Matt Tamanini
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How Vegas views Ohio State’s title chances following Week 1
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Disp / USA TODAY NETWORK
While some fans seemed to take issue with how OSU won over Akron, sportsbooks didn’t seem to mind.
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes opened up the 2024 college football season with a decisive 52-6 win over the Akron Zips. Despite the dominance, especially in the second half, many Buckeye fans were left with more complaints than you would expect from a sane fanbase.
So, following that season opener, we wanted to take a look and see how the Buckeyes stacked up in Las Vegas’ view in some of the biggest futures options currently on the board. We are using DraftKings Sportsbook odds here, but the numbers are pretty similar across the board.
National Championship Odds | Ohio State +400
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With one week under their belts, the Buckeyes (+400) remain solidly in second place behind Georgia (+280), however, Oregon dropped significantly while still remaining in third place. Before their near-historic loss to Idaho in Week 1, the Ducks had odds in the low +600s, depending on when you grabbed it.
Now, they are tied with Texas for third at +750. It appears that Vegas did not ding the Buckeyes too much for an off-kilter first half against the Zips.
The Buckeyes’ +400 means that if you bet $100 on them to win the national title, you would make a $400 profit; or you would take home $500 after getting your initial bet back.
College Football Playoff Odds | Ohio State -650
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With a number like -650, Vegas is essentially telling you that Ohio State is as close to a CFP lock as there can possibly be; obviously, UGA is even better at -750, but both numbers are very strong. If you want to win $100 by beating on the Buckeyes to make the 12-team College Football Playoff, you would have to put up $650.
So, if you feel extremely confident in OSU’s chances, go ahead and take that $100, but you are risking a decent amount of money to do so.
Oregon and Penn State are the only other two Big Ten schools in negative territory, with Michigan, USC, and Iowa in the hunt as well.
Big Ten Championship Odds | Ohio State +145
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Despite any presumed hiccups against Akron, Vegas still has Ohio State as the clear favorite to win the Big Ten this season. Of course, that is probably also impacted by the fact that Oregon looked less than spectacular in their first game of the season.
While not exactly even money, at +145, you are only getting about 1.5x return on investment if you pick the Buckeyes to win the conference title in Indianapolis in early December. Picking a B1G won’t be substantially profitable until you start looking at the teams in fourth place and below.
The three-time defending conference champs are at +900 — so if you bet $100, you will walk away with $1,000 — but man, that Iowa +4000 number is interesting given their relatively weak schedule and always impressive defense. I know that their offense is still nothing special, but putting $10 down to potentially win $400 seems like it would be worth a little action.
Heisman Trophy Odds | Will Howard +1600, Jeremiah Smith +9000
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I don’t think that there is any chance that a Buckeye wins the Heisman Trophy this season, but if there were multi-year futures available, I think I would put down some money on Jeremiah Smith. Given the hype around him just one game into his collegiate career by his sophomore or junior seasons, I think that he will be a big enough CFB star to overcome the quarterback stranglehold over the award.
We saw Marvin Harrison Jr. get the invite last season, and I believe that had he shown out against Michigan and the Buckeyes had won, he would have had a legitimate shot to take home the honor. Sadly, that is not what happened, but we know how important narrative is in the Hesiman race, and there is plenty of time for Smith to build the story up enough for him to break that glass ceiling. Of course, it also helps that he is otherworldly talented as well.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Disp / USA TODAY NETWORK
While some fans seemed to take issue with how OSU won over Akron, sportsbooks didn’t seem to mind.
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes opened up the 2024 college football season with a decisive 52-6 win over the Akron Zips. Despite the dominance, especially in the second half, many Buckeye fans were left with more complaints than you would expect from a sane fanbase.
So, following that season opener, we wanted to take a look and see how the Buckeyes stacked up in Las Vegas’ view in some of the biggest futures options currently on the board. We are using DraftKings Sportsbook odds here, but the numbers are pretty similar across the board.
National Championship Odds | Ohio State +400
With one week under their belts, the Buckeyes (+400) remain solidly in second place behind Georgia (+280), however, Oregon dropped significantly while still remaining in third place. Before their near-historic loss to Idaho in Week 1, the Ducks had odds in the low +600s, depending on when you grabbed it.
Now, they are tied with Texas for third at +750. It appears that Vegas did not ding the Buckeyes too much for an off-kilter first half against the Zips.
The Buckeyes’ +400 means that if you bet $100 on them to win the national title, you would make a $400 profit; or you would take home $500 after getting your initial bet back.
College Football Playoff Odds | Ohio State -650
With a number like -650, Vegas is essentially telling you that Ohio State is as close to a CFP lock as there can possibly be; obviously, UGA is even better at -750, but both numbers are very strong. If you want to win $100 by beating on the Buckeyes to make the 12-team College Football Playoff, you would have to put up $650.
So, if you feel extremely confident in OSU’s chances, go ahead and take that $100, but you are risking a decent amount of money to do so.
Oregon and Penn State are the only other two Big Ten schools in negative territory, with Michigan, USC, and Iowa in the hunt as well.
Big Ten Championship Odds | Ohio State +145
Despite any presumed hiccups against Akron, Vegas still has Ohio State as the clear favorite to win the Big Ten this season. Of course, that is probably also impacted by the fact that Oregon looked less than spectacular in their first game of the season.
While not exactly even money, at +145, you are only getting about 1.5x return on investment if you pick the Buckeyes to win the conference title in Indianapolis in early December. Picking a B1G won’t be substantially profitable until you start looking at the teams in fourth place and below.
The three-time defending conference champs are at +900 — so if you bet $100, you will walk away with $1,000 — but man, that Iowa +4000 number is interesting given their relatively weak schedule and always impressive defense. I know that their offense is still nothing special, but putting $10 down to potentially win $400 seems like it would be worth a little action.
Heisman Trophy Odds | Will Howard +1600, Jeremiah Smith +9000
I don’t think that there is any chance that a Buckeye wins the Heisman Trophy this season, but if there were multi-year futures available, I think I would put down some money on Jeremiah Smith. Given the hype around him just one game into his collegiate career by his sophomore or junior seasons, I think that he will be a big enough CFB star to overcome the quarterback stranglehold over the award.
We saw Marvin Harrison Jr. get the invite last season, and I believe that had he shown out against Michigan and the Buckeyes had won, he would have had a legitimate shot to take home the honor. Sadly, that is not what happened, but we know how important narrative is in the Hesiman race, and there is plenty of time for Smith to build the story up enough for him to break that glass ceiling. Of course, it also helps that he is otherworldly talented as well.
Continue reading...