Only one weekend of college football remains in October, and we're starting to see the wheat separate from the chaff in the 2026 Heisman Trophy race.
Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith has led the way for a while now, even commandingly at times, but the Buckeyes' bye this week has tightened the race. Now, there are three primary favorites, with a quarterback and receiver duo of teammates joining Smith in what now looks like a pretty close race.
With Week 9 now upon us, players are running out of opportunities to state their Heisman case. Here's the current state of affairs, with odds courtesy of BetMGM.
T10. Jayden Maiava, Keelon Russell, Braden Atkinson (+10000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Maiava +8000 (+2500)
- Russell N/A (+2500)
- Atkinson N/A
Maiava had a rough outing as USC's playoff hopes may have ended with a loss at Wisconsin. Maiava completed just 31
of 50 passes in that game while throwing two picks. Russell, meanwhile, is back on the board after throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Texas A&M. Atkinson joins the list as one of the biggest preseason longshots. The Mercer transfer leads a prolific passing attack at Oregon State and leads the nation in passing yards (2,604) and touchdowns (24) with just two interceptions on the season.
9. Sam Leavitt (+8000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Leavitt N/A (+2500)
Leavitt has returned to the top 10 as his play has improved quite a bit in recent weeks. His outing against Auburn was one of his best of the year, throwing for 387 yards and three interceptions while rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown.
T7. Gunner Stockton, Drew Mestemaker (+6600)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Stockton +6600 (+2500)
- Mestemaker +5000 (+6600)
Stockton held serve while Georgia was on bye preparing for its game against Florida, while Mestemaker threw for 386 yards and four more touchdowns in a blowout win over Colorado. Despite that effort, and the fact that his passing yards total ranks second nationally behind Atkinson, his odds did take a dip this week.
T4. Trinidad Chambliss, CJ Carr, Jesse Legree (+2000)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Chambliss +700 (+1600)
- Carr +1400 (+700)
- Legree +1800 (N/A)
Chambliss' Heisman case may have collapsed in Austin on Saturday night. He completed just 25 of 52 passes with a season-high three interceptions in the seven-point loss. Carr and Legree were on bye, but both dropped in the odds while idle. Carr played pretty well in a loss to BYU in his last outing, while Legree remains the nation's leader in receiving yards and touchdowns.
3. Malachi Toney (+350)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Toney +2200 (+4000)
Toney now finds himself squarely in the race after an unbelievable game in a blowout win over Pittsburgh. He caught a season-high 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Toney leads the nation in receptions and trails only Legree and Smith in receiving yards and touchdowns.
2. Darian Mensah (+300)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Mensah +350 (+1100)
Mensah is now joined by his favorite receiver in the top three, but he's still the one getting a bit more love. He was hyper-efficient again against Pitt, completing 31 of 37 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns. He's completing more than 80% of his passes this season, and he has a 22-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
1. Jeremiah Smith (+110)
Odds Last Week (Opening Odds)
- Smith -130 (+1600)
Smith had minus odds for a few weeks, but that has changed after the bye week. He still has the inside track to win the trophy, but with quarterback Julian Sayin potentially sidelined for a while, he'll have to maintain his Heisman pace with a true freshman backup in Luke Fahey, who seems likely to start on Saturday against USC.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 2026 Heisman Trophy odds tracker, Week 9: Race tightens, coalesces around top 3
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