Each week this college football season, For The Win will take a look at the 2026 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back every Tuesday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. All odds via BetMGM.
As we reach the midpoint of the 2026 college football race, the Heisman race is now in full swing.
Though the first month of the season saw some jostling back and forth with Miami's Darian Mensah, Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss leading the odds board at different points, we now seem to be solidifying as a frontrunner.
Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith is a generational receiver prospect, and he may have a cakewalk to winning the award if he continues
at the current pace of his Buckeye record-shattering season. He expanded his lead entering Week 7, and the question now is whether anyone is capable of catching him.
Here's where he stands relative to his competitors in the latest Heisman Trophy odds, per BetMGM.
T17. Bear Bachmeier, Jesse Legree (+12500)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Bachmeier (+6600)
- Legree (N/A)
Bachmeier's production in the passing game has been limited, though he's coming off his best game of the year in which he threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 109 yards in a win over Iowa State. Legree, meanwhile, is arguably the most surprising name to join the list this year. The true freshman Oregon State receiver is in the midst of a breakout campaign, and he leads the nation — and even Smith — with 932 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
T15. Jayden Maiava, Anthony Colandrea (+10000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Maiava +10000 (+2500)
- Colandrea (+12500)
Maiava continues to hang around after a 300-yard, three-touchdown passing day in the win at Penn State. He ranks second nationally in passing yards and touchdowns, though the Trojans have played one more game than most teams. Colandrea, meanwhile, is new to the rankings. He threw an interception in the loss to Indiana but also managed 263 passing yards with 47 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
T13. Sam Leavitt, Austin Simmons (+6600)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Leavitt +6600 (+2500)
- Simmons +6600 (+10000)
Neither of these SEC signal-callers saw a change in their odds this week. Leavitt threw another pick (his eighth of the year) in the loss to Kentucky, though he did throw for 275 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another. Simmons turned in a less impressive performance than he did against Florida, completing just 50% of his passes for 147 yards, a touchdown and a pick, though Missouri still easily dispatched Texas A&M.
T11. Josh Hoover, Malachi Toney (+5000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Hoover +5000 (+1600)
- Toney +3500 (+4000)
Hoover's odds have remained static for a few weeks now, and that remains the case despite throwing for 263 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 completions in the win over Nebraska. The FBS' active leader in career interceptions, Hoover is still yet to throw a pick this season. Toney, meanwhile, saw his stock continue to drop while Miami was on bye. In his last outing, he had a season-low in receiving yards in the win over Clemson.
T8. Arch Manning, Drew Mestemaker, Kamario Taylor (+4000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Manning +3500 (+850)
- Mestemaker +5000 (+6600)
- Taylor +4000 (+15000)
Manning's odds took another dip after a two-interception outing in the loss against Oklahoma, while Mestemaker continues to rise after throwing for more than 300 yards and scoring three total touchdowns in a win over UCF. Taylor's odds have dropped dramatically in the last two weeks despite Mississippi State being on bye in Week 6, and his status is unclear entering the LSU matchup in Week 7 as he deals with an injury.
7. Julian Sayin (+3500)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Sayin +4000 (+1400)
Sayin isn't getting as much Heisman love as his favorite target, but he's been highly productive and fairly efficient. His odds saw a slight boost this week after throwing for 242 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 completions in a blowout win over Maryland, though he did toss an interception — just his second of the season.
T4. Gunner Stockton, Keelon Russell, Trinidad Chambliss (+1500)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Stockton +3500 (+2500)
- Russell +900 (+2500)
- Chambliss +1600 (+1600)
We saw Stockton and Russell face off head-to-head in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night, and it was the former who got the better of the latter. Stockton did throw a pick, but he completed 18 of 22 passes for 249 yards and two total touchdowns. Russell wasn't particularly efficient, though he made some explosive plays and finished with more than 200 total yards and a touchdown. Chambliss, meanwhile, mostly returned to form in a win over Vanderbilt coming off a bye. He threw for just 213 yards and was intercepted, but he also scored four total touchdowns.
3. Darian Mensah (+1100)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Mensah +500 (+1100)
Mensah's odds took a hit through no fault of his own as the Hurricanes were on bye. Still, he remains in contention as he has completed 84.2% of his passes without an interception so far this season.
2. CJ Carr (+1000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Carr +900 (+700)
Though he's been a bit of a quiet contender given Notre Dame's schedule, Carr has remained near the top of the board throughout the season. He has 16 touchdowns to one interception this year as he threw for three more in the win over Stanford, and he'll face his first major test on Saturday against a tough BYU defense.
1. Jeremiah Smith (-220)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Smith -120 (+1600)
I'm not sure anyone is catching Smith. He caught just four passes in the win over Maryland, but he still scored touchdowns on two of those and nearly went over 100 yards. He ranks second nationally with 48 catches, while his 916 yards and 11 touchdowns both lead the Power Four and rank second nationally behind only Legree. At this point, it may take multiple goose eggs from Smith to squander his lead.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 2026 Heisman Trophy odds tracker, Week 7: Will Jeremiah Smith run away with it?
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