Tagovailoa Starts Strong in 2019 Heisman Trophy Race; Lawrence Underwhelms

• College football season is underway
• There were many strong performances in Week 1
• How has the Heisman Trophy race changed after Week 1?

College football season is underway, and there were some great performances in Week 1.

Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence are the two co-favorites for the award, but they had very different showings in their openers, and there are plenty of other promising candidates.

Before diving deeper into the Week 1 performances, here’s where the odds to win the Heisman before the season started.

2019 Heisman Trophy Odds

Tua Tagovailoa Starts Strong

Alabama defeated Duke by a 42-3 score in their Week 1 opener. Starting QB Tua Tagovailoa is a Heisman co-favorite alongside Clemson starting Q Trevor Lawrence. Tagovailoa  was looking to get off to a strong start in 2019 after disappointing in the National Championship last season.

The Crimson Tide QB showed in Week 1 why he is a heavy favorite for the trophy, completing  26 of 31 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns. He connected with tight end Miller Forristall on a 27-yard touchdown pass and showed more great chemistry with star wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.

What a tandem Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy will be on the Dolphins next year. https://t.co/hWp3pbWRfK

— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) August 31, 2019

Tagovailoa is a great bet for the Heisman Trophy right now. Duke is no powerhouse, but it’s a good sign for bettors that the Alabama QB came to play in Week 1 after he came up short against Clemson in January.

The Crimson Tide also lost top linebacker Dylan Moses to injury before the game, so overcoming that loss would help strengthen Tagovailoa’s Heisman case this season.

Trevor Lawrence Underwhelms in Week 1

While Tagovailoa looked great in Week 1, Clemson’s starting QB and Heisman co-favorite Trevor Lawrence was fairly mediocre. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards and one interception in a 52-14 victory over Georgia Tech.

What might be most concerning is that Lawrence threw two interceptions in the first half. He threw just four picks all of last season.

Did Trevor Lawrence blow the Heisman last night? Next on @undisputed

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 30, 2019

While it’s rare for a running back to win the Heisman, RB Travis Etienne was the top performer for the Tigers in Week 1. He ran for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns, including one from 90 yards out.

It’s too early to get down on Lawrence, so look for how he rebounds against Texas A&M in Week 2. As the heavy co-favorites for the award, Tagovailoa certainly had the better week, but you shouldn’t read too much into one game.

Tagovailoa and Lawrence may be the top favorites, but as we all know with the Heisman, it’s not always the opening favorites that ends up winning the trophy.

Other Notable Week 1 Performances

Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts was a beast in Week 1 against Houston. You can read more about his incredible opener here. But there were some other notable performances in Week 1.

Texas’ QB Sam Ehlinger, LSU QB Joe Burrow and Ohio State’s QB Justin Fields all have respectable odds to win the Heisman Trophy this year. All three players delivered strong performances in Week 1.

Sam Ehlinger rushed for 276 yards and tied a career high with four touchdown passes against Louisiana Tech in Week 1.

Sam Ehlinger rushed for 276 yards and tied a career high with four touchdown passes against Louisiana Tech in Week 1. It’s a positive for bettors with money on Texas this year that the Longhorns looked good in Week 1. They were coming of consecutive years in which they dropped their opener to Maryland.

If Ehlinger can somehow lead Texas past the favorites Oklahoma in the Big 12, the Texas starting QB will be a great candidate for the Heisman.

Sam Ehlinger was on ? and tied his career-high in TD passes. pic.twitter.com/aSiFZMzXES

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 1, 2019

Burrow, meanwhile, thrived in a new spread offense for LSU in Week 1. The Tigers starting QB tied an LSU single-game record with five touchdown passes before halftime in a 55-3 victory over Georgia Southern. Burrow completed 23 of 27 passes for 278 yards without an interception.

Fields threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score in his first game for Ohio State in Week 1. The Georgia transfer completed 18 of 25 passes for 234 yards and a 51-yard touchdown run as Ohio State took down FAU 45-21.

Does a Running Back Have a Legit Shot to Win?

While the Heisman has gone to just three RB’s since the year 2000, you can’t complete discount some great Week 1 RB performances when looking at the Heisman race.

Etienne was fantastic for Clemson, but Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor also turned in an incredible Week 1 performance. The Badgers took down South Florida by a 49-0 score thanks to the superb play of Taylor. The Wisconsin star racked up 135 yards and two scores on 16 carries while also catching two passes for 48 yards and a pair of scores.

He even received an endorsement from Patrick Mahomes.

Jonathan Taylor for Heisman!

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) August 31, 2019

It’s unlikely a running back will win the Heisman, but it isn’t impossible. If Etienne and Taylor continue to impress in the coming weeks, it could be worth laying down money on one of them as a longshot while the value is still good.

Heisman Analysis After Week 1

There were lots of good performance in Week 1, but Tagovailoa, Hurts and Ehlinger stand out the most.

The award typically goes to a quarterback, and there are some very promising quarterbacks this season.

Tagovailoa is an incredible talent and he’s going to be lethal with Jeudy this season. He’s very likely to remain at the top of this list throughout the season. The Crimson Tide are a powerhouse and Tagovailoa is off to a great start.

Ehlinger also has some great value at +1500. If the Longhorns finally get over the hump this year with Ehlinger leading the way, he could turn out to be a great bet.