Kedon Slovis, CJ Verdell, Jayden Daniels Reappear in Heisman Odds – Could a Pac-12 Player Win?

• The Pac-12 is planning to play a seven-game 2020 season starting in early November
• USC’s Kedon Slovis, Oregon’s CJ Verdell, and ASU’s Jayden Daniels have been re-added to the Heisman Trophy odds, albeit at longshot prices
• Is there value betting on a Pac-12 player to contend for the Heisman?

With the Pac-12 announcing they will be playing a seven-game football season beginning Nov. 6, the top players from the conference have been re-added to the Heisman Trophy odds. USC QB Kedon Slovis, Oregon RB CJ Verdell, and ASU QB Jayden Daniels are all listed as +10000 longshots in the updated odds, with Stanford QB Davis Mills and USC WR Amon-Ra St. Brown further down the board.

Will a Pac-12 player actually be able to contend for the Heisman this year? The following table shows the updated Heisman odds at FanDuel with the inclusion of Pac-12 players.

2020 Heisman Trophy Odds

Odds as of Sep. 30, 2020.  

Slovis Is Best QB in Pac-12

Considering Trojans QB Kedon Slovis was as short as +400 in the Heisman odds heading into the 2020 season (pre-pandemic), his new price of +10000 is quite intriguing. The youngster threw for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with just nine interceptions in his freshmen season in Graham Harrell’s air-raid offense.

With Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, Washington, and Oregon all losing their starting quarterback to the NFL this offseason, Slovis should be considered the best QB in the conference heading into 2020. One of the reasons his odds are so long is because USC and the other Pac-12 teams will only be playing seven games, while conferences such as the ACC and SEC will be playing 10 or 11.

Pac-12 players will only be in the mix if Heisman voters look at individual games instead of overall numbers, and considering that USC’s marquee matchups against Alabama and Notre Dame were wiped off the schedule, Slovis will have a hard time generating “Heisman moments”. His top opponents are going to be Utah, ASU and, possibly Oregon or Washington in one cross-over divisional game.

Verdell Is a Force on the Ground 

Aside from Slovis at USC, Oregon running back CJ Verdell is the only other Pac-12 player worth considering in these updated odds. The junior has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and should get a solid number of carries with senior QB Justin Herbert off to the NFL.

With inexperienced sophomore Tyler Shough under center, Verdell has the chance to really stand out in what is likely to be a moe run-heavy offense. The issue with Verdell is that he always seems to be dealing with some type of minor injury; he missed a bunch of second halves in 2019. That isn’t going to cut in a year where games are limited and he’ll need eye-popping numbers every time he hits the field.

The other thing working against Verdell is that the Heisman has primarily become QB award, with only three running backs winning over the last 20 years. In a year where Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are not only playing their final season, but also playing more games, there’s not much value on Verdell even at these odds.

Verdict on Pac-12’s Heisman Chances

The Pac-12 hasn’t produced a team in the CFP in three years, which already doesn’t bode well for any player from the conference winning the Heisman in 2020. Add in the fact that all 12 teams will only be playing seven regular-season games, and these Pac-12 players re-added to the Heisman odds are facing a massive uphill battle.

Mario Cristobal says the Pac-12 Champion "without a doubt" should be considered for the College Football Playoff.

"Absolutely, the Pac-12 Champion deserves a strong consideration for the CFP"

— Kevin Wade (@KwadeSays) September 25, 2020

The value from betting on a longshot comes from the possibility of a team going 7-0 and earning a CFP berth. That’s where Slovis at +10000 could be enticing. He’ll have his one of his favorite targets from 2019 back in Amon-Ra St. Brown and could post some monster numbers now that he has a year of experience under his belt. But that’s still not a wager anyone should rush to the window for.