What are the Heisman Odds For Caleb Williams, Michael Penix as USC Trojans Battle Washington Huskies?

USC will play its biggest game of the season so far when the Washington Huskies travel to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum for a ranked matchup featuring two of the top quarterbacks in the country.

A loss will all but knock USC out of playoff contention — and likely out of the top 25. A win could reignite hope that a playoff push is possible and could relaunch a Heisman campaign for quarterback Caleb Williams.

Williams, who won the award last season, started the season strong, remaining among the favorites to win the Heisman trophy. However, a three-interception, six-sack effort against Notre Dame tanked his odds.

His performance the following week would only continue to change the narrative about how Williams performs against ranked opponents, as Williams only accounted for one touchdown for two weeks in a row for the first time in his career. While Williams rebounded the following week against Cal in a game that Trojan fans felt was all too close, it would take a lot for the 22-year-old QB to reinsert himself in the Heisman conversation.

Meanwhile, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is having the best season of his career. Although he has two games without accounting for a touchdown, Penix had a Heisman-worthy performance against Oregon, throwing for 302 yards and four touchdowns. 

However, a statistical comparison of the two shows little variance.

Williams: 2.646 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, 4 INTs, 175.4 passer rating.

Penix: 2,945 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 6 INTs, 175.5 passer rating.

What really stands out are two factors: Caleb Williams' ability to run the football and Penix Jr.'s ability to avoid getting sacked.

Williams has 130 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. Penix has -9 rushing yards and no touchdowns.

However, as Williams waits in the pocket for plays to develop — or is quickly pursued by defensive linemen due to a spotty offensive line — he tends to get hit. In his nine games this season, Williams has been sacked 24 times compared to Penix Jr. taking a sack just five times this season.

According to odds from DraftKings, Williams has fallen off the map in the Heisman race while Penix Jr. remains a viable contender. Penix Jr. leads the pack at +280 odds while Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and LSU quarterback round out the top three at +360 and +400. Williams is outside the top ten favorites at +8000 odds.

While a head-to-head win over the Heisman favorite would certainly help Williams' chances of getting back into the mix, a second consecutive Heisman trophy seems a longshot at this point in the season.

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