 2020
Mac Jones finished the regular season with 3,739 yards, 32 TD passes and 4 INTs. He led Alabama to an 11-0 season, a #1 ranking, and arguably the most prolific offense in the entire nation. Jones crushed the Gators in the SEC Championship as he threw for 418 yards and 5 TDs.
It’s hard to argue against it considering they also had the best WR, the best RB, and two of the best offensive linemen. In fact, half of this starting offense could end up leaving for the NFL in 2021.
Jones is also on the cusp of surpassing both Tua and Hurts if he can win the CFP National Championship, which most people didn’t think would happen when Jones took over for an injured Tua last year.
Nevertheless, there is value with Jones as he’s the second odds on favorite to win the Heisman this year, but well below his teammate Smith.
Trevor Lawrence – Clemson Tigers QB (+500)
As a starter for Clemson, quarterback Trevor Lawrence is 34-1 with the Tigers. He’s just the second player in Clemson history to be a Heisman finalist. QB Deshaun Watson was a finalist in 2015 and 2016.
Lawrence proved this year that he is one of the best players in all of College Football. When he missed two games due to testing positive for covid, Clemson struggled and ended up losing to Notre Dame during the regular season.
When Lawrence returned to the lineup, he got a chance to avenge the loss to Notre Dame as he put up over 400 total yards on the Fighting Irish including three total TDs as Clemson blew out ND 34-10.
Trevor Lawrence has been selected as a finalist for the #HeismanTrophy pic.twitter.com/9hCHcXdjbQ
— #ClemsonNFL (@ClemsonPros) December 25, 2020
Lawrence finished the 2020 regular season with 2,753 yards, 22 TDs, 4 INTs, 211 rushing yards and 7 rushing TDs in just nine games.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had this to say about his QB as he lobbied for a Lawrence Heisman win:
“Here’s what I would say, it would be a crying shame if the Heisman didn’t attach their name to Trevor Lawrence. I know that’s become a stat award, but if you watch college football and you don’t know that’s the best player in the country? I don’t know what you’re looking at.”
I absolutely agree with Swinney. It would be a shame if Lawrence didn’t win the 2020 Heisman Trophy award as he is the best player in the sport and will be the #1 overall draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Kyle Trask – Florida Gators QB (+2000)
Florida QB Kyle Trask had quite the season as he led the nation in TD passes with 43. He also led the FBS in passing yards per game at 375ypg. Trask set a Florida record with 4,125 passing yards this season. He surpassed the 400 yard mark five times this season, which is also a school record.
In a losing effort against Alabama, Trask threw for 408 yards and 3 TDs. Florida fell to 8-3 on the season.
An unbelievable season with multiple records broken.
Forever a Gator Legend and now a Heisman Trophy Finalist. @ktrask9 pic.twitter.com/BHvnwM6i5u
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 25, 2020
Florida’s head coach Dan Mullen made a case for Trask with the following comments:
“He leads the nation by far in touchdown passes, he leads the nation by far in passing yards. Hard to say anybody’s meant more to their team than Kyle Trask has to our team this year.”
It’s hard to argue against Mullen’s logic here. Trask did have a great season and Florida benefited from it. However, they did lose three games with one of those being to Alabama.
Who Wins the 2020 Heisman Trophy?
Trask is the longshot and rightfully so. I don’t see a scenario where he wins this award. It will come down to the Alabama teammates.
Yet, I believe that’s where things go wrong. How can you have two finalists on the same team and not have their contributions cancel each other out in the voting?
Nearly half of Mac Jones’ passing yards went to Smith. And, Smith wouldn’t have had the season he had if it weren’t for how well Jones played. Not to mention, Alabama has the best RB and the best offensive line in the country.
The Heisman Trophy should go to the best player in College Football and that’s QB Trevor Lawrence. He’s most likely going to his 3rd straight National Championship game where he’s 1-1 so far. Without Lawrence, Clemson wouldn’t even win the ACC.
Yet, without Jones, Alabama could still do great with their depth at QB and with their supporting cast. Without DaVonta Smith, Alabama’s offense would’ve still been elite.
There’s a small chance that if Lawrence has a monster game on January 1st against Ohio State that it could sway the voters on Tuesday, January 5th. Yet, the same thing could be said about Jones and Smith as they have a juicy matchup against Notre Dame.
Clearly, my pick is Trevor Lawrence. But, the safe play is DeVonta Smith as he’s the consensus choice with online betting sites.
Who Wins the 2020 Heisman Trophy? –DeVonta Smith (-190)
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
