Miami QB Cam Ward jumps to front of Heisman Trophy race

Cam Ward has taken advantage of Miami’s relatively soft opening schedule along with an injury to a key rival to become the last favorite in the Heisman Trophy race.

Ward threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns in the Hurricanes’ 50-15 rout of South Florida on Saturday. That followed blowout wins over Florida, Florida A&M and Ball State, with the senior having compiled 1,439 passing yards and 14 touchdowns through four games.

Ward is now the +450 Heisman Trophy favorite at DraftKings, followed by Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart (+500), Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (+700), Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (+1000). Ward is the +350 favorite at FanDuel, followed by Dart (+500) and Milroe (+750).

Gabriel opened the season as the favorite, but has slid down the list with Oregon escaping upset bids by Idaho and Boise State in their first two games. He was supplanted by Texas’ Quinn Ewers, who has fallen all the way to seventh after sustaining an oblique strain and missing the Longhorns’ Saturday win over Louisiana-Monroe.

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS* PLAYER, TEAM, JULY ODDS, WEEK 1, Week 2, CURRENT Cam Ward, Miami, +2200, +950, +850, +450 Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, +1400, +850, +800, +500 Jalen Milroe, Alabama, +1500, +1100, +1200, +700 Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee, +1800, +1200, +1300, +950 Carson Beck, Georgia, +800, +900, +1000, +1400 Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, +750, +800, +1100, +1000 Quinn Ewers, Texas, +1000, +1400, +600, +1500 Travis Hunter, Colorado, N/A, N/A, N/A, +2000 Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, N/A/, N/A, +3000, +2000 Will Howard, Ohio State, +1500, +1600, +2000, +2000 Miller Moss, Southern California, N/A, +2200, +1800, +2500 Drew Allar, Penn State, N/A, N/A, +3000, +3500 Arch Manning, Texas, N/A, N/A, N/A, +4000 Cade Klubnik, Clemson, N/A, N/A, N/A, +4500 Riley Leonard, Notre Dame, N/A, N/A, N/A, +5500 Garrett Nussmeier, LSU, +2200, +3500, +2800, +5500 Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, N/A/, +2200, +8000, +10000 *DraftKings

Arch Manning, who made his first college start in Ewers’ absence, entered the Heisman picture at +4000 this week. However, he’s still a heavy longshot, while the fastest-rising candidate is Colorado’s two-way star Hunter.

Hunter has the shortest odds among non-quarterbacks. He is viewed by many as the best athlete in college football, but the legitimacy of his Heisman candidacy likely will hinge on how the Buffaloes fare against the likes of Kansas State, Utah, Oklahoma State and other Big 12 opponents this season.

Another quickly rising threat is Milroe, who opened the season at +1500. He now has the shortest odds after Ward and Dart, with a critical early-season test coming against Beck when the Georgia Bulldogs visit Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

Among the biggest fallers this week was Southern California quarterback Miller Moss, who is now a +2500 longshot after the Trojans were unable to hold a late lead at Michigan.