Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza’s 2025 season could not have been more perfect.
He led his Hoosiers to an unblemished 16-0 season, captured the national championship in historic fashion and won the 2025 Heisman before being selected first in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Raiders.
Now that the path is clear for someone new to leave NYC in December holding the Heisman, who will it be?
Miami teammates Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney have made their mark early this season, and Trinidad Chambliss surged after a historic performance against his former coach, Lane Kiffin, and LSU.
But after another record-breaking performance, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith stamped his case to become the first pass-catcher since DeVonta Smith to win the award.
Let’s check out the latest Heisman trophy odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of Oct. 3.
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Jeremiah Smith: +110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Darian Mensah: +480 (bet $10 to win $58 total)
Keelon Russell +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total
CJ Carr: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Trinidad Chambliss: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Arch Manning: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Malachi Toney: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Gunner Stockton: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Kamario Taylor: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Julian Sayin: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Here’s what to know about the 2026 Heisman oddsboard:
Jeremiah Smith, WR: +110
Might as well give Jeremiah Smith the Heisman trophy. And he knows it.
On Saturday, with six minutes remaining in the third quarter against Iowa, after Smith hauled in a 57-yard touchdown that gave him the most touchdown catches of any Ohio State wide receiver ever (36), he hit the Heisman pose.
It was subtle and quick because Smith has let his play do the talking.
He also set the record for most catches by any Ohio State wide receiver with 207. Saturday was his second- consecutive game with over 200 receiving yards and multiple touchdown catches.
Smith torched Illinois’ defense last week to set his receiving yards record with 217. He also secured his first-career three touchdown game before halftime, and had 150 receiving yards in the first half. He finished the game with four touchdown catches, becoming the fifth Ohio State wide receiver to do so, after hauling one in early in the fourth quarter.
He’s up to 825 yards on the season, and is now the Buckeyes all-time receiving leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
After his historic performance in Ohio State’s 31-14 win over Iowa, Smith went from second place at +360 to the heavy favorite at +110.
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Darian Mensah, QB: +480
Darian Mensah is the +440 second choice to win the Heisman Trophy (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images).
Mensah’s Miami career couldn’t have started much better. He immediately silenced the doubters by throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns against Stanford in Week 1. In the process, Mensah became just the sixth quarterback since 2000 to complete at least 90% of his passes while throwing for 400 or more yards and five touchdowns in a game.
He followed that performance by completing 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in Miami’s 77-7 win over Florida A&M in Week 2. Then, against Wake Forest on Friday night, Mensah completed his first 24 passes, two shy of the record for the most consecutive completions to start a game.
Mensah continued on that path with 338 yards and four total touchdowns in Miami’s rout of Central Michigan in Week 4.
In Miami’s Week 5 blowout win at Clemson, Mensah added two touchdowns, 227 passing yards and 27 rushing yards. Through five games this season, he has only four fewer total touchdowns (17) than incompletions (21) as the Canes continue to roll.
Keelon Russell, QB: +750
Keelon Russell jumped from +1600 to the Heisman Trophy favorite. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Heading into Saturday, Heisman hype surrounded Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor. Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell stole the show. The sophomore threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns to lead the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide to a 56-23 win over No. 16 Mississippi State in Starkville.
After his three touchdowns today, Russell is now the fifth Alabama QB since 2000 to be responsible for 14+ TDs through the team’s first five games, joining Tua Tagovailoa (2018, 2019), Ty Simpson (2025), Jalen Milroe (2024), and Bryce Young (2021, 2022).
After the performance, Russell’s odds jumped from +1600 to the favorite at +350. But once Jeremiah Smith delivered a statement game, Russell fell back into a tie for third at +750.
CJ Carr, QB: +750
CJ Carr keeps slowly rising the Heisman oddsboard. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)
Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr continued his quiet, but efficient season with 234 yards and four touchdowns as the third-ranked Fighting Irish beat North Carolina 37-26.
His odds rose from +1200 to +750 as he’s tied for third place, but Carr’s Heisman case will remain weak as Notre Dame only has three games against current AP top 25 teams on its schedule.
Trinidad Chambliss, QB: +1600
Trinidad Chambliss fell to fourth place in the Heisman trophy race after Ole Miss’ loss to Florida in Week 4. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images).
Chambliss delivered a Heisman-worthy performance to beat his former coach Lane Kiffin and LSU in Week 3. But in the following week, Ole Miss and Chambliss fell victim to a trap game. The fourth-ranked Rebels lost 52-28 to No. 21 Florida. Chambliss still delivered a respectable statline with 298 passing yards and three total touchdowns, two of which came on the ground.
But he dropped to fourth on the oddsboard at +1100 after the loss — and is down at +1600 — and will need to lead Ole Miss to as many victories throughout the remainder of its SEC schedule, as the Heisman trophy is more than a statistical award.
