Matt Corral’s Heisman Odds Improve to +800 After Week 1 vs Louisville

• Ole Miss QB Matt Corral saw his Heisman odds improve to +800 after Week 1 vs Louisville
• Corral threw for 381 yards and accounted for two touchdowns in the season opener
• Read below to see if Corral is a good bet to win the 2021 Heisman Trophy

Ole Miss QB Matt Corral saw major improvement in his 2021 Heisman Trophy odds after his Week 1 performance against Louisville. Corral is now listed as the second favorite to win the prestigious trophy behind Alabama’s Bryce Young.

Corral’s Rebels unleashed their explosive offense on the Cardinals despite being without head coach Lane Kiffin. Corral is regarded as one of the best QBs in college football after passing for 3,337 yards and 29 TDs as a redshirt sophomore last season.

Is Corral a smart bet to win the 2021 Heisman Trophy?

2021 Heisman Trophy Odds

Corral Lights Up Louisville

Ole Miss QB Matt Corral was the final Heisman contender to take the field in Week 1. The junior pivot showed he was worth the wait with a dominant Labour Day Monday performance against Louisville. Corral threw for 381 yards and accounted for two touchdowns in a 43-24 victory over the Cardinals.

Matt Corral vs Louisville:

🔷 22-32
🔷 436 Total Yards
🔷 2 TDs pic.twitter.com/POdMYurM3j

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 7, 2021

Oddsmakers were quick to adjust Corral’s Heisman odds following his impressive season debut. Corral went from +1500 to +800 at DraftKings and is listed at +700 on FanDuel. He’s now the second favorite behind only Alabama’s Bryce Young. Other top contenders such as Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler and Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei disappointed in Week 1.

Corral is primed for a big season after passing for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in 2020. Losing his top receiver Elijah Moore is tough, but it may actually work in favor of Corral’s Heisman bid given the attention Moore garnered. Corral still gets to throw to two of his top targets from 2020 in Dontario Drummond and Braylon Sanders.

Rebels Can Take SEC West 

If a quarterback wants to be considered a legit Heisman Trophy contender, they need to be playing on one of the best teams in the country. Ole Miss has the chance to win the SEC West in 2021 with LSU suffering a season-opening upset loss to UCLA. The Rebels other top divisional opponent is Texas A&M, who will travel to Mississippi in Week 11.

Starting off with a bang! #HottyToddy

Highlights ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cPAe93oEq4

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 7, 2021

Ole Miss looks looks like a team on the rise, but there are lingering questions. It was only one season ago that Lane Kiffin’s team ranked second-last in FBS in total defense, allowing 38.3 points per game. The Rebels return nine starters on defense in 2021 and held Louisville scoreless in the first half Monday. Whether they can do that consistently remains to be seen.

Ole Miss will get their first true test facing Alabama in Week 5 on Oct. 2nd. Corral just needs to keep Ole Miss within reach to stay in the Heisman conservation. The third-year starter carved up the Crimson Tide’s secondary last season, throwing for 365 yards and two TDS in a 63-48 loss.

Matt Corral Heisman Analysis

Corral’s Heisman hype is warranted when you consider his experience and arm strength, but there are reasons to tread lightly. Ole Miss only went 5-5 last season and Corral threw 14 interceptions. The junior pivot could very well throw away his Heisman chances if he can’t clean up the turnovers against an elite defense like Alabama or Texas A&M.

It’s best to take a wait-and-see approach with Corral, as his preseason longshot value has already disappeared. Louisville had a dynamic offense in 2020, but they lost several key players this offseason. We need to get a bigger sample size of this Ole Miss defense before considering them as legit contenders to win the SEC. They’re currently +3500 in the Conference Championship odds.

Week 1 was full of underwhelming performances from Heisman contenders, but Corral didn’t disappoint. If the Ole Miss defense can keep them in games and Corral continues to thrive under Kiffin, the Rebels’ pivot could find himself with a seat at the 2021 Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.