Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter Fly Up the Heisman Odds

Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter Fly Up the Heisman Odds

Time Stamp: September 4, 2023 2:59 PM
Source Node: 2863142

Colorado has arrived

What was once “We comin’” is now “We’re here” for Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes, who now seem to have two out-of-nowhere Heisman candidates in Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. 

going on the road and beating No. 17 and reigning national runner-up TCU 45-42

Colorado only won one game last season and brought in 53 players via the transfer portal, the most in the country, but that didn’t stop them from going on the road and beating No. 17 and reigning national runner-up TCU 45-42 behind several excellent individual performances.

The hype is real for Deion Sanders’ Buffs and sportsbooks are already scrambling to react. But can Sanders or Hunter actually compete for college football’s highest honor? We discuss…

Sanders, Hunter make early Heisman cases

Colorado was a national darling as soon as Coach Prime announced he was vacating Jackson State for a home in the mountains. Several sportsbooks took more bets on CU to win the national championship than any school, and according to SimpleBet, 16% of all college football Saturday Week 1 wagers involved the CU-TCU matchup. 

an unprecedented jump

ESPN reported that Sanders’ son, who threw for a school-record 510 yards and four touchdowns in his debut against a Power Five opponent, shortened from +10000 to +2200 odds as a Heisman candidate at Caesars sportsbook. That’s an unprecedented jump for anyone after just one game.

Not to be outdone, Hunter, who played over 110 snaps on both offense and defense and finished with 11 receptions, 119 receiving yards, an interception, a pass deflection, and three tackles, rose from +8000 to +2200. He was also one of four receivers that went over 100 yards on the day, while running back Dylan Edwards racked up 159 total yards and four touchdowns.

There has also been a bit of movement in the Buffs’ national championship odds, though not across the board. DraftKings bumped Colorado from +20000 to +10000 to win the whole shebang after their road upset win, while FanDuel stood pat with CU at +30000.

Despite still being a massive underdog, Colorado is the biggest liability for many sportsbooks in the futures market.

“[Colorado is] being backed as if they were one of the favorites to win it all,” said Ethan Useloff, a trader for PointsBet/Fanatics.

What’s to come?

As much attention as Colorado is receiving, it is nothing compared to what will come if they continue to win. Coach Prime is supremely confident in his team and has also given them a large platform to promote themselves, whether it be the inside access to the program, promoting their social media channels, or his general attractiveness to the media.

Deion Sanders, a two-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer, is already championing his stars’ Heisman cases. He said on the field during the TCU matchup that Hunter would already have the Heisman locked up if he made all of the plays he had chances at.

“He is HIM,” said Coach Prime. “We missed him on two deep balls. He gets those two deep balls, the Heisman is in his crib chilling right now.”

“Travis is it,” he continued after the game. “I always promote all my kids, I really think we got a couple guys that should be frontrunners for the Heisman right now. That’s how I feel and I want to promote my kids at all costs.”

Caesars has Sanders at +2500 and Hunter at +1600 to win the Heisman

After allowing the dust to settle, Caesars has Sanders at +2500 and Hunter at +1600 to win the Heisman. The latter only trails reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., and, Jordan Travis, and is tied with Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy as the fourth-most-likely to win the award.

Colorado plays its next game at home against the Nebraska Cornhuskers Saturday at noon Eastern.

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