Should Arch Manning Be the Favorite to Win College Football's Heisman Trophy in 2025?

Week 0 of college football kicks off August 23 while Week 1 begins August 28. The 2025 season will be here before we know it, and that means looking at some of FanDuel Sportsbook's college football odds.

This includes Heisman Trophy odds for the 2025 season. While Arch Manning has attempted only 95 passes in his Texas Longhorns career, he enters his first season as the full-time starter with huge expectations as the Heisman favorite. Is this warranted, though?

Let's look at Manning's chances of winning the Heisman Trophy and his competition.

Arch Manning Heisman Trophy Odds

While Manning carries the shortest odds to become the first Longhorn to win the Heisman since Ricky Williams in 1998, he doesn't carry a huge cushion. At +700, Garrett Nussmeier of LSU (+800) and Cade Klubnik of Clemson (+900) are close behind.

Per usual, this award is expected to be between college football's best quarterbacks as 9 of the 10 shortest odds are held by signal-callers. Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith (+1300) is the only exception, but only two wide receivers since 1992 have won the award.

Is Manning as the Heisman favorite warranted? Who could be his biggest threat of nabbing the award?

Should Arch Manning Be the Heisman Trophy Favorite?

Manning attempted only five passes in his freshman 2023 season, but we saw much more of the projected first-round NFL pick in 2024. He appeared in 10 games while attempting 90 passes and made a couple of starts due to a Quinn Ewers injury.

When given the chance, Manning frankly looked like the best QB on Texas a season ago. Pro Football Focus awarded the former five-star QB an 88.0 player grade and 81.0 passing grade. Manning showed off some mobility, too, recording 108 rushing yards and 4.3 yards per carry last season.

We know the Longhorns have a QB-friendly system that could certainly help boost a Heisman campaign. Plus, Manning is regarded as one of the most talented players in collegiate ball, for he carries the shortest odds to be the number one overall 2026 NFL Draft pick (+230).

Texas also has the shortest odds to win the national championship (+550), giving Manning the necessary big stage to take home hardware. He will immediately get a massive stage to open the 2025 season with a Week 1 road test against Ohio State, which is currently favored by 2.5 points.

Manning should be the Heisman favorite right now, especially if the Longhorns tout high expectations as a team. However, this should still be viewed as a narrow race -- as the odds imply.

Among his competition, Jeremiah Smith should be taken seriously. He has plenty of buzz after an absurd true freshman season. While only two wideouts have won the Heisman since 1992, both of those came since 2020 (DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter).

I'm not a big believer in Nussmeier or Klubnik, but DJ Lagway of Florida (+1800) and John Mateer of Oklahoma (+1900) are QBs worth watching. Lagway and Mateer have the talent needed to post big-time numbers, and they are on potential breakout teams.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.