The Illinois football team is coming off one of the best seasons in program history.
If you are under the age of 26 years old, you likely don’t have a memory of the Illini winning 10 games. That is how long it has been since the Orange and Blue has reached the 10-win mark.
The 2024 campaign was something special, and it was led by a quarterback in Luke Altmyer who will end up going down as one of the greatest gunslingers to come out of Champaign. He resurrected his career by coming to Illinois, and now he has a chance to do something special in 2025.
Despite a great 2024 campaign, Altmyer has decided to return to the Illini for one more season. He, along with the vast majority of the roster, is running it back and will be trying to improve on the great season we all just witnessed.
Now that the 2024 season is officially over, predictions are emerging for next fall. The Heisman Trophy prediction is always one of the most intriguing things to think about, and the odds for the 2025 winner are already out. Taking the top spot at +850 are current LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
Numerous players are listed with odds, but there is one glaring name left off the list. You won’t find Altmyer’s name with odds next to it.
I thought I might have just overlooked his name, but after combing through the names, Altmyer is nowhere to be found.
It isn’t likely, but Illinois football should have Luke Altmyer on the list of Heisman Trophy hopefuls heading into the 2025 season
I know it sounds weird that Altmyer should be listed as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Illinois hasn’t had a serious Heisman Trophy contender since probably Kurt Kittner in 2001.
At the end of the day, do I think Altmyer is a strong Heisman Trophy candidate? No, but he should at least have odds if some of the other players I am looking at have odds.
There are five quarterbacks Altmyer played against in 2024 who have odds to win the Heisman Trophy, according to FanDuel. What was Altmyer’s record against those five quarterbacks?
4-1.
To get odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025, those five quarterbacks must have outdueled Altmyer, right? I mean, they have better odds of winning the most prestigious individual trophy in the sport.
Wrong. In those five games, the five quarterbacks who have Heisman Trophy odds combined for 1,089 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions while completing 64.2% of their passes. In those five games, Altmyer threw for 997 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 64.9% of his passes.
Drew Allar (+1200), LaNorris Sellers (+1800), Jalon Daniels (+4500), Dylan Raiola (+5000), and Aidan Chiles (+15000) are the five quarterbacks Illinois played against in 2024 who have odds to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
The only loss on Altmyer’s record against those five quarterbacks was against Allar. In that game, Altmyer threw for 185 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Allar only had 135 yards and failed to put the ball in the end zone.
I am not saying Altmyer should be a top option or even in the top 20 in the 2025 Heisman Trophy odds. All I am saying is, if these five other quarterbacks have odds, why the heck doesn’t the guy who went 4-1 and put up better stats than those quarterbacks have Heisman Trophy odds? Something isn’t right.