Jonathan Taylor Rumbles Into Top-5 in Latest Heisman Odds as Trevor Lawrence Drops Out

• Jonathan Taylor had 203 yards and two rushing touchdowns in a 35-14 win over Michigan last week
• Taylor had 2,194 rushing yards and 16 TDs last year, but finished ninth in Heisman voting
• Now in the top-five in terms of Heisman odds, does the Wisconsin RB have any chance of winning?

After another impressive win by the Wisconsin Badgers (3-0), running back Jonathan Taylor has moved into the top-five in terms of the average 2019 Heisman Trophy odds, now sitting at +1100. He’s still sporting +1600 odds, however.

2019 Heisman Trophy Odds

*Odds taken September 09/25/19.

With the Badgers having a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way, can Taylor continue to shine and become the next Badger back to win the Heisman?

Taylor Has Posted Incredible Numbers

The Badgers are 3-0 this season and are now the No. 8 team in the country. They have outscored opponents 145-14 and those 14 points allowed came in garbage time when the Badgers had already blown out the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines.

Taylor has been the engine for this Badgers teams. He actually had a couple of modest games against South Florida and Central Michigan (in terms of yardage) before piling up 203 yards against Michigan.

On the season, he has 440 rushing yards for a 7.6 yards-per-carry average with 10 total touchdowns.

Taylor has always been in the Heisman conversation but his showing against Michigan – and the Badgers beatdown of the Wolverines – is what has elevated him into the top five.

How Good Is Michigan?

The real question here is how good are the Wolverines? The Badgers have impressed so far, but if their win – and Taylor’s awesome effort – is against a Wolverines team that is just so-so, then it won’t be viewed in the same late at the end of the season.

If Michigan proves to be a nine or 10-win team, that’s a different story.

For now, it looks like the Wolverines are not nearly as strong as preseason projections; they struggled against Middle Tennessee and were lucky to beat Army. That doesn’t bode well for the Badgers and Taylor’s Heisman chances.

Can Taylor Shine Against Michigan State, Ohio State?

What it’s really going to come down to for Taylor is whether he has big days against the top teams in the Big Ten, like Michigan State and Ohio State. You can even throw Iowa in the mix too. Two of those games are at home and the Ohio State game will be on the road.

If Taylor can post at least 100 yards rushing with a touchdown in those games and Wisconsin wins, he’ll have a great shot to be among the Heisman finalists in New York. If he’s kept under wraps in one or two of those games and the Badgers suffer a loss, his case becomes much harder to make.

Taking a look back to last season, Taylor had modest games against some of Wisconsin’s elite competition, including a surprising 46-yard effort against Northwestern. I would expect teams like Michigan State and Ohio State will focus in on him and make sure he doesn’t run wild.

What’s The Best Bet?

The Badgers are known for being a running back factory and it seems like whomever they plug in behind their stellar offensive lines will pile up the numbers. That’s why 2,000-yard seasons aren’t even Heisman-worthy anymore. Taylor had 2,194 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns last season and was ninth in Heisman voting.

Of course, if the Badgers go undefeated or make the playoff with just one loss on their resume, he’ll have a much better shot.

But I don’t see him matching those numbers from a year ago. With the emphasis being on passing these days and a number of good quarterbacks in the running for the trophy already, I just don’t see Taylor doing enough to win it.