On Wednesday, Joel Klatt provided three long-shot names who could go on to win the Heisman Trophy. One stood out among that trio, though, as a player who he fully expects to be at least a finalist in New York come December. During his show this week, Klatt listed some of his favorite long-shot bets […]
On Wednesday, Joel Klatt provided three long-shot names who could go on to win the Heisman Trophy. One stood out among that trio, though, as a player who he fully expects to be at least a finalist in New York come December.
During his show this week, Klatt listed some of his favorite long-shot bets of the season, including three options he likes to possibly win the Heisman. His favorite of the three, along with Florida’sDJ Lagway and Alabama’sRyan Williams, was Notre Dame’sJeremiyah Love considering the kind of season he could have as a key part of the Irish’s identity and success.
“The guy that I’m going to land on as my best long odds to win the Heisman Trophy? And this is two-fold. Number one is because I know their philosophy and I know what they’re going to lean in to in order to be good. And, my belief that, yes, they will be good,” said Klatt. “I don’t think that there’s any way that Notre Dame doesn’t go to the College Football Playoff. I really don’t…It’s not a schedule that’s going to put a lot of fear into you. We saw what they were able to do a year ago, physically beating teams up. And so, we know they’ll lean into that, in particular with a new quarterback. And now, you’ve got Jeremiyah Love, who I think could be, individually, the best back in the country, playing for a team that will lean into playing physical, run-oriented football – and I know they’re going to be there in the end.”
“Yep. Yep! Sign me up. Those are great long odds,” said Klatt. “This guy is a phenomenal player. Think of it this way. I’m going to be surprised if he’s not in New York because of the way I believe in their team and believe in him and their philosophy. He’s that dynamic. If he stays healthy, he’s going to be upwards of 1,700, 1,800, maybe even 1,900 yards, maybe even 2,000 yards.”
Per the odds at BetMGM, Love is in a six-way tie for the seventh-best odds at (+2000) to win the Heisman. That’s just behind Lagway (+1800 – T-6th), ahead of Williams (+4000 – T-11th), and has him tied with five quarterbacks in Penn State’sDrew Allar, Ohio State’sJulian Sayin, Georgia’sGunner Stockton, Arizona State’sSam Leavitt, and Alabama’sTy Simpson. He’s also the second-best in odds for a non-quarterback after only Ohio State’sJeremiah Smith (+1000 – 4th).
That said, Klatt sees a clear path for Love to be in NYC for the Heisman ceremony. He already mentioned the team success, as Notre Dame is to be in title contention again as an independent trying to make it for the second straight year to the CFP. Assuming that’s the case in South Bend, Love should have a big role in that for a still run-heavy offense, which he led last season in a breakout campaign with 1,362 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns, with 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns coming on the ground, for the Irish. He now enters this season as an AP Preseason First Team All-American and as a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award.
Love will need to have a big season to be a legitimate candidate, even if he is the best running back coming into this year in all of college football. Still, combining all those aspects, Klatt thinks he’ll at the very least be at the ceremony, which, at that point, would make him a worthwhile longshot to him to just outright win it.
“I’m going to be pretty surprised if Jeremiyah Love is not in New York as a Heisman finalist, and you can get him right now (at those odds)? Sign me up,” said Klatt. “Those are great, great long odds.”
Category: General Sports
