With Jayden Daniels off and thriving for the Washington Commanders of the NFL, we’re guaranteed of a first-time winner of the Davey O’Brien Award, which is given out to the nation’s best passer each season, with a host of top-notch talent in this year’s class of nominees.
Whether it be an NCAA journeyman like former Incarnate Word and Washington State quarterback Cam Ward, who has thrived during his lone season at Miami with 3,494 yards and 32 touchdowns in 10 games this year, or a slew of other transfer portal beneficiaries like Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, there’s no shortage of QB talent in college football this season. As participants of Tennessee sports betting know full well.
Dart has thrown for 3,409 yards and 22 touchdowns (to four picks) in his third season in Oxford after transferring from USC after one year in L.A., while Gabriel has turned a sixth season in college after stints at UCF and Oklahoma into a silver lining, with 3,066 yards and 22 touchdowns for the top-ranked Ducks.
Sanders has the Buffaloes in the CFP race during his second season in Boulder, with 3,222 yards and 27 touchdowns through the crisp air of the Rocky Mountains, guiding CU to an 8-2 record and in the thick of the Big 12 title race this fall.
All four are atop our hypothetical odds board to win the Davey O’Brien Award in 2024, with a slew of other well-known college gunslingers holding longshot odds as the sport reaches its stretch run in the latter half of November.
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2024-25 Davey O’Brien Award Winner Odds
Player | College | Odds | Percentage Chance |
Cam Ward | Miami (FL) | +400 | 20.0% |
Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | +500 | 16.7% |
Dillon Gabriel | Oregon | +600 | 14.3% |
Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | +600 | 14.3% |
Will Howard | Ohio State | +1250 | 7.4% |
Jalen Milroe | Alabama | +1250 | 7.4% |
Kurtis Rourke | Indiana | +1750 | 5.4% |
Quinn Ewers | Texas | +1750 | 5.4% |
Cade Klubnik | Clemson | +2000 | 4.8% |
The Field | - | +1500 | 6.3% |
Disclaimer: These odds were developed by and are exclusive to BetTennessee.com, but regulated operators offering top TN sportsbook promo codes offer wagers on each college game, plus futures betting and more.
Who Wins The Davey O’Brien Award?
Right now, we’re going with Ward out of Miami to take home the Davey O’Brien Award, with +400 odds on the Hurricanes starting QB, ranking ahead of Dart (+500), Gabriel and Sanders (+600 each), while Ohio State starter Will Howard and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe are next up at +1250 apiece.
Howard has thrived in his lone season in Columbus after spending four years at Kansas State, with 2,484 yards and 24 touchdowns to five picks for the Buckeyes, while Milroe is the top ranked passer that has not entered the portal, with 2,232 yards this year to go with 14 touchdowns, upping his career totals to 5,404 yards and 44 touchdowns during his four years in Tuscaloosa.
Longshots to keep an eye on when it comes to the Davey O’Brien Award this year include Kurtis Rourke of the upstart Indiana Hoosiers and Quinn Ewers of Texas (+1750 each), while Clemson’s Cade Klubnik is last on our list at +2000.
USA Today photo by Brett Davis.
Author
Christopher Boan writes for BetTennessee.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
