With the college football season a little over a month away, it’s time to start thinking about College Football futures. What better way to do that than with the new CFB 26 game, which was just released? Placing your bets based on a video game may seem reckless. However, if you’re like me, it seems fun as hell. Let’s take a look at who the 2025 Heisman Trophy Winner will be according to CFB 26. Stay tuned for more college football futures articles based on CFB26 results.
2025 Heisman Trophy Futures According To CFB 26
Other College Football Futures Based On CFB26:
College Football National Champions According To CFB 26 – Sports Gambling Podcast
The SetUp
Before I jump into who you should place your college football Heisman Trophy futures bets based on CFB 26, let’s talk about the setup real quick. I did not want random league injuries created by a video game to skew results. Yes, injuries happen in real life. However, injuries are so unpredictable, and I wasn’t sure how often CFB26 would throw injuries in.
CFB26 also gives you two roster options. I went with the active roster. From everything I read, it is supposed to give you the most up-to-date roster. It imports it each time, indicating it’s not just the standard roster that the game came with (even though the game is very new).
I set the quarter length to be 15 minutes. None of this five-minute, quickened version of the game, I wanted the simulation to be as close to a real football game as possible, factoring in possible fatigue at different points throughout the season.
Finally, I took control of a defensive coordinator spot on a team that was 0 stars, and changed nothing else. So we have no injuries, fifteen-minute quarters, and active rosters to base our CFB26 outcomes on. The next step was easy. I just simulated to the end of the season, and used that for the results on who the 2025 Heisman Trophy Winner was to place our futures bets on, based on CFB 26.
Don’t forget to check back as we have a National Champions bets article based on CFB26 already completed, the best College Football futures bets to place, as well as sharing results and bets based on simulating 100 different times. This article is just based on one simulation, the very first simulation.
The Top Five Heisman Trophy Candidates
Before we talk about who won the Heisman Trophy in CFB26, let’s look at the top five players who were considered towards the end of the year. I’ll list them in random order, so as not to bury the lead on who won. However, all of these guys may be worth a sprinkle if you are choosing to trust the game. Which, let’s be honest, I totally am.
Arch Manning (+600)
First, we’ll start with the guy who is the favorite on the books to win the Heisman Trophy, Arch Manning. He was one of the five players in the first simulation who were up for the Heisman Trophy. We are all very familiar with the Manning Family. From Archie, Payton, and Eli, we now get to see Arch get his first full year as a starter on the Texas Longhorns.
It’s a lot of pressure being a Manning. Texas is listed as number three or four on most preseason polls. Manning will have new wide receivers on the Longhorns after Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond, and Gunnar Helm. Will he be the next great Manning in the line of historic quarterbacks?
Cade Klubnik (+900)
The second favorite on the books to win the Heisman is Cade Klubnik, at +900. Klubnik was among the five finalists after one season of simulation in CFB26 as well. After throwing for 3,600 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns, and just six interceptions last year, Klubnik will look to have another strong year in what may be his final year. Clemson lost last year in the first round of the playoffs to Texas. Klubnik will hope to turn back the clock and make the CFP again.
Clemson is in the top three teams in most preseason rankings, and a lot of that has to do with Klubnik returning with multiple receivers that he had from last year.
Jeremiah Smith (+900)
Another guy who made the top five for Heisman Candidates after a year of simulation is Jeremiah Smith (+900), the Ohio State wide receiver. Last year, the freshman had over 1300 yards from 76 catches. He also scored 15 touchdowns. He’ll no longer have Will Howard throwing him the ball, but Smith will look to have another strong season. Only four wide receivers have won the Heisman, and Smith will hope to become the fifth.
If Smith has another big season, it will be because his quarterback, Julian Sayin (+1800), has a big season. Sayin finished in the top five Heisman candidates after a season simulation on CFB26. Sayin takes over for Will Howard this year. He hasn’t started a game, so there’s very little to go off of. However, there are high hopes that he’ll be another successful college quarterback for Ohio State after Justin Fields, CJ Stroud, and Will Howard.
Jayden Maiava (+6000)
Finally, the fifth player to talk about that finished in the top five in the Heisman running on CFB 26 is Jayden Maiava (+6000). Maiava is the biggest longshot of the five finalists. In 2023, Maiava had over 3,000 passing yards and 17 touchdowns for UNLV. Now he’ll see if he can lead a team on a higher level with USC. The quarterback has a lot to prove. However, USC is excited about the possibility.
It’s a tough ask for a guy with a lot of pressure to return USC back to its winning traditions. However, Caleb Williams won the Heisman trophy for USC with a less-than-par record. USC isn’t in the top-25 preseason rankings, so if Maiava can help them compete, it will go a long way when it comes to Heisman voting.
The Heisman Trophy Winner
The Heisman Trophy futures bet based on CFB 26 goes to a player who ends up leading his team to the championship game in the simulation. However, they don’t end up winning it, living up to a Heisman curse. He doesn’t win his conference either, which is won by Miami, who, if you read the first article, you know, wins the National Championship.
I’m talking about quarterback Cade Klubnik. CFB 26 believes Klubnik’s leadership as the Clemson quarterback and his stats are enough to crown him the Heisman. He’s tied for the second-best odds, so it’s not a longshot by any means. However, it is a nice +900. How accurate will the game be with its Heisman Trophy futures? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out. However, I’m still going to bet it, just to be safe.
