Sam Howell’s Heisman Odds Plummet After UNC's Week 1 Loss

Sam Howell’s Heisman campaign might’ve ended before it even started. 

Howell and the North Carolina Tar Heels walked into a full Lane Stadium last Friday and started the year off with a dud. Virginia Tech had a sold out stadium, and created one of the toughest environments in college football. 

We should’ve known it was over right then and there. 

The Tar Heels were shutout in the first half and only managed to get 10 points in the second half, with Howell looking awful. He completed a mere 53.1% of his passes, threw for 208 yards and had a whopping three interceptions. 

Before the game, Howell had a lot of hype behind him. WynnBET had his odds to win the Heisman set at +1500, tied with C.J. Stroud and J.T. Daniels. The Tar Heels had a top 10 ranking and were prepared to make a run towards at least an ACC championship game berth. Now, all of those plans are out the window -- or at best on a serious detour. Howell is now +5000 to win the award, which is outside the top 10.

Even as bad as Howell played for the first three quarters and 14 minutes of the game, he had a chance to lead North Carolina on a game-tying drive in the final minute. Yet, he threw his shot away -- literally.

Howell needs to rebound fast and in a big way. With the top five candidates for the award being quarterbacks, Howell will have to outperform them just to get to their level. He should have a good opportunity to rebound and get his season back on track, as the Tar Heels are a 25.5-point favorite against Georgia State in their game. 

Howell will have all the opportunity to show what he can do then. 

Can Sam Howell rebound from this? Download the WynnBET app and make your pick today.