Heisman Watch 2022: Latest Race Odds and Predictions

The 2022 NCAA football season has been an intriguing one, filled with surprising upsets, memorable games and unexpected stars. The Heisman race has been equally interesting, with no clear front-runner emerging just yet.

This is a notable shift from last year, when Alabama quarterback Bryce Young largely dominated the race, winning with 83 percent of the votes. It's vastly different from the 2019 rack, which LSU quarterback Joe Burrow won in a landslide (93 percent).

Right now, no single player appears far and away better than the rest.

Week 12, though, has added some interesting twists to the race, and here, we'll examine some of the latest developments from Saturday's action. We'll also dive into the latest Heisman odds and add an educated guess for how things will unfold in New York next month.

Here are the latest Heisman odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, accurate as of Sunday morning:

• C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
• Caleb Williams, QB, USC +130
• Blake Corum, RB, Michigan +1500
• Max Duggan, QB, TCU +4000
• Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU +4000
• Bo Nix, QB, Oregon +6000
• Stetson Bennett IV, QB, Georgia +6000
  
• Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina +10000
• Bryce Young, QB, Alabama, +10000
• Chase Brown, RB, Illinois +20000
• Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State +20000
• Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington +30000

USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams continues to emerge as a threat to Heisman favorite and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Tennessee signal-caller Hendon Hooker is also in the running, though, we'll get to him shortly.

Williams was electric during Saturday's 48-45 thriller against the UCLA Bruins, a game the Trojans narrowly won. The 20-year-old passed for 470 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 33 yards and another score. That's 503 yards of offense, a prime example of just how Williams can take over a game.

So far this season, Williams has thrown for 3,480 yards with 33 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He's also run for 316 yards and seven touchdowns. Those are Heisman-caliber numbers, but they don't tell the whole story.

Aiding Williams' bid for the Heisman Trophy is the fact that he's helped make USC football relevant again. After four straight seasons of eight or fewer wins—and a dismal 4-8 record last year—the Trojans are 10-1 and have a legitimate shot at sneaking into the College Football Playoff.

Williams' ability to lift USC this season won't go unnoticed by Heisman voters. Neither will phenomenal performances like this latest one. His chances of lifting the biggest individual award in college football grow stronger by the week.

You may have noticed that Hooker isn't listed among the Heisman favorites, even though the 24-year-old has been in the picture all season. He's currently off the board at DraftKings—that should change—following an injury suffered on Sunday.

In Tennessee's 63-38 blowout loss to South Carolina, Hooker exited with a non-contact knee injury that could potentially be season-ending.

"Whatever just happened to Hendon Hooker looked real, real bad," Sports Illustrated's Alber Breer tweeted.

While the severity of the injury isn't clear yet, it's a bad development for one of college football's top talents. Hooker has thrown for 3,135 yards with 27 touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 430 and five scores.

Hooker's health is the most important thing to consider, but the injury and the lopsided loss could sink his Heisman chances.

Michigan running back and Heisman hopeful Blake Corum was also injured on Saturday. He exited with an apparent knee injury against Illinois. He did return, but it's unclear whether he'll be available for next week's annual showdown with Ohio State.

"Got cleared to go back in, we'll see where it is tomorrow, how it feels tomorrow. Structurally good, which is great news," coach Jim Harbaugh said, per Tony Garcia of the Detroit Free Press.

Corum has been special this season—amassing 1,457 rushing yards, 80 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns—but he'll need to be near 100 percent down the stretch to steal the Heisman out from under one of the nation's top quarterbacks.

The race is tightening between Stroud and Williams, and a lot will hinge on the final few weeks. and both will be in marquee matchups this week.

While Stroud will be involved in one of the most heavily-covered games of the year, Williams will be on a massive stage of his own. On Saturday, the Trojans will host Notre Dame, a team that has rebounded from a disastrous 0-2 start.

A strong performance down the stretch could easily give Williams the edge over Stroud. After all, recency bias can come into play during the voting process. The Heisman is a season-long award, but the one playing best at the end often winds up taking home the title.

"Carson Palmer wasn't considered a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy until the last two games of the season when No. 7 USC beat a Top 25 UCLA team at the Rose Bowl and a Top 25 Notre Dame team at the Coliseum to make USC a Top 5 team," Arash Markazi of The Sporting Tribune and ESPN 1090 tweeted. "Could the same be true for Caleb Williams?"

Of course, a case can always be made for being the best player on the best team, which is why Stetson Bennett IV of the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs is in the conversation. Stroud's second-ranked Buckeyes aren't far behind, though, and Stroud has the numbers to potentially win a close vote.

The 21-year-old has thrown for 2,991 yards with 35 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He has, however, had a couple of disappointing games. In Sunday's win over Maryland, for example, he tossed just one touchdown. He had a mere 76 passing yards and no touchdowns against Northwestern a couple of weeks ago.

For Stroud, everything will come down to the finish and getting Ohio State into the College Football Playoff unscathed. That could hinge heavily on Corum's availability on Saturday.

Corum will remain in the mix if he can get and stay on the field, and the same can be said for Hooker. As of today, though, this feels like a two-quarterback race.

Will steering the ship be enough for Stroud to out-pace the surging Williams? The expectation here is that it's not. The latter has all the momentum, and the prediction is that he steals the spotlight and a close vote on December 10.

Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), or calling/texting TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).

Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.