Luck (Un)Officially Pegged as Heisman Favorite By Bookmakers

While it should come as a surprise to no one, Stanford QB Andrew Luck is the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman this year, according to the sports betting website Bodog.  Although he may not be listed as a first-team preseason All-American by a certain blogger, Luck, who came in second to controversial winner Cam Newton in last year's Heisman race, is listed as a 9:2 favorite to win and give Stanford it's second overall Heisman trophy for the most outstanding football player.

The last Stanford Heisman winner was QB Jim Plunkett in 1970.  While several Stanford players have come close since 1970, most notably John Elway in 1982 and Toby Gerhart in 2009, no Cardinal player has been able to ultimately win a Heisman.  In fact, since Plunkett's Heisman, only seven players have been selected from teams west of Austin, Texas.  Of those seven, five were from USC (and one of them was vacated).

After the jump, a list of some of the players expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy this year as well as their odds as listed by Bodog.

QB Andrew Luck, Stanford 9:2
QB Landry Jones, Oklahoma 13:2
RB Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina 7:1
QB Denard Robinson, Michigan 15:2
RB LaMichael James, Oregon 15:2
RB Trent Richardson, Alabama 12:1
WR Justin Blackmon, OK State 15:1
QB Kellen Moore, Boise State 15:1
RB Knile Davis, Arkansas 15:1
WR Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma 15:1

You can check out some other odds from Bodog here.

No other Stanford players are listed as favorites by Bodog.  In what should also be an area of concern for Stanford fans and Luck-watchers, no preseason Heisman favorite has gone on to win the December award since 2006 when Ohio State's Troy Smith pounded Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and Arkansas' Darren McFadden for the award.