College football betting: Over 20% of Heisman tickets were on Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter

Bettors caught Colorado Heisman fever early during the 2023 college football season.

Over 20% of the tickets placed on the winner of the Heisman Trophy were on Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. Sanders got the most tickets of any player at nearly 12%, while over 9% of tickets were on Hunter to win the award.

Of course, neither player came close to winning the Heisman. But their shares are a great example of just how popular Colorado was through the first month of the season. The Buffaloes went 3-0 to start the season after wins over TCU and Nebraska in the first two weeks. The Buffaloes’ undefeated season ended with a blowout loss to Oregon in their first Pac-12 game and they went on to win just one more game the rest of the season and finished 4-8.

Sanders opened the season at +12500 to win the Heisman after transferring from Jackson State when his father Deion took the Colorado job. The QB’s odds dropped to +4000 after Week 1 and got as low as +1800 after the Week 2 win over Nebraska.

Hunter, a former five-star recruit, also came to Colorado from Jackson State. The two-way star was +15000 to start the season and his odds fell all the way to +3500 before he was injured against Colorado State.

Heisman winner Jayden Daniels closed as the big favorite to win the award as 10% of tickets and 17% of the money wagered on the winner were on him. Only Sanders drew more wagers to win the Heisman and only Oregon QB Bo Nix — who finished third behind Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. — got more money.

Daniels closed at -1400 to win the Heisman after Penix and Washington beat Oregon for the second time this season. Daniels opened with the sixth-best odds at +1600 and those odds got as high as +4000 after Week 2.

None of the top five preseason favorites was a Heisman finalist, either. USC QB Caleb Williams (+500), Florida State QB Jordan Travis (+1200), North Carolina QB Drake Maye (+1400), Texas QB Quinn Ewers (+1400) and Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman (+1400) didn’t make it to New York. Nix and Penix also opened at +1600, while fellow Heisman finalist Marvin Harrison Jr. was +2500.