J.J. McCarthy, Michigan football leap to top of Heisman Trophy, CFP odds lists
It turns out, Free Press sports writers aren’t the only folks buying into the Heisman Trophy candidacy of quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The Michigan football star, who ranks at or near the top of nearly every key statistical category after eight weeks, leapt to the top of one sportsbook’s odds list after his dominating performance — 21-for-27 passing for 287 yards and four touchdowns, plus two rushes for 24 yards (and one sack for minus-8 yards) — against Michigan State on Saturday night.
McCarthy played just 2½ quarters against the Spartans, but that was apparently enough to spring him to the top spot in the Heisman Trophy odds issued Sunday by SportsBetting.ag. The sportsbook gives McCarthy +175 odds (meaning a $100 wager would return a $175 payout, plus the original bet) of taking the Heisman home in December, ahead of Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (+325) and LSU QB Jayden Daniels (+550).
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McCarthy and Penix haven’t gone head-to-head, but they have both played the Spartans; Penix shredded the MSU defense for 473 yards and four TDs while completing 77.3% of his passes in East Lansing on Sept. 16 (though Penix ran up his yardage total by playing nearly the entire game).
McCarthy’s big night against MSU brought him to a 199.1 efficiency rating on the season, second among FBS QBs behind only Daniels (204.3). McCarthy is also No. 2 in completion percentage, at 78.1%, just behind Oregon’s Bo Nix (78.4%). He’s tied for second in yards per attempt (10.6) along with Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, behind Daniels (11.5). McCarthy is one of eight FBS QBs with at least 18 passing TDs this season, though Daniels has a solid lead there, at 25 despite LSU’s two-loss season. McCarthy has yet to throw a pass late in a game, thanks to Michigan’s large margins of victories this season.
The U-M QB, who started the season at +2000 in SportsBetting.ag’s odds, isn’t the only Wolverine on the list; running back Blake Corum, a consensus All-American last season, is getting +10000 odds. Corum and McCarthy will have a notable chance to make their Heisman cases against another candidate on Sportsbetting.ag’s list: Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is tied for sixth on the list (with Nix) at +2500. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are slated to face off in Ann Arbor at noon Nov. 25 in what will also potentially be for a spot in the Big Ten title game on Dec. 2.
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Michigan hasn't had a Heisman winner since defensive back Charles Woodson took home the award in 1997. Defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson finished second in 2021 voting. The Heisman Trophy finalists will be announced on Dec. 4, with the winner announced in a ceremony in New York on Dec. 9.
By that time, McCarthy and Corum could be getting ready for the College Football Playoff. Michigan also tops SportsBetting.ag’s list of CFP title contenders, drawing +250 odds. U-M is trailed by two-time defending champ Georgia (+285) — which defeated U-M in the CFP two seasons ago — Ohio State (+600), Florida State (+800) and Washington (+900).
The CFP field — four teams for the final time before next season’s expansion to 12 teams — will be announced on Dec. 3, with semifinals slated for the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) and Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) on Jan. 1 and the national championship game set for Jan. 8 in Houston.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: J.J. McCarthy, Michigan football top Heisman, CFP odds lists
