Duke running back Nate Sheppard officially kicked off his Heisman campaign in a big way on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh.

Sheppard rushed for 217 yards and had three touchdowns in Duke's big win over NC State on the road. On one of those touchdowns, Sheppard flashed the "Heisman pose" in the end zone, signaling to voters that he belongs in the discussion. 

After the game, his head coach had his back and pushed for his Heisman campaign. 

In the postgame press conference, Manny Diaz was asked if Sheppard should be in the Heisman conversation. His answer? "No question."

Diaz supported his running and the Heisman talk, pointing to how opposing defenses have to game plan for Sheppard each and every week. Their plan going into those games is to "stop 20" to try and have success. Now, that hasn't really happened much and that should be another factor in this race as well.  Diaz ended his answer by saying Sheppard is the "straw that stirs the drink" for the offense and that he's absolutely one of the best players in the country.

The head coach isn't wrong either. Sheppard has proven week after week that he's not only one of the best running backs but one of the best players overall. So he should be in the race, right?

Well, almost. 

After Saturday's games, the odds were updated for the Heisman race, giving us a look at wha Vegas thinks. And that list is littered with quarterbacks. 

Notre Dame's CJ Carr is now the odds-on favorite to win it and you have to go down the list to see Sheppard's name. Quarterbacks Darian Mensah (Miami), Devon Dampier (Utah), Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), Gunner Stockton (Georgia), Keelon Russell (Alabama), and LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) are all ahead of Sheppard. So is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

For Sheppard, the issue might be that he hasn't played in many national spotlight games or against ranked opponents. After Carr led Notre Dame to a big win over No. 1 Miami, it helped him get into the spotlight more. 

The good news for Sheppard? He has a chance to do what Carr did this next week as the Blue Devils travel down to Miami to take on the Hurricanes in a huge game to keep their ACC title hopes alive in Week 11.