Michigan Football: JJ McCarthy Is The New Heisman Favorite

Michigan's QB1 has been sensational through eight weeks, and he's now considered the favorite to capture the coveted Heisman trophy.

Another week, another impressive performance for Michigan's JJ McCarthy. The junior quarterback made his 21st career start for the Wolverines on Saturday, and Michigan is now an impressive 20-1 in that span. 

Although there's been no shortage of impressive performances from No. 9, McCarthy's performance in East Lansing was certainly one of his best. He finished the evening completing 21-of-27 attempts for 287 yards and a career-high 4 touchdowns, leading Michigan to a 49-0 victory over their in-state rival. 

McCarthy is now tied for sixth all-time in career passing touchdowns with 45, and he's just five more touchdown passes away from placing himself fourth all-time. McCarthy is also now ranked 10th all-time in career passing yards at U-M, currently sitting at 5,034 yards (just 318 yards behind Tom Brady at No. 9). 

Photo by Christopher Breiler

From a national perspective, McCarthy ranks No. 2 in passing efficiency (199.1), No. 2 in completion percentage (.781), No. 33 in passing yards (1,799), and No. 8 in passing touchdowns (18). All of those numbers are extremely impressive when taking into account that McCarthy has taken just four fourth quarter snaps all season long. 

Given how impressive he's been through eight weeks, it's no surprise that McCarthy has now become the favorite to win the Heisman trophy according to BetMGM latest odds. McCarthy is the betting favorite at +200, followed by Michael Penix Jr. at +300, Jayden Daniels at +600, and Jordan Travis at +700. 

Here's the complete list of Heisman trophy favorites, via BetMGM: 

1. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan: +200
2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington: +300
3. Jayden Daniels, LSU: +600
4. Jordan Travis, Florida State: +700
5. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma: +800
6. Bo Nix, Oregon: +3000
7. Carson Beck, Georgia: +3000
8. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State: +3000
9. Drake Maye, North Carolina: +5000
10. Quinn Ewers, Texas: +6600
11. DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State: +6600
12. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame: +8000
13. Caleb Williams, USC: +10000
14. Jalen Milroe, Alabama: +10000
15. Kyle McCord, Ohio State: +10000
16. Blake Corum, Michigan: +10000
17. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: +25000
18. Travis Hunter, Colorado: Off the Board
19. Brock Bowers, Georgia: Off the Board

Here's what BetMGM had to say about McCarthy's current odds:

J.J. McCarthy, the Michigan quarterback, is currently +200 to win the Heisman Trophy. McCarthy surged in the Heisman table during the middle of last year’s regular season, but he fell off completely down the stretch.

So far in 2023, McCarthy has done exactly what he’s supposed to do: limit mistakes while executing Michigan’s power offense against middle-class teams. And other quarterbacks have experienced the ups and downs of a long college football season, McCarthy and the Michigan offense have remained steady.

That said, McCarthy’s real Heisman challenge likely comes in November, when the Wolverines draw Penn State and Ohio State.