Ohio State Favorites To Win 2023 Big Ten Football Title, Per DraftKings
Ohio State football will hoist its first Big Ten Championship trophy since 2020 at the end of this season if the latest betting odds are to be believed.
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Buckeyes as +170 favorites to win the title, slightly ahead of Michigan at +180, and both Wisconsin and Penn State at +600.
The Wolverines, Badgers, and Nittany Lions are the only teams with triple-digit odds (Ohio State makes four), as the next-highest favorite is the Iowa Hawkeyes at +1800. Indiana has the lowest line to win this season's championship, sitting well below the rest of the pack at +50000.
The Buckeyes have missed out on playing for a conference title both of the past two seasons, partially due to a pair of late-season losses to the Wolverines that knocked them out of the top spot in the Big Ten's East Division.
This recent trend and the DraftKings odds seem to conflict with one another, as Ohio State is projected to lose once again in this year's meeting with Michigan. DraftKings has the Maize and Blue listed as 24.5-point favorites over the Scarlet and Gray.
However, there are a handful of scenarios in which the Buckeyes could lose to the Wolverines and still make the Big Ten Championship.
The situation that would put the least amount of pressure on Ohio State would be Michigan entering the game on Saturday, November 25 with a pair of losses. This way, even if Ohio State losses the contest, the Buckeyes would remain at the head of the Big Ten East.
Of course, the above scenario also requires Ohio State to travel to Michigan Stadium (aka "The Big House") with an undefeated record.
Betting lines have not been revealed, but ESPN has Michigan favored to win each of their games before concluding the regular season against the Buckeyes.
The games prior to their meeting with Ohio State in which Michigan has the lowest probability of winning are on October 21 at Michigan State (77.7%) and at Penn State on November 11 (53.1%).
The best-case scenario for the Buckeyes to make it to the Big Ten Championship is to close out an undefeated regular season with a victory over the Wolverines, thus spoiling a Michigan three-peat in "The Game."
The mystery of which odds are to be believed will be answered in 185 days: will Ohio State win the 2023 Big Ten Championship, or will the Wolverines once again keep them out of Indianapolis?
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