Will Joe Burrow Break O.J. Simpson’s Heisman Trophy Voting Record?

The Heisman Trophy ceremony is this Saturday night in New York and while there won’t be a lot of drama about the actual winner, BetOnline.ag has posted a slew of props on some of the other outcomes. There are some interesting subplots for second place and whether LSU’s Joe Burrow will break the record for the most first-place votes ever. Let’s take a closer look:

JOE BURROW WILL WIN

The LSU quarterback joins two Ohio State players at the Heisman ceremony, which is a fascinating twist of fate given that Burrow used to play for the Buckeyes. He transferred from Ohio State, knowing that Dwayne Haskins was in front of him in the 2018 season. Haskins led Ohio State to a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl victory in the 2018 season while Burrow played for LSU. Burrow had one of the most dominant seasons a quarterback has ever had this past campaign, throwing for over 4,700 yards with 48 touchdowns and just six interceptions. With 289 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to his credit, Burrow topped 5,000 yards of total offense and 50 touchdowns by himself, a ridiculous amount of output for any player in any season. He is -30,000 to win, as much of a lock as anyone in recent Heisman memory. The drama lies elsewhere, in the props below:

OTHER PROPS

SECOND-MOST FIRST-PLACE HEISMAN VOTES

CHASE YOUNG +120
JUSTIN FIELDS +200

There is a chance that Justin Fields of Ohio State, who threw 40 touchdown passes and only one interception this year, could earn this distinction. He is priced at +200. However, it was Ohio State’s defense which came on strong in the second half of the Big Ten Championship Game, shutting out Wisconsin after giving up 21 first-half points. Chase Young made some big tackles and reminded people how outrageously great he is. It is true that Young didn’t do too much against Michigan, but people will remember his dominant game against Penn State and his season-long excellence. Justin Fields, slowed by a knee injury, did not look especially convincing against Wisconsin, so if final impressions matter, Heisman voters are probably going to flow to Young more than Fields, though it will certainly be a close call on Saturday night in New York at the Downtown Athletic Club.

WILL BURROW BREAK O.J. SIMPSON’S RECORD OF 855 FIRST-PLACE VOTES?

YES +500
NO -1000

The ‘yes’ prop is priced at +500, but the no bet is a better bet. The Heisman Trophy has a recent history of regionalized voting – not ridiculous extremes, but enough to prevent total ownership of first-place votes on the scale matching O.J. Simpson in 1968 for USC. Some voters from one part of the country are going to be different and contrarian and they will make a protest vote, or they will do something which cuts against the grain. These won’t come in huge numbers – again, this doesn’t refer to a majority of Heisman voters – but there is regularly a subsection which doesn’t vote according to conventional wisdom or widely accepted realities. These factions will keep Burrow’s total under 855. The fact that two Ohio State players, not just one, are in the hunt makes it easier for voters in or near the state of Ohio to put a Buckeye, either Chase Young or Justin Fields, at No. 1. There won’t be a lot of those ballots, but there will be enough to keep the number under 855.

Get the latest college football odds and information–follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter!

BetOnline.ag on Instagram–Follow for the latest odds, stats and information!