On Saturday December 8th, College Football history will most likely be made as a freshman is currently a huge favorite in the Heisman trophy betting odds. Johnny Manziel is likely to become the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy and oddsmakers around the world have Manziel as an overwhelming favorite. The Texas A&M standout quarterback, however, isn’t the only one on the ballot. Manziel will face competition from Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.

Unfortunately for Manziel, history is not on his side. There has never been a freshman Heisman trophy winner. That includes outstanding freshman like Michael Vick from Virginia Tech in 1999, who lost to Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne. Dayne did break the NCAA career rushing record that year. Two freshman running backs were robbed of the Heisman as well. Adrian Peterson (OK, 2004) finished the regular season with 1,843 yards and 15 touchdowns but was second to USC quarterback Matt Leinart in the Heisman vote. And perhaps the most deserving freshman of all-time, Herschel Walker from Georgia finished third behind South Carolina running back George Rogers in 1980. Walker did win the award in 1982.

Many think that the Heisman trophy odds are far too high for freshman Johhny “football” Manziel. Currently these range from -1500 (1-15) at Bookmaker to -1200 (1-12) at Bovada. The NCAA did not allow freshman eligibility in football until 1972. It’s not like every player who ever entered college had a shot at the trophy but in the last 40 years, you would have thought that one would win it! this is why the high odds have many scratching their heads.

Manziel’s biggest threat is from Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. He’s from #1 Notre Dame, has a great story line and favorable odds. But the outstanding senior linebacker has a different bit of history to overcome to win the Heisman. Charles Woodson of the University of Michigan is the only primarily defensive player to win the award but he also returned punts and occasionally played at wide receiver. Currently, the number has moved somewhat in favor of Te’o, who is  listed at 15/4 odds to win the Heisman at Bovada, down slightly from 4-1 (+400) earlier in the day. Bookmaker has quite favorable odds on Te’o at +450.

The third player in the field of Heisman trophy finalists is Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein. He is the longest shot on the board at 25-1 or better at most outlets, however Bookmaker has Klein at just 8-1 (+800).

If we were to look to Twitter we would crown Te’o the victor as he has 114,000 followers @MTeo_5 . Manziel is a close second with just over 100K @JManziel2 and Klein is far behind with just 15,000 followers  @ckleincat7. But we would not advise placing bets based on Twitter followers. If you are looking for value, there is some in Te’o. If you are looking to simply cash a ticket, then Johnny Football is your man. Or you could look to stiffarmtrophy.com, who has predicted the right winner since 2002. They aggregate actual votes and have Manziel crushing the field.