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Most of the Heisman Trophy frontrunners are SEC quarterbacks.
Of the players with top-eight odds to win college football’s top award, six are names you’ll recognize from the SEC: Carson Beck (Georgia) is the odds-on favorite, followed by Quinn Ewers (Texas). Also in the top eight are Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee,) Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU).
And if someone handed me $100 and told me I had to bet on the Heisman winner, I wouldn’t wager on any of those SEC guys. I’d back Dillon Gabriel. Oregon’s quarterback joins Ohio State quarterback Will Howard as the only players with top-eight odds not from the SEC.
Why do I lean Gabriel? It’s not that I think those SEC quarterbacks will have bad seasons. In fact, I could see either Beck or Ewers starring for the team that wins the national championship. The other four SEC quarterbacks on the list also should have good seasons for teams in playoff contention.
So, why Gabriel? He’s got four factors going for him.
∎ He’ll have great stats.
∎ Oregon should have team success.
∎ He’ll have a good narrative.
∎ He can attract votes from a broad region.
[ This column initially was featured in our SEC Unfiltered newsletter, emailed free to your inbox five days a week. Want more commentary like this? Sign up here for the USA TODAY Network’s newsletter on SEC sports. It’s free. ]
Let’s unpack this:
Stats: Oregon’s offense positions quarterbacks to succeed. Last year, Bo Nix led the nation in passing touchdowns and ranked second in passing yards. Gabriel will have the ability and opportunity to post similar numbers – and he’ll do so in the brighter spotlight of the Big Ten after Nix played in the Pac-12.
Team success: Team success influences this individual award. You’re not going to win the Heisman nowadays playing for a 7-5 team. In the expanded…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-im-not-picking-secs-100007254.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-05-19 10:00:07
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