2024 Heisman Trophy Odds: Ashton Jeanty's Heisman Candidacy Hinges on UNLV Game in College Football Week 9

Reed Wallach | 6 Hours Ago

Oct 12, 2024; Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) runs the ball in for a touchdown during the first quarter an NCAA college football game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-Imagn Images / Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

The 2024 Heisman Trophy race continues to be full of excitement. 

In an untraditional race, arguably the most unique candidate in recent memory has reached a breaking point. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, the co-favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook to win college football’s most prestigious award, will take his record chase to Las Vegas to face UNLV in a battle of Mountain West contenders. 

For Jeanty, who is up against a pair of undefeated and National Championship contending quarterbacks in Cam Ward and Dillon Gabriel, as well as a two-way superstar in Travis Hunter, he must continue to keep up with Barry Sanders’ single season rushing yard record as well as have his team firmly in the College Football Playoff mix in 2024. 

Before we outline the big week ahead for Jeanty, let’s set the stage with the updated odds for the Heisman Trophy. 

2024 Heisman Trophy Odds 

• Cam Ward, Miami (Florida): +200
• Ashton Jeanty, Boise State: +200
• Dillon Gabriel, Oregon: +350
• Travis Hunter, Colorado: +1500
• Cade Klubnik, Clemson: +2000
• Carson Beck, Georgia: +2500
• Garrett Nussmeier, LSU: +3000
• Drew Allar, Penn State: +3000

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Ashton Jeanty’s Heisman Candidacy Will Be Tested in Week 9

As listed out last week, the competition may not be dominated by a transcendent start this season, but there are plenty of worthy candidates. With history against a player of Jeanty’s stature, a Group of Five running back playing on the West Coast, he must truly shine when everyone is watching. 

Enter Friday night against UNLV. The two Mountain West favorites will meet in hopes of getting a serious leg up in the race for the Group of Five bid in the CFP. A loss, Jeanty will fall further out of the public eye for the time being, and thus his Heisman candidacy will take a hit. 

Boise State is a three-point road favorite at UNLV, but the Rebels have the toughest rush defense that the Broncos have seen this season, right at the national average in EPA/Rush and 26th in yards per carry allowed. 

To me, the Broncos must make the College Football Playoff and Jeanty must break Barry Sanders' record. In 1988, Sanders ran for 2,628 yards in 11 games with 37 rushing touchdowns. So far, Jeanty is averaging 208 yards per game. If we extrapolate that out to 13 games (including a hypothetical Mountain West Championship Game), that equals out to 2,704 yards. 

This game will be the toughest test remaining on the schedule for the Broncos’ running back to keep up his torrid pace, but also legitimatize his race as we head into the latter stages of the season. Jeanty only has a few showcase games, he must show up on Friday to truly be a threat. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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