When it comes to research for sports betting, particularly in American football, trends are always a popular draw.

How a team does a week after losing to a divisional opponent; how a team does ATS on turf or grass; how many times a team goes Over or Under in certain situations are some of the stats punters consider before they put money down.

For fans of college football future bets there is a near sure-fire predictor for who will win college football’s prestigious Heisman Trophy.

Named after former college coaching great John A. Heisman, who introduced the forward pass to college football; modeled after NYU player Ed Smith; crafted by sculptor Frank Eliscu and awarded to the player voters deem college football’s most outstanding player, the Heisman has been awarded annually since 1935 and for 16 out of the last 19 Heisman Trophies, the Rocky Mountain News’ Scripps Heisman poll has correctly predicted the eventual winner.

According to the Scripps Howard News service, the poll is taken by, “10 voters, two from each of five regions of the nation, who vote for five players each week. The tabulations are on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for second, etc.”

The poll has been running for two decades and it is the final poll in December is the one that has correctly called 84 percent of the last 19 winners.

The final poll has been released but will it correctly predict the 17th winner in 20 years?

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