Game Of Throws: Oregon’s Gabriel the Heisman Trophy favourite at FanDuel
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When Dillon Gabriel transferred from Oklahoma to Oregon earlier this year, college football fans were quick to point out the similarities between him and one of the greatest Ducks of all-time.
No, that’s not a reference to TSN’s Davis Sanchez, although he’s undoubtedly my favourite Oregon alumni.
I’m referring to 2014 Heisman winner Marcus Mariota.
Mariota also played quarterback at Oregon.
Mariota also wore the No 8 for the Ducks.
The link between Gabriel and Mariota goes much further than just their school and their jersey number.
Gabriel and Mariota are both from the Oahu – the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands.
In fact, Gabriel and Mariota grew up in towns that are less than one hour away from one another.
The parallels extend to their playing styles as well.
Like Mariota, Gabriel is a mobile quarterback with a live arm that can make big plays with both his arm and legs.
Now Gabriel gets an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of one of his heroes at Oregon this season.
Gabriel enters the 2024 season as the favourite to win the Heisman Trophy at +700 at FanDuel.
The 23-year-old senior is looking to become just the second pre-season Heisman Trophy favourite to go on to win that award in the last 15 years.
In the previous 15 seasons, only once has the Heisman favourite entering that season gone on to win the award.
That was Oregon QB Marcus Mariota back in 2014.
Twenty of the past 24 Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks, including each of the last three in Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, and Bryce Young.
However, Gabriel enters this season with the longest odds by a pre-season Heisman favourite over the last 15 seasons.
Georgia QB Carson Beck (+750) and Texas QB Quinn Ewers (+1000) round out the top three choices to win the Heisman Trophy at FanDuel right now.
Ohio State QB Will Howard (+1400), Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava (+1400), Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (+1400), and Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (+1400) round out the list of players with shorter than 18-to-1 odds to win the award.
A little further down the list, you’ll find Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at +4000 to win the Heisman Trophy.
Sanders, who threw for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns last season, is looking to become the first Heisman Trophy finalist from Colorado since Rashaan Salaam won the award all the way back in 1994.
Thanks in part to his longshot status, Sanders has been the most popular pick to win the Heisman at FanDuel.
Per the FanDuel traders, 10 per cent of the bets and 14 per cent of the stakes are on Sanders to win the Heisman.
Milroe is the second-most popular pick to win the Heisman at FanDuel, accounting for seven per cent of the bets and 10 per cent of the stakes.
Sanders’ Colorado teammate Travis Hunter is the third-most popular pick to win the Heisman at +6000.
Hunter is the first player with at least five touchdown receptions and three defensive interceptions in a season since Champ Bailey in 1998.
Hunter’s head coach, Deion Sanders, finished eighth in Heisman voting as a defensive back in 1988.
Six per cent of the total bets and nine per cent of the total stakes in the Heisman trophy market are on Hunter to win the award.
Gabriel is tied with Hunter as the third-most popular pick to win the Heisman at FanDuel, accounting for nine per cent of the total stakes in that award market.
With the NCAA football season right around the corner, we’re destined to hear plenty of talk about what is expected to be the most wide-open Heisman trophy race in recent years in the coming weeks.
Gabriel will look to follow in Mariota’s footsteps as a Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon.
If Gabriel goes on to win the Heisman, he’ll join Mariota as the only pre-season betting favourites to win that award over a span of 16 college football seasons dating back to 2009.