About Stetson Bennett and Heisman talk

Good morning. It’s way too early for any Heisman Trophy talk after three games.

Then an email hits my inbox this week from Oddschecker saying this:

Stetson Bennett is betting favorite for the second time this season, and his odds to win the Heisman continue to shorten as a result.  

Bennett is now given odds as short as +600 to win the Heisman, he started the season at +8000 to win the award. That’s all the result of the bets coming in, as Bennett has seen 45.5% of bets since Saturday. He also saw 55.6% of bets after Week 1.  

OK, whatever. Let’s move on. Then I’m alerted that South Carolina coach Shane Beamer just was asked about Bennett as a Heisman contender after he threw for 284 yards with 2 touchdowns and a touchdown run in the 48-7 Bulldogs romp agains the Gamecocks Saturday.

“There's two plays where we had the perfect call for what they were doing,” Beamer said. “We brought edge pressure right into a boot where he literally has his back turned and then he boots out and turned right into the guy that’s coming off the edge. Most quarterbacks get sacked right there and he not only gets the ball away, but he gets away for completions both times. …If I had a vote, he's certainly someone I would consider voting for."

So, I decided to ask Kearis Jackson, the Bulldogs fifth-year senior receiver, after practice Wednesday afternoon what he makes of Bennett being in the Heisman conversation.

“I’ll let you answer that,” he said. Then he did answer: “Being on the field with Stet, I honestly feel like he’s trying to earn his respect. He led us to a national championship last year and people still don’t respect him. They don’t respect this team. At the same time, it’s not even about the Heisman it’s about winning each and every day. …If you play good, accolades are going to come, but at the same time, we’ve got one goal for this team and that’s winning another national championship.”

Weekly picks

Clemson at Wake Forest. Taking the Demon Deacons at home getting 7 ½. Not sold yet on Clemson’s offense and the Tigers scuffled in some close wins last season.

Florida at Tennessee. After Florida lost at home to Kentucky and then got pushed by a not great South Florida team, this looks like a comfortable Tennessee win. Take the Vols giving 10 ½.

Maryland at Michigan. Michigan has trucked a soft schedule so far but J.J. McCarthy seems like the real deal at QB. Think the Wolverines cover the 17 ½ at home against a 3-0 Maryland team.

Two other games that intrigue me:

Oregon at Washington State (4 p.m, Fox). Dan Lanning’s team can take another step to bounce back from the trouncing by Georgia by beating an unbeaten Washington State team.

Missouri at Auburn (12 p.m, ESPN). Don’t feel great about either of these teams coming through. How would the Auburn powers that be take a home loss to Missouri?

Follow me on Twitter @marcweiszer and email me at mweiszer@onlineathens.com

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: About Stetson Bennett and Heisman talk