Jonathan Taylor, Ian Book deserve longshot looks for Heisman

We are finally getting into the meat of the college football regular season, when elite teams and players are given the opportunity to separate themselves. The top six teams in the country are Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma—and all feature at least one Heisman Trophy contender.

Heisman odds

As we try to anticipate value in this betting pool, it's important to keep in mind that team success is critical to individual player recognition. Heisman winners don't come from teams with losing records (other than Paul Hornung), no matter how statistically dominant they might be. So which teams on the edge of the top five could make a run in the coming week?

Longshot: Jonathan Taylor (+1400)

My first choice is Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is a very gifted runner, who is both visually and statistically impressive. Wisconsin running backs also have a long history of both collegiate and professional success, which adds value to Taylor's recognition.

Wisconsin plays in a top matchup Saturday against Michigan, so Taylor will receive a national stage to display his ability. If Wisconsin wins and Taylor has a big game, I expect his odds to drop.

Longshot: Ian Book (+5000)

I don't think Notre Dame will upset Georgia this week, but if the Irish pull off the double-digit upset it will likely be behind a great game from quarterback Ian Book. Notre Dame is ranked seventh and Book just threw for 360 yards and five touchdowns last week against New Mexico.

With an upset of Georgia, those 50-1 odds will plummet, as a national audience realizes the engine behind the newest team to enter the top five.

The favorites

The current odds don't indicate a clear favorite, because so much is still up in the air. Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa had a career-high 444 yards and five TDs in a victory at South Carolina, and he moved to +375 to top the odds board. With players like Henry Ruggs and Najee Harris contributing highlight-reel touchdowns in the same jersey, however, I still don't think Tua is the winner of this year's award.

Trevor Lawrence also had a good day, with 395 yards and 3 TDs through the air in Clemson's first road test of the season. Lawrence will continue to put up consistently good numbers, simply because he's the most talented passer in college football, but he might not be needed to take over a game because of Clemson's overall offensive quality.

Jalen Hurts had another efficient and dominating performance against UCLA. Oklahoma will be scoring in waves and winning football games all season long, so Hurts is still my pick.

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