One-third of the 2022 college football regular season is complete and while I feel confident in my preseason national championship pick, Ohio State, I'd like a re-do on my Heisman Trophy choice. If you remember from prior to Week 1, I chose Buckeyes wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who got hurt that week and hasn't played much since then. Four catches for 36 yards in September isn't winning a Heisman, no matter how dynamic the player.
So I'd like to make the early case for two +5000 long shots on which I placed bets on this past week:
-Alabama OLB Will Anderson, Jr.
-Washington QB Michael Penix, Jr.'
Let's start with Anderson, who would become the first defensive player to win the Heisman since Michigan CB and. NFL Hall of Famer Charles Woodson in 1997. Widely projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Anderson already has 4.5 sacks and an interception return for a touchdown in September. Last year, he only had two sacks over his first four games before racking up 17.5 in total en route to a fifth-place finish in the Heisman voting. If Alabama runs the table through the regular season and SEC Championship Game, voters may choose to credit the Crimson Tide's suffocating defense instead of giving QB Bryce Young back-to-back Heismans. The value is incredible for Anderson at 50-1.
As for Penix, the Huskies' QB has been arguably the nation's best thus far, complet ing 64% of his passes with 12 touchdowns and only one interception in four games. His total of 309 passing yards against Stanford on Saturday was his 'all season. Washington's offense has looked unstoppable with the Indiana transfer at the helm. Don't forget that this is the same player who threw for 491 yards and five scores against Ohio State in Indiana's 42-35 defeat at the Horseshoe in 2020. Without USC or Utah on the regular season schedule, it's not inconceivable that Washington could be 11-1 or 12-0 heading into the Pac-12 Championship Game. I'll even take it a step further and say that the Huskies have an outside chance at making the College Football Playoff. At 50-1, betting on Penix's continued success against the subpar Pac-12 seems like a great value bet.