Alabama Remains atop Futures Board, Barkley Leads Heisman Chase
Scott Morris | September 27, 2017
Odd makers have not changed what team they believe will win the college football national championship, but they have changed their minds on who they believe will win this year’s coveted Heisman Trophy.
After the first four weeks of the college football season, the preseason pick for the national champion remains at the top with the Alabama Crimson Tide holding a firm grip as the favorite.
Following Alabama is Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC rounding out the top 5 best odds to win the national title.
Saquon Barkley is now the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, as the best player in college football.
The junior running back for the Penn State Nittany Lions started the season 12 to 1 to win the title trailing seven quarterbacks, but has quickly made a big move to separate from the rest of the pack.
Following Penn State’s road win over Iowa last week, Barkley moved into the top spot to win the Heisman with 2 to 1 odds. Just behind Barkley in second is Oklahoma signal caller Baker Mayfield at 7 to 2.
The Crimson Tide started the season as 5 to 2 favorites to win the national title and after scoring 40 or more points for the third time in four games in routing Vanderbilt 59-0, Alabama is now 7 to 4 to win the national title.
Although Alabama has a scoring advantage of 165-40 over its four opponents, the Crimson Tide is just 2-2 against the spread due to having huge point spreads to cover as an overwhelming favorite versus some opponents.
Barkley has quickly taken center stage in the chase for the Heisman, but quarterbacks dominate the award taking home 14 of the past 16 trophies.
However, last week against a strong Iowa defense, Barkley had 211 yards rushing and one touchdown. He also led the team in receiving with 12 receptions for 95 yards.
His biggest play of the game was not running or catching the ball but his block on a blitzing linebacker with four seconds remaining in the game, that allowed quarterback Trace McSorley to complete the winning seven-yard touchdown pass to beat the Hawkeyes.
The season is still very young, but Alabama continues to hold a tight grip at the top of the national title futures board, while Barkley is making a strong claim for the Heisman.
