Last week, Action Network did a mega guide for the Georgia-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa. Now, not all games of that magnitude live up to the hype, but the SEC powers delivered an instant classic ending in a 41-34 Alabama victory that featured two Heisman contenders in quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck.
In the preseason, Milroe's Heisman odds were typically in the +1000 to +1200 range depending on the book.
However, he's been sensational in his first year in head coach Kalen DeBoer's offense. After accounting for 491 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns against Georgia, Milroe is the new favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at +200 on BetMGM, +220 on FanDuel and +250 on DraftKings.
Beck was one of the preseason favorites to win the Heisman, along with Texas' Quinn Ewers and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel.
After Alabama went up 28-0, Beck's live lines got up as high as +3300 on FanDuel. While he did throw three interceptions, Beck did his best to will Georgia back into the game and threw for 439 yards and three touchdowns.
Beck enters this week at +3000 on DraftKings, but with Georgia's ball-control offense and defense-first approach — plus Beck's lack of rushing production — I don't expect him to win the award.
However, several SEC quarterbacks still have a shot as well.
Ewers is expected to regain his starting job following Texas' bye week, and he sits at +2000 along with Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart. Expected to be the backup for the rest of the season, Arch Manning has +10000 odds.
Yet, there's one more SEC quarterback to consider.
2024 Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alabama QB Jalen Milroe | +250 |
| Miami QB Cam Ward | +500 |
| Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter | +500 |
| Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty | +1000 |
| Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel | +1400 |
| Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava | +1500 |
| Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart | +1600 |
| Texas QB Quinn Ewers | +2000 |
| Ohio State QB Will Howard | +2500 |
| USC QB Miller Moss | +2500 |
Odds via DraftKings as of Tuesday afternoon.
Nico Iamaleava To Win the Heisman
+1800 · FanDuel
In a loaded 2023 recruiting class that included five quarterbacks who earned five-star ratings among the top 12 players in the country, I thought Nico Iamaleava was the best of the bunch because of his combination of size, athleticism, arm talent and the competition he faced, including at national events.
Manning ultimately finished the cycle as the No. 1 overall recruit, while Iamaleava came in third overall and as the second-best quarterback according to 247Sports.
Should they declare for the NFL Draft in the same year, they will likely battle it out atop draft boards as well.
How Tennessee's Defense Benefits Iamaleava
However, coming into the season, I didn't have Iamaleava on my radar as a Heisman contender. While the Heisman goes to the best player in the country, it often goes to a player on a great team, likely with 10-plus wins. James Pearce Jr. notwithstanding, I had questions about Tennessee's defense entering the year after it allowed 29 points in each of its four losses last season.
I expected Iamaleava to have a better shot at winning the Heisman next season in his second season as a starter. That would also give head coach Josh Heupel another year to keep building the Volunteers defense. However, they may already have one.
Tennessee ranks second in the country in scoring defense, allowing seven points per game.
While it has faced two more overmatched opponents in Chattanooga and Kent State, it allowed just 25 combined points in its games against Oklahoma and NC State as well.
More importantly, it has looked dominant doing so with Pearce leading a dominant defensive line.
A Heupel offense is going to score — it currently leads the nation with 54 points per game — so if the Vols have a defense to match, they have an SEC and national title ceiling.
That means Iamaleava has a valid case as the best player on an elite team argument.
Iamaleava's Stats
Iamaleava enters this week completing 69.3% of his passes while averaging 223 passing yards and 29 rushing yards per game, with eight total touchdowns (seven passing) and two interceptions.
While solid, his numbers may look a bit modest for someone I'm targeting as a Heisman candidate. But keep in mind that he has only played one full game because of how dominant Tennessee has been.
This week, Iamaleava will face an Arkansas team that ranks 89th in passing yards allowed per game followed by Florida, which ranks 97th. While Tennessee fans won't overlook the rival Gators — who pulled another upset victory in the series last year — they'll meet in Knoxville and then bigger tests will follow.
Tennessee vs. Alabama Has Huge Implications
In the Third Saturday of October matchup, Tennessee will host rival Alabama. The Crimson Tide have dominated the series, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings. However, Tennessee's lone win came in the last meeting in 2022, and this year's game is actually set up similarly.
In 2022, Alabama came to Knoxville ranked No. 3 in the country behind quarterback Bryce Young, the reigning Heisman winner and Milroe's mentor. Tennessee was ranked No. 6 with Hendon Hooker starting to ascend in the Heisman race.
Tennessee won, 52-49, as Hooker threw for 385 yards, ran for 56 yards and tossed five touchdown passes to outduel Young, who threw for 455 yards and two touchdowns himself.
Hooker would go on to tear his ACL against South Carolina, though I would still argue he deserved to be a Heisman finalist over Stetson Bennett.
This year's matchup should be a shootout as well with DeBoer and Heupel matching wits. That means a Tennessee victory would likely be because Iamaleava had a monster game and outdueled Milroe. If that's the case, he would vault up the board and may even be the new favorite following that game.
After Alabama, Tennessee has a bye before hosting Kentucky. Tennessee will likely be a double-digit favorite, but it will need the bye week to figure out Kentucky's defense.
The Wildcats just slowed down Dart and an Ole Miss team that had marched up and down the field on every team it played. An impressive showing from Iamaleava against that defense could impress the Heisman voters.
His last major test in the regular season will come at Georgia in November. By then, the Bulldogs will have played Texas and Ole Miss. I expect them to beat Ole Miss, but winning in Austin will be a tougher task. However, a two-loss Georgia team would probably still be ranked in the top 10 by the time it hosts Tennessee.
There's also the scenario where Tennessee beats Alabama and loses to Georgia, meaning all teams held serve at home in the mini round-robin.
If Georgia beats Texas, there's a scenario where Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Texas all finish with one SEC loss. That would create a messy situation when trying to determine the SEC Championship game, but if Tennessee is one of those teams, that will give Iamaleava one more chance to impress the voters on Championship Saturday.
Non-Quarterback Contenders
The two non-quarterbacks in the race are Colorado's Travis Hunter and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.
Hunter certainly has a claim to being college football's most outstanding player with his dominance on both sides of the ball, but I still have my doubts about Colorado finishing with more than eight wins.
Meanwhile, running backs rarely win the Heisman anymore, let alone one from Group of Five — even as good as Jeanty is. I don't see either winning the Heisman over an SEC quarterback with 10-plus wins, a conference championship and outstanding production to match.
And lastly, you may have read my piece last winter on transfers with a shot at winning the Heisman. The odds are in our favor with Ward and Gabriel still remaining in the race with games against Ohio State and Michigan coming up.
If you have a Ward ticket at +2000 or better or Milroe at better odds, you could take Iamaleava as a hedge on the other two, giving you three opportunities to cash a long shot on this year's Heisman winner.
If Tennessee knocks off Alabama, that +1800 number on Iamaleava won't last long.
