2024-25 Davey O’Brien Award Odds and Predictions

There is no position in college football more important than quarterback. Quarterbacks routinely win many of the top season-ending awards like the Heisman Trophy. The 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award will go to this season’s top quarterback and there are a number of worthy candidates.

Last year’s winner was LSU QB Jayden Daniels, who also happened to win last season’s Heisman Trophy. That has happened five times in the past decade. Bryce Young (‘21), Joe Burrow (‘19), Kyler Murray (‘18), Baker Mayfield (‘17), and Marcus Mariota (‘14) all won the Heisman Trophy and the Davey O’Brien Award in the same season. 

Whether that happens this season remains to be seen, but one of these outstanding quarterbacks will take home the honor named for the late TCU great. Davey O’Brien was a quarterback that led TCU to the national championship in 1938. He was the first Horned Frog to win the Heisman Trophy and holds some school records that still stand to this day. 

When O’Brien passed away in 1977, the original Davey O’Brien Memorial Trophy was given to the most outstanding player in the Southwest. In 1977, that was Texas RB Earl Campbell. In 1981, the award was renamed and awarded to the nation’s top quarterback. 

The college football experts here at Scores & Stats have seen the odds in the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award race. We break down the favorites, best value bet, best longshot, and more. Scores & Stats experts will do the same each and every week of the CFB season, from Week 0 through the 2024-25 college football national championship. Keep it tuned to Scores & Stats for all the best college football betting odds, stats, content, and more.

2024-25 Davey O’Brien Award Odds

Davey O’Brien Betting Favorites 

Daniels was as good a dual-threat quarterback as college football has seen in the past decade or so. He threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns and led LSU in rushing with 1,134 yards and 10 more scores. The Tigers quarterback averaged 8.4 yards per carry. Is there a guy in this year’s field that could duplicate Daniels’ 2023 performance?

Dillon Gabriel – Oregon

Gabriel has emerged as the leading contender for a number of season-ending accolades, including the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award. Gabriel is given +500 odds (16.67 percent implied probability of winning), the best among this year’s field.

The 5-11, 205-pound Gabriel led Oklahoma to a 10-3 record last season then jumped in the transfer portal and landed at Oregon. Gabriel brings 49 games of CFB starting experience to Eugene. He completed 69.3 percent of his passes last season and threw for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns. The Sooners were the sixth-best passing offense (324.8 ypg) and No. 4 scoring offense (41.7 ppg) in the country.

Now, Gabriel will play in an offense that led the nation in passing (346.9 ypg) and was No. 2 in scoring (44.2 ppg) last season. Offensive coordinator Will Stein will plug in Gabriel along with 1,000-yard receiver Tez Johnson and RB Jordan James (759 yds., 11 TDs) and keep the Ducks machine rolling. 

Gabriel will have plenty of opportunities to shine now that Oregon is playing in the Big Ten. The Ducks get Ohio State at home on Oct. 12 and play at Michigan on Nov. 2. There’s no question Gabriel will have a chance to separate himself from the rest of the field with big games during the regular season.

Carson Beck – Georgia

No returning starting quarterback threw for more yards than Georgia’s Beck (+650). He was extremely efficient too, completing 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns. Beck threw just six interceptions all season long as Georgia rolled to a 12-0 regular season. Then, the Bulldogs lost to rival Alabama 27-24 in the SEC championship game and a shot at a third straight national title was lost.

Fast forward and now the 12-team College Football Playoff field would certainly take a one-loss SEC runner-up. Beck would rather run the table again and he’ll have the weapons to do so. All three starting wide receivers return. All-American TE Brock Bowers is off the NFL, but the Bulldogs also return four of five starters on the offensive line.

Like Gabriel, Beck will have all season to shine. Georgia opens the season against Clemson and then plays SEC games at Alabama (Sept. 28), at Texas (Oct. 19), and at Ole Miss (Nov. 9). Beck’s performance in those games will most likely impact Georgia’s season as well as Beck’s opportunities for honors like the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award.

Quinn Ewers – Texas

Texas won the Big 12 championship and earned a slot in the College Football Playoff last season. The Longhorns wound up losing to Washington in the national semifinals (aka the Sugar Bowl), 37-31. Other than a 34-30 midseason loss to Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry, Texas was outstanding in 2023, especially the offense.

Ewers was a huge part of that as he completed 69 percent of his passes last season for 3,479 yards. He threw 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Texas finished 17th in the nation in passing (289.1 ypg) and ninth in total offense (477.5 ypg). The Longhorns were explosive enough to average 35.8 points per game (15th). 

The Longhorns should be explosive again with Ewers back after forgoing the 2024 NFL draft. Isaiah Bond transferred in from Alabama and brings his 10.5 speed to the wide receiver corps. He’ll replace Xavier Worthy who broke the NFL combine record in the 40-yard dash. 

Playing the SEC, Ewers will be on a national stage week-in and week-out. The Longhorns also play Michigan early in a non-conference game on Sept. 7. The tools are all there for Ewers to succeed again. That’s why he’s a +750 contender for the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award.

Top 2024-25 Davey O’Brien Award Value Bet

Gabriel, Beck, and Ewers are the only quarterbacks given better than +1000 odds to win the Davey O’Brien award this year. In terms of value, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe has a ton of upside. At +1200, his implied probability of winning the award is just 7.69 percent. A lot has changed in Tuscaloosa, but much of the change could benefit Milroe.

Gone is the legend, Nick Saban, and in his place, Alabama hired former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. All DeBoer has done in his career is win. At an obscure NAIA program (Sioux Falls), DeBoer’s teams went 67-3 and won three national championships in five seasons. He went 12-6 at Fresno State and 25-3 in two seasons at Washington, leading the Huskies to the CFP national championship game last year.

DeBoer is an offensive mastermind and that will benefit Milroe, who completed 65.8 percent of his passes last year for 2,831 yards and 23 touchdowns. Milroe is a dual-threat type quarterback a la Daniels and he ran for over 800 yards last season. His final stats show 531 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, but sack yardage (-328 for Milroe last season) is subtracted from rushing yards in college. 

DeBoer’s quarterback last year, Michael Penix Jr., led the FBS in passing with 4,903 yards. He also threw for 36 touchdowns. Milroe will be on the big stage virtually every week in the SEC. The Crimson Tide comes into the 2024 season ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP Top 25. Milroe will square off with Beck on Sept. 28 when Alabama hosts Georgia. 

If Milroe comes through in that game and plays close to Penix-like the remainder of the season, he’ll surely have the statistics worthy of the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award winner.

Best Davey O’Brien Longshot Bet

If there’s a quarterback outside of the leading favorites that makes sense as a dark horse candidate for the Davey O’Brien, it would be Nico Iamaleava of Tennessee. After the top three to five on the betting board, Iamaleava is the only name that sticks out and has a legitimate chance to win the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award.

Joe Milton was the Tennessee starter for the 2023 season, but he opted out of the Vols’ bowl game giving Iamaleava his first start. He came through in a big way. Iamaleava went 12-of-19 for 151 yards and a touchdown while rushing for three more scores to lead Tennessee to a 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. Iamaleava displayed the accuracy and leadership that made him a five-star recruit out of Long Beach, Calif. 

In his first full season as the Tennessee starter, Iamaleava will have a chance to do what Hendon Hooker did in 2022. Hooker completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also ran for over 500 yards and scored five more touchdowns on the ground. Tennessee led the nation in scoring and total offense, averaging 46.2 points per game and 525.5 yards per game.

Head coach Josh Heupel’s offense goes very fast and is reminiscent of the Baylor offenses of coach Art Briles. The bottom line is that Iamaleava will throw the ball a ton and he’ll have ample opportunities to show off his dual-threat abilities. While not a wild longshot, Iamaleava is a sleeper nonetheless at +1400. He will get some big-time chances to prove his worthiness. The Vols play Alabama at home on Oct. 19 and face Georgia between the hedges at Sanford Stadium on Nov. 16.

2024-25 Davey O’Brien Award Prediction

When the Heisman Trophy odds were first released for the 2024-25 college football season, Beck was the initial favorite. Gabriel has taken over as the Heisman favorite and he’s the favorite for the 2024-25 Davey O’Brien award as well. Gabriel has one big problem though – Ohio State.

Oregon moves to the Big Ten this year and they will host Ohio State on Oct. 12. The Ducks are lucky they get the Buckeyes at home, but regardless of how that game goes Oregon could face them again in the Big Ten championship. Oregon also plays at Michigan. It’s a tough schedule and the Ducks might not come through unscathed.

Beck will also face a tough SEC schedule, but he and the Bulldogs did just fine last year – 12-0 in the regular season, 8-0 in the SEC. Georgia returns nine starters on offense and six on defense from a team that lost by a field goal in the SEC championship game. 

Beck’s stats last season were borderline ridiculous. He completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns. Beck threw just six interceptions and was sacked only 11 times in 14 games. The Bulldogs averaged 496.5 yards per game (5th) and 40.1 points (5th) last season. The Georgia quarterback will have the stats and he’ll also have the better path toward winning a conference and national championship.

Bet: Carson Beck (+650)

Recent Davey O’Brien Award Winners