Dante Moore inches up in Heisman odds, but two favorites emerge

As the leaves begin to drop the Heisman race typically gains a sense of inevitability. Preseason favorites fall into a decomposing pile while leaders catch the light in crimson and gold, players piling up stats on contending teams as one narrative takes hold and the others are raked away.

Last year by this time it was a two-man race, two-way sensation Travis Hunter and ankle-breaking Bronco Ashton Jeanty. In 2025, Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson lead playoff contenders and Top Ten teams, and it becomes increasingly tough for anyone to unseat them unless they stumble.

2025 updated Heisman Odds, FanDuel

Ty Simpson (Alabama) +320
Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) +340
Julian Sayin (Ohio State) +410
Marcel Reed (Texas A&M) +700
Gunner Stockton (Georgia) +1100
Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) +1200
Dante Moore (Oregon) +1600
Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) +3000

Moore's odds ticked up slightly from +2000 after a strong performance at Rutgers. Simpson and Mendoza came back slightly to the field. There's a big gap between the Oregon quarterback and the longshot contenders, but he won't make New York without a November surge and another round of Top Ten upsets, a distinct possibility in a crazy year.

The Buckeyes' lethal efficiency has elevated Sayin from tenth to third over the last few weeks. Oddly, they rank No. 1 in scoring defense at 5.9 points a game, choking opponents like a python, but Sayin has become the poster child for their excellence-- he's good, 36-42 passing against Wisconsin for 393 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-0 victory, but most weeks the Buckeye offense doesn't have to take it out of second gear to win decisively.

Mendoza was equally efficient for the undefeated Hoosiers, 24-28 passing for 332 yards and four TDs, while Simpson led Alabama to a 37-20 win over No. 11 Tennessee, 19-29 passing for 253 yards and two scores.

Among the top contenders, Sayin and Mendoza won't face a ranked opponent for the rest of the regular season. The Tide travel to unranked South Carolina Saturday, take a bye, then host LSU, Oklahoma and Eastern Illinois in November before traveling to Auburn for the Iron Bowl.

Big TV games are a Heisman hopeful's opportunity. In Moore's case, he has November showdowns at Iowa, home on a Friday night (national TV) versus Minnesota and potential shootout games with Jayden Maiava of USC at Autzen Stadium and Washington's Demond Williams in Seattle.

He doesn't face ranked teams, but after Wisconsin it's four games against teams with winning records in what are likely to be favorable time slots and network games.

His chance of reaching New York as Oregon's third-straight Heisman finalist is right there, a schedule that will keep him in the voter's eye.