Entering the season Vegas had Gunner Stockton inside the top 10 in their Heisman Trophy odds. After one week of the college football season he has dropped significantly as he now has the 16th-best odds to win the Heisman, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Stockton's free fall comes after a solid performance in Georgia's week one win over Tennessee State. He finished the game completing 15 of 16 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He did this in just five drives as he sat on the bench for the rest of the game in order to preserve his health.
Kirby Smart could've kept him in for the entire game which would've resulted in more yards and touchdowns to add to his stats, but he pulled him on purpose. Georgia felt that it wasn't worth risking injury just to pad his stats, and most would probably agree that this is the right call to make. That decision however could ultimately cost Stockton a chance at the Heisman because players across the country played the entire game and racked up significantly more stats.
Gunner Stockton, Georgia shouldn't care about winning the Heisman
At Georgia winning a Hesiman isn't as important as winning a national championship. One would assume that every other school would agree with that, but their actions say differently.
Many other schools keep their starting quarterback or other star player who could contend for the Hesiman in the game as long a possible with the sole purpose of racking up their stats. This puts them in a better position to win the Heisman if their team keeps winning because their stats will be higher than the players who didn't play as much.
If they only cared about winning championships like Georgia then they wouldn't do this. Georgia pulled their starters out of the game before halftime because they want them to get extra rest and avoid injury. If Georgia kept Stockton in he realistically could've thrown for over 500 yards and five touchdowns against Tennessee State, but the smart choice was to pull him and that's what Georgia did.
Georgia also didn't have Stockton run the ball once. His legs are what make him special, but running the ball increases his chance for injury. Against a team like Tennessee State they didn't need him running the ball in order to win, so they made sure to keep him safe in the pocket throughout the entire game.
Stockton will still have a chance to work his way into the Heisman conversation by the end of the season. Last year he finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting and he could still realistically finish there or even higher. It may be a stretch for him to win the Heisman, but if Georgia wins a national championship no one will care if he won the Heisman and that likely includes Stockton himself.
Heisman Trophy odds adjust periodically and are subject to change.
Add us as a preferred source on Google