The highly-anticipated 2023-2024 college football season is just under a month away from Week 1. As the exciting period approaches, head coaches have reached a (mostly) complete evaluation of their rosters and expectations, offering Michigan sportsbooks a projection of each school’s season.
Part of a team’s full assessment is determining the starting running back before the season kicks off, with many schools having already solidified and established a starter for that role well in advance of spring games and training camp.
The running back position is highly valued in the college game, unlike its role in the NFL, with some carrying much of the offense workload, proving their indispensable services.
These standout individuals are household names in college football. These are the ones you should be keeping a close eye on for national awards and, in the end, potential contenders for the Heiman Trophy on Michigan sports betting apps.
Michigan Backs Make Shortlist
The shortlist of names includes Michigan’s Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton, and Clemson's Will Shipley, but which of the country’s collegiate running backs generates the most interest and has the most hype ahead of the upcoming season?
BetMichigan.com utilized Google Trends to find the college football running backs with the most search interest for the 2023-2024 Season. The results were taken from April 25 to July 25, while the Heisman odds were taken from BetMGM Michigan Sportsbook on July 25.
Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter was removed due to his potential suspension pushing his search interest up.
Here are our results.
Most Search Interest For CFB Running Backs For 2023
Good Time To Be A Back At Michigan
The hype is real in Ann Arbor. The Wolverine State’s running backs, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, are in the top three list of running backs that generate the most search interest. And their production on the field certainly backs up the expectations.
Corum has the shortest odds of winning the Heisman Trophy among all running backs at +4000, with a search interest of 23 points, the highest on this list. The junior rushed for 1,643 yards and 18 touchdowns while getting another through the air last season.
His duo partner, Edwards, is tied in fourth with the shortest odds to win the Heisman at +10000, tallying 16 search interest points, third-best on this list. The sophomore was awarded the 2022 Big Ten Championship Game MVP and rushed for 991 yards and seven touchdowns, catching another two.
Michigan is currently +180 to clinch the Big Ten and +850 to win the national championship over at BetMGM.
Other notable names are Southern Miss’ Frank Gore Jr. and Clemson’s Will Shipley. Frank Gore Jr. is the son of former NFL running back, Frank Gore, which may be one of the more important reasons that people are curious about his potential performance ahead of the season. He’s tied in third, along with Edwards, on the list with 16 search interest points. Sports betting apps have not posted any odds on Gore Jr. winning the illustrious trophy.
Will Shipley is tied in second, along with Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins, with +6600 odds to win the Heisman and has racked up 14 search interest points. Clemson is +140 to clinch the ACC and +1800 to win the CFP Championship over at BetMGM.
Continue to follow us at BetMichigan.com for more Michigan updates ahead of the 2023-2024 season, plus the best Michigan sports betting bonuses.
