Buckeyes open as massive too-early favorite over Michigan State

COLUMBUS — Another betting line is out for an Ohio State game.

And yet again, the Buckeyes are already a double-digit favorite for the matchup with one of their biggest Big Ten East rivals.

Fanduel Sportsbook debuted its betting lines for some of the biggest games of the college football season last month, months before toe meets leather on the college football season. Another one has now arrived, and the Buckeyes have opened as a 21.5-point favorite for their home clash against Michigan State on Nov. 11.

Ohio State hasn’t lost to Michigan State since 2015, winning seven straight in the series by an average of 29.7 points per game. The Buckeyes went on the road last season and destroyed the Spartans, returning home with a dominant 49-20 victory.

The next time Ohio State and Michigan State meet, the Buckeyes will be coming back-to-back road trips to Wisconsin and Rutgers, respectively. The Spartans will be coming off a home game against Nebraska.

Yes, that game is still months away. But the sports books are already setting lines, and the Buckeyes are opening as a massive favorite in that game — and a few others.

Three other Buckeyes games already have spreads released

Fanduel Sportsbook debuted its betting lines for some of the biggest games of the college football season in February. And the Buckeyes opened as a one-point underdog for their Nov. 25 road trip to Ann Arbor when they take on Michigan. It has remained steady since then.

If that line holds and Ohio State is an underdog at kickoff in late November, it’ll be the first time since the 2018 game against Michigan that the Buckeyes are a regular-season underdog. Ohio State famously beat then-No. 4 Michigan 62-39 inside the Horseshoe that day.

Ohio State also opened as a way-too-early favorite over Notre Dame in February when the oddsmaker released spreads for some of the biggest games of the college football season. The Buckeyes opened as a 7.5-point favorite over Notre Dame, according the Fanduel. That line has since ballooned to 10.

The Buckeyes came from behind in the second half to defeat Notre Dame last year, finishing the game with a resume-building 21-10 win. It spring boarded the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record and a trip to the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State also opened as a seven-point favorite for their home clash against Penn State on Oct. 21. That line has since moved to 9.5 points, signaling that the early money is pouring in on the Buckeyes.