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Joe Burrow Soars Up Heisman Odds After LSU’s Week 1 Rout of Georgia Southern

Chris Amberley

by Chris Amberley in College Football

Updated Apr 22, 2020 · 10:45 AM PDT

Joe Burrow with LSU
Can Joe Burrow lead the Tigers back to the promised land? Photo from @TigerDroppings (Twitter).
  • Joe Burrow’s Heisman odds have shortened from +5000 to +2000
  • Burrow earned SEC Co-Player of the Week honors after a five-touchdown performance versus Georgia Southern
  • Is there value betting Burrow to win the Heisman?

Joe Burrow’s Heisman odds are on the rise. The LSU senior led the Tigers to 55-3 blowout win in Week 1 and is now a top-8 contender for college football’s most coveted trophy.

2019 Heisman Trophy Odds

Player Odds
Trevor Lawrence +260
Tua Tagovailoa +270
Jalen Hurts +900
Jake Fromm +1200
D’Andrew Swift +1400
Justin Fields +1600
Sam Ehlinger +1800
Joe Burrow +2000
Shea Patterson +2200
Travis Etienne +2500
JT Daniels +2800
Jonathan Taylor +2800
Justin Herbert +2800
Jerry Jeudy +4000
Khalil Tate +4000

Odds taken 09/04/19.

His 2019 Heisman odds have improved from +5000 to +2000 after just one game, which puts him ahead of big time NFL prospects like Justin Herbert and Jerry Jeudy.

He’s the SEC’s Co-Player of the Week, along with Tua Tagovailoa. This past Saturday, he looked like a quarterback capable of leading LSU to the College Football Playoff.

Moving on Up

Burrow’s Week 1 outing was one of the most impressive performances by a quarterback in LSU history. He tied a Tiger record by throwing five touchdown passes in the first half and he finished the game with more TD passes (5) than incompletions (4).

He led LSU to its most points in a season opener in 19 years and he vaulted into the seventh spot on ESPN’s Heisman watch list.

All told, 70.8% of the 27 passes he threw were charted as accurate by Pro Football Focus and he finished with an impressive adjusted completion percentage of 88.9%.

It’s early, but it appears the Tigers new up-tempo, no-huddle scheme is an ideal fit for his talent. We’ll certainly learn much more after LSU’s Week 2 game at Texas.

Is Burrow’s Heisman Bump Too High?

Not to take anything away from Burrow’s five touchdown game, but let’s not forget who the opponent was. Georgia Southern isn’t exactly a powerhouse program and was ranked 81st in Bill Connelly’s preseason S&P projections. Burrow doesn’t have a history of elite play, throwing for just 16 touchdowns in his only season as a starter, and was forced to leave Ohio State after not being able to win a starting job.

Eight of the past nine Heisman winners have been quarterbacks, so he has that working in his favor, but asking him to usurp future NFL stars like Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence seems unlikely. That’s not to say there isn’t value to be found on Burrow, but you need to be willing to shop around at different books.

Burrow’s Heisman odds are still +8000 at some sportsbooks, which represents incredible value if you’re able to attack that line before the oddsmakers properly adjust.

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