Earlier this week, William Hill US hung the first odds on the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, and as Nick Bogdanovich said, the favorites were obvious.
“There’s obviously a lot of guess work,” said Bogdanovich, director of trading at William Hill US and a 30-year industry veteran. “But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Deshaun Watson and (Christian) McCaffrey are coming back, and those two had to be at the top of the list.”
The Clemson quarterback and Stanford’s all-purpose running back/kick returner finished third and second, respectively, to 2015 winner Derrick Henry, far ahead of the rest of the field. Both Watson and McCaffery also closed their 2015 seasons in style, with Watson throwing for more than 400 yards against Alabama in the National Championship game and McCaffrey breaking a Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards.
Watson is the current favorite at 11/2, followed closely by McCaffrey at 6/1. They’re followed by a quartet of nearly-as-obvious candidates at 10/1: Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, and Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly.
Further down the list, bettors can find some interesting names. Bo Scarbrough, for example, is listed at 60/1. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder carried just 18 times last season, but is one of the front runners to take over Henry’s featured spot in the Alabama backfield. Also competing for carries is Damien Harris, who’s listed at 30/1.
“You obviously want to try to get some from Alabama in there,” Bogdanovich said, “just because they’re the premiere program going right now. People gravitate toward Alabama, and anything SEC is almost like the NFL JV.”
Full list of odds here.
ATLANTIS SPORTS BOOK RELEASES MLB SEASON WIN TOTALS
The sports book at Reno’s Atlantis Resort and Casino released the industry’s first MLB season win totals on Thursday, with San Francisco (90) tops in the National League and Toronto and Kansas City pegged as favorites in the American League.
Here’s the breakdown of each division based win totals.
AL East
Toronto 87
Boston 85.5
New York 85
Baltimore 80.5
Tampa Bay 78
AL Central
Kansas City 87
Detroit 85
Cleveland 84
Chicago 80.5
Minnesota 77.5
AL West
Texas 86
Houston 85.5
Seattle 83
Los Angeles 82.5
Oakland 75.5
NL East
New York 88
Washington 87
Miami 80.5
Philadelphia 66.5
Atlanta 65
NL Central
Chicago 89
St. Louis 87.5
Pittsburgh 87
Milwaukee 71.5
Cincinnati 71
AL West
San Francisco 90
Los Angeles 87
Arizona 84.5
San Diego 74
Colorado 68.5
AROUND THE WEB
- American Gaming Association ranks presidential candidates based on their gaming stances
- DraftKings acquires small competitor, Kountermove
- Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling and the League of Women Voters come out against bill that would make DFS legal in Hawaii
- FSTA chair endorses Illinois bill via in an op-ed
TWEETS OF NOTE
Nice, Dick Vitale giving spreads & Vegas a reference in Indiana game. Don’t remember hearing him talk spreads
— Micah Roberts (@MicahRoberts7) February 12, 2016
Our CEO has already declared that within 10 years #eSports will have overtaken Soccer as our number one market. https://t.co/wdQ1NfA4V6 — Pinnacle Sports (@PinnacleSports) February 11, 2016
ODDS & ENDS
- Tom Thibodeau the favorite to become the Knicks’ next coach
- Four big issues facing DFS industry in 2016
- Expanded replay could be coming to college football
- DFS and taxes
ODDSMAKER’S TAKE
“The action has been brisk on next year’s Super Bowl. It’s so wide open, though.”—William Hill US director of trading Nick Bogdanovich on sports books’ quick start on 2016 after a strong NFL season.