Jameis Winston
It would be a huge upset if Jameis Winston did not win the Heisman Trophy. Reuters

Six finalists were named as potential Heisman Trophy winners on Monday. However, it appears that only one has a legitimate shot of winning the most coveted award in college football.

Jameis Winston is the overwhelming favorite to be named the best player for the 2013 season. The Florida State quarterback is expected to win by such a landslide that he is the only candidate that has been given individual betting odds. When the announcement was made, the online betting website Bovada.lv listed Winston’s odds at 1/150. The other five finalists were grouped in “The Field” at 50/1.

The signal caller leads the best team in college football and the heavy favorite to win the national championship. Statistically, he dwarfs his competitors. His 190.1 passer rating is nearly 11 points higher than the next best quarterback. His 38 touchdown passes trail only Derek Carr of Fresno State, and he’s second among players at BCS schools with 3,820 passing yards.

Four of the candidates are quarterbacks. Ten of the last 12 winners have played under center, with the exception of Mark Ingram and Reggie Bush. Jordan Lynch of Northern Illinois, Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M and AJ McCarron of Alabama have been nominated, in addition to Winston.

McCarron might have the best chance to garner more votes than any quarterback, other than Winston. He led his team to the BCS National Championship game in the last two years, and had another strong season in 2013. The senior could get some votes from those who are looking to reward him for having such a good career as opposed to one season.

Lynch had a chance to finish in second, but that might have gone by the wayside when Northern Illinois lost in the MAC title game. The Huskies had a chance to join the Seminoles as the only undefeated team in the FBS, but Lynch came up short, completing just 52.5 percent of his passes and throwing two interceptions in the 20-point loss.

Manziel won’t win, and he could be hurt by the fact that he was awarded the trophy last year. Before the Aggies quarterback was named college football’s best player in 2012, no freshman had ever won the Heisman Trophy. Now, it looks like two freshmen will win it in as many years.

Running backs Tre Mason and Andre Williams were also named as finalists. In the last few weeks, Mason may have positioned himself to be the favorite, behind Winston. He had his best games of the season when Auburn needed it most, rushing for a total of 468 yards and five touchdowns against Alabama and Missouri.

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