Buckeyes Open As Underdogs At Michigan

It is that time of year — early betting lines are being released for the 2023 college football season. BetOnline has released their early lines for the biggest games of the year, and they have installed Michigan as a 3-point favorite over Ohio State when the two teams meet in Ann Arbor this November.

Generally, a home team is awarded three points when making lines, meaning that this game would be a toss-up at a neutral site, and that the Buckeyes would likely be around a 3-point favorite at home.

Ohio State has lost their last two games against Michigan, both times the Buckeyes were favored. The Wolverines have not been favored against Ohio State since 2018, which ended up being a 62-39 win for the Buckeyes. Michigan also wasn’t favored in 2015 when the game was a pick’em. Ohio State won that game 42-13.

The Buckeyes are, however, favored in other games. In fact, they will be favored in every other game once the lesser games are released.

Ohio State is a 7-point favorite on the road at Notre Dame. The Buckeyes make the trip to South Bend on September 23, which will be their first visit since 1996. Ohio State was also favored by 7 points against the Irish in 1995, though that game was played in Columbus. The Buckeyes were favored by just 3 points in the 1996 game.

Ohio State was a 17.5-point favorite over Notre Dame last year. The Buckeyes have also been favored over the Irish both times in bowl games (4.5 points in 2005, 6.5 points in 2015).

The Buckeyes get Penn State at home this year, which is one reason why Ohio State is a 10.5-point favorite right now over the Nittany Lions. The last time Penn State was favored in Columbus was 2008.

One of the more intriguing games of the Big Ten season will come Saturday, October 28 when the Buckeyes head to Wisconsin to take on Luke Fickell and the Badgers. If you want to put money on that game, the line currently has Ohio State as a 9.5-point favorite.

The last time the Badgers hosted the Buckeyes was 2016. Ohio State was a 10.5-point favorite and won 30-23 in overtime. The last two games in Madison have gone to overtime (2016, 2012).

The previous handful of games at Wisconsin have not been easy for the Buckeyes. Ohio State lost at Wisconsin in 2010 as the No. 1 team in the nation and just a 3.5-point favorite against the No. 18 Badgers. The 2008 Buckeyes were favored by one point at Wisconsin and won 20-17. The third-ranked 2003 Buckeyes were favored by 2.5 points and lost 17-10 on a rain-soaked field. The never-say-die 2002 Buckeyes were at Wisconsin as well, and held on for a 19-14 win as 7.5-point favorites.

For some reason, BetOnline also included Michigan State’s trip to Ohio State as one of their big games. The Buckeyes are currently favored by 24 points. They were 27.5-point favorites over the Spartans in 1998, if you’re counting.

Those are the only Ohio State games included for now. Some other notable Big Ten numbers include Michigan as a 17-point favorite at Michigan State. The Wolverines are 2.5-point favorites at Penn State.

Here is the full list of all games that have been released so far by BetOnline.

Thursday, Aug 31, 2023

· Florida at Utah (-10)

Saturday, Sep 2, 2023

· South Carolina at North Carolina (-2)
· Colorado at TCU (-20½)

Sunday, Sep 3, 2023

· LSU (-1½) at Florida State

Saturday, Sep 9, 2023

· Texas at Alabama (-7)

Saturday, Sep 16, 2023

· Washington (-11) at Michigan State
· Tennessee (-7½) at Florida
· LSU (-9) at Mississippi State
· South Carolina at Georgia (-24)

Saturday, Sep 23, 2023

· Florida State at Clemson (-2½)
· Texas (-8) at Baylor
· Ohio State (-7) at Notre Dame
· Ole Miss at Alabama (-16)
· Arkansas at LSU (-12½)
· UCLA at Utah (-8)

Saturday, Sep 30, 2023

· Michigan (-18) at Nebraska
· Kansas at Texas (-17)
· Georgia (-18½) at Auburn
· South Carolina at Tennessee (-13)
· LSU (-4½) at Ole Miss

Saturday, Oct 07, 2023

· Oklahoma at Texas (-5½)

Saturday, Oct 14, 2023

· Auburn at LSU (-17)
· USC at Notre Dame (-1)
· Arkansas at Alabama (-19)
· Oregon at Washington (-1½)

Saturday, Oct 21, 2023

· Tennessee at Alabama (-10)
· TCU at Kansas State (-4½)
· Utah at USC (-7)
· Penn State at Ohio State (-10½)
· Clemson (-10) at Miami Florida
· Michigan (-17) at Michigan State

Saturday, Oct 28, 2023

· Clemson (-10½) at NC State
· Georgia (-21½) at Florida
· Oregon at Utah (-1½)
· Oklahoma (-6½) at Kansas
· Ohio State (-9½) at Wisconsin

Saturday, Nov 04, 2023

· Oklahoma (-8) at Oklahoma State
· Washington at USC (-7)
· Notre Dame at Clemson (-4½)
· Kansas State at Texas (-9½)
· LSU at Alabama (-7)

Saturday, Nov 11, 2023

· USC at Oregon (-3)
· Miami Florida at Florida State (-16½)
· Texas (-6) at TCU
· Ole Miss at Georgia (-19½)
· Duke at North Carolina (-9½)
· Michigan State at Ohio State (-24)
· Utah at Washington (-3½)
· Florida at LSU (-16½)
· Michigan (-2½) at Penn State

Saturday, Nov 18, 2023

· Kansas State (-5) at Kansas
· Georgia (-7½) at Tennessee
· Baylor at TCU (-4)
· North Carolina at Clemson (-10½)
· UCLA at USC (-12)

Thursday, Nov 23, 2023

· Ole Miss (-1½) at Mississippi State

Friday, Nov 24, 2023

· Oregon State at Oregon (-8½)
· TCU at Oklahoma (-7½)

Saturday, Nov 25, 2023

· North Carolina (-4½) at NC State
· Florida State (-9½) at Florida
· Ohio State at Michigan (-3)
· Penn State (-10½) at Michigan State
· Clemson (-6½) at South Carolina
· Alabama (-14) at Auburn

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