The 2010 Furious Heisman Watch – Four Quarterbacks To Watch

Mark Ingram leads all Heisman candidates in the 2010 college football betting season with +350 odds. You can check out all the odds here and one thing that will immediately stand out is the number of quarterbacks littering the list.

While Ingram stood out last year while the dearth of quarterbacks (McCoy, Clausen, Tebow) failed to impress enough with fading teams, he has plenty of quarterbacks to be worried about in the 2010 NCAAF betting season. Twenty-seven of the past 74 individual winners have been quarterbacks.

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 60% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? So go on JOIN NOW.]

Terrelle Pryor – Ohio State Buckeyes (+450)

Pryor is a physical freak and many NCAAF betting critics like myself have been waiting for him to turn the corner. He began to in 2009, and in 2010 most expect him to take his rightful place amongst the best in the country. Pryor threw for 2,094 yards, 18 touchdowns 11 interceptions while also rushing for 779 yards and 7 additional touchdowns on the ground.

Nothing about Pryor is prototypical. He’s tall, wiry, lanky, strong, fast, quick and deceptive at quarterback. He’s neither as fast as Michael Vick, nor as bullish as Tim Tebow. Yet on the field he produces results. He led Ohio State last year to a 5th overall ranking in the AP Top-25 and added a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon, while accumulating 338 total yards of offense on his own.

The key for Pryor is not only putting up mammoth numbers in rushing and passing, but also leading the Buckeyes to the BCS. Finishing 11-2 and 10-3 ATS, Ohio State had the best record in the Big 10 overall. More of the same will make him the biggest threat to Ingram in Heisman betting.

The voting committee also loves Ohio State in the Heisman race. The Buckeyes are tied with Notre Dame for the most Heisman Trophies winning seven apiece.

Jake Locker – Washington Huskies (+800)

Locker may not be well known, but he’s on the radar for most NFL scouts. The only quarterback that ranked even close to Sam Bradford was the strong-armed Locker, who stands at 6-foor-3 and 226 pounds. He made some noise with big wins over USC and Cal last year, while totaling 2,800 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Jake Locker will have to do a compelling job with the dwindling Washington Huskies to earn a shot at the top-spot in the 2011 NFL Draft. With the Huskies earning a 5-7 SU and 7-5 ATS record, Locker’s only chance is to put up monstrous numbers. Good luck without any playmakers.

Jacory Harris – Miami Hurricanes (+1200)

Harris emerged in 2009 as a leader and savior for the Miami Hurricanes. With 3,352 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, Harris led the Canes to a stunning 9-4 SU and 6-6 ATS record which placed them 19th in the AP Rankings. The ACC is usually an afterthought for the Heisman, which is why Harris is getting such long odds in this race.

The one thing that playing in the ACC does afford Harris is the fact that he doesn’t face too many top-ranked defenses. Last season, he had 7 games with 250+ passing yards and 9 games with multiple touchdowns. Those kinds of numbers pop out in the Heisman voting, but so do big losses.

By Week 2, we’ll know whether Jacory Harris is ready to challenge for the Heisman. That’s when he’ll play Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Case Keenum – Houston Cougars (+1400)

Monster numbers. That’s what Keenum does. He posted 5,449 yards and 43 touchdowns with just 9 interceptions. With big wins over Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and…ah who am I kidding. Houston’s schedule was a joke in 2009. That’s why his numbers are so damn impressive.

Listen, the problem for Keenum is he’s in the wrong school, in the wrong conference at the wrong time. Who knows how well he could do in the Pac-12 (or whatever it’s called now) or the Big Ten? Hell, who knows how productive he could be in the ACC?

The truth is that Keenum will get consistently noticed with his 300+ yard games each and every week, but a lack of stiff competition will derail his value time and again. Don’t get suckered in by the same song and dance routine again.

Kellen Moore – Boise State Broncos (+1500)

Impressive numbers (3,536 yards, 39 touchdowns) and an undefeated streak in 2009 made Moore an outside shot. The problem for him was Boise State’s schedule. The Broncos may have earned a win over TCU in the Fiesta Bowl – also called the “What’s The Friggin’ Point” Bowl – but it did nothing for his Heisman candidacy last season.

What more can he do to impress the voters? Not much considering he’s still the Boise State quarterback. The fiercest team they’ll play this year is Oregon State. Unlike Jacory Harris, who gets a shot at Ohio State this year, both Moore and Keenum are just going to be mega producers to a small audience.

How much do you like Moore and Keenum in their conference? Bet on all the conference winners in the College Football Futures!