Darian Mensah didn’t waste any time putting himself in the center of the Heisman conversation.
After one weekend of the 2026 college football season, the Miami quarterback has surged to the top of the board following a blistering debut in the Hurricanes’ 45-6 win at Stanford on Friday night. The Duke transfer lit up the Cardinal for 401 passing yards and five touchdowns, and the betting market responded fast.
At BetMGM, Mensah opened at +1300 and is now the +650 favorite. His price even dipped to as low as +550 over the weekend, a sharp move that pushed him past a crowded group of high-profile quarterbacks.
Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Texas’ Arch Manning are next at +1100, while Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss sits at +1300. Manning and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (+1500) are set to square off when the Buckeyes visit Texas in Austin on Saturday night.
Mensah is also the new Heisman favorite at DraftKings, where he’s listed at +600. Manning follows at +950, with Jeremiah Smith at +1000, Carr at +1100 and Miami wideout Malachi Toney at +1250. Dante Moore and Chambliss are both +1300, and Sayin comes in at +1400.
Toney, meanwhile, turned in the kind of opener that can change a season’s momentum in a hurry. The sophomore receiver piled up 234 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 12 catches, a record-setting performance that made him one of the week’s biggest movers. He opened as a +4000 longshot and is now at +1400, the sixth-shortest number at BetMGM.
BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said, "The Hurricanes are the most bet team to win the National Championship since Friday, and Toney is the most bet player during that time to win the Heisman after scoring three touchdowns in the opener," BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said.
Among non-quarterbacks, Toney now has the second-shortest odds behind Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is listed at +1200.
Mensah has also become BetMGM’s biggest liability in the Heisman market. He accounts for 19.4% of all money wagered on the award, ahead of Carr, who is second at 9.3% of the total bets placed. Manning is right behind him at 9.0%.
Another quarterback making noise after Week 1 is Alabama’s Keelon Russell. The Crimson Tide’s new starter jumped from +8000 to +3000 after throwing for 249 yards and adding another 86 on the ground in a win over East Carolina.
HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, SCHOOL, OPENING ODDS, LAST WEEK, CURRENT
Darian Mensah, QB, Miami (+1300) (+1200) (+650)
CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame (+750) (+750) (+1100)
Arch Manning, QB, Texas (+800) (+800) (+1100)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1400) (+1400) (+1200)
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss (+900) (+1400) (+1300)
Malachi Toney, WR, Miami (+4000) (+4000) (+1400)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+1100) (+1200) (+1500)
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon (+1000) (+1100) (+1500)
Sam Leavitt, QB, LSU (+1400) (+2500) (+1700)
Jayden Maiava, QB, Southern Cal (+1100) (+2000) (+2000)
Josh Hoover, QB, Indiana (+1200) (+1500) (+2500)
John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma (+2500) (+2500) (+3000)
Keelon Russell, QB, Alabama (+8000) (+2500) (+3000)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+1500) (+2000) (+4000)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+2200) (+3000) (+4000)
LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina (+4000) (+4000) (+5000)
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