2026 Heisman Trophy betting odds: Favorites, contenders, future picks for Week 2 including Toney, Mensah

September 8, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

Week 1 of the College Football season is in the past and we have plenty of risers and fallers for the 2026 Heisman Trophy! Everyone is talking about the Miami Hurricanes duo at quarterback and receiver, Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney, plus the terrific debuts of Sam Leavitt at LSU and Josh Hoover at Indiana. Let's take a look at the Heisman rankings!

All betting odds are courtesy of DraftKings. It’s worth noting that odds do not impact my order, but are noteworthy. Let’s get started!

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Darian Mensah had one heck of a start to his Miami career. The former Duke Blue Devil bombarded Stanford with 401 passing yards on 27-of-30 passing (90%) and five touchdowns, including three to Malachi Toney! It was well-known coming into the season that Mensah to Toney would be an epic duo, but it's say to say the connection between the two will be cinema this season. Miami plays Florida A&M, Wake Forest, and Central Michigan over the next three games — a beautiful schedule for Mensah to run his numbers up.

Jeremiah Smith started his NFL Draft eligible year with a monster performance of 151 yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns against Ball State. The 151 yards was the fourth-most of Smith's Buckeye career (187, 157, 153 yards). Smith has scored a touchdown in 10 out of 12 career non-conference games with the two exceptions coming against, guess who, the Texas Longhorns! Well, Smith has another chance to break that skid against Texas, and they do say that the third time is a charm. Let's see if Smith can find the end zone this weekend as No. 1 Ohio State visits No. 5 Texas for what could be the game of the year.

Last year, Arch Manning posted 170 passing yards, 38 rushing yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 17-for-30 passing in a 14-7 loss at No. 3 Ohio State. That game pretty much ended Manning's Heisman case, and once again, it may all come down to the Buckeyes. Manning and the Longhorns host No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday. Hopefully Manning knocked the rust off in a dominant 59-7 win over Texas State (311 total yards, 4 TDs), but we will see!

I mean, career-highs of 234 yards on 12 catches and three touchdowns...what else can we say? Malachi Toney absolutely blacked out against Stanford and I'd question if he even remembers hitting the Heisman pose three separate times in the end zone! Toney is arguably the most dynamic receiver in the country, but there's no argument over him being the most dangerous route runner. Toney had Stanford's defensive backs hitting the spin cycle routinely. It seems more evident than ever that Toney will shatter all of Miami's career receiving records in his sophomore season.

Julian Sayin has probably heard of K.I.S.S, keep it simple stupid. That's what he did against Ball State. Sayin was efficient, going 21-of-25, didn't put the ball in harms way (0 turnovers) and totaled 320 yards through the air with four total touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush). With Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Innis, Devin McCuin, and Chris Henry Jr. at wide out — it's safe to say that Sayin has the best receiver room in the country and he just needs to keep it simple stupid as much as possible.

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Despite the Oregon Ducks having an early season scare versus Boise State, Dante Moore delivered. Moore finished the game 28-for-37 (75.7%) with 378 yards and three touchdowns. However, Oregon was down 17-14 at the half and during the Ducks' second half rally, Moore really turned up his play. In Oregon's first five drives of the second half, the Ducks scored two touchdowns and kicked three field goals for 20 points to seal the 34-27 win. If Oregon would have lost, Moore's Heisman campaign would have ended in Week 1. His case is on thin ice if or when Oregon loses.

Josh Hoover wasn't asked to do too much against North Texas in his Indiana Hoosiers debut. Hoover only attempted 16 passes and completed 13 of them for 231 yards and four touchdowns. With Hoover under center, Indiana scored on six out of seven drives, five of those seven drives ended in touchdowns, and all four first half drives resulted in a score (24 points).

CJ Carr had a decent game against Wisconsin to start the season. Carr didn't do anything out of the ordinary recording a line of 19-for-29 passing, plus 239 yards and two touchdowns. Notre Dame dominated Wisconsin in the second half and pulled away with a 41-13 win. It is worth noting that outside of RB Aneyas Wlliams (90 yards, 2 TDs), Notre Dame ran for 21 yards on 12 carries. If the running back committee isn't producing for the Irish — that could push Notre Dame to lean on the arm of Carr much more this year.

Sam Leavitt and Lane Kiffin started off their LSU era in pure dominance. LSU beat the brakes off Clemson, 51-10, and Leavitt had a night to remember as he led the team in passing and rushing. On the ground, Leavitt ran for 113 yards on 12 carries and added two touchdowns. The former Arizona State quarterback tossed 230 yards on 16-of-28 passing (57.1%) with one touchdown and one interception. With Louisiana Tech on deck, Leavitt could rise in the rankings once again.

Through two games and only six quarters (sat both 4Q), Jayden Maiava has been nearly perfect. To open the season, Maiava went 25-of-29 passing for 286 yards with three total touchdowns (2 pass, 1 rush) in a 42-26 win over San Jose State. In a 39-0 win over Fresno State this past weekend, Maiava completed 23 of 25 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns. That's 48-of-54 through the air (88.9%) with six total touchdowns and 635 passing yards. Maiva gets the nod over Trinidad Chambliss (+1300) and John Mateer (+2800).

Out of the Top 10:

New to the Top 10:

DraftKings Betting Odds Top 10

Vaughn Dalzell's Top 10

1. Darian Mensah (+550), Miami

2. Arch Manning, Texas (+950)

2. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (+1000)

3. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (+1000)

3. Arch Manning, Texas (+950)

4. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (+1100)

4. Malachi Toney, Miami (+1250)

5. Malachi Toney, Miami (+1250)

5. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (+1200)

6. Dante Moore, Oregon (+1300)

7. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (+1300)

7. Josh Hoover, Indiana (+1900)

8. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (+1200)

8. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (+1100)

9. Sam Leavitt, LSU Tigers (+1500)

9. Sam Leavitt, LSU (+1500)

10. Jayden Maiva, USC (+1750)

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