Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State: Ryan Day's Buckeyes Open as Early Betting Favorites

The No. 6 Oregon Ducks host the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Oct. 12 in one of the biggest games of the season. Oddsmakers have Ryan Day's Buckeyes as 2.5-point favorites over Dan Lanning's Ducks.

Ohio State's head coach Ryan Day, center, celebrates after the Buckeyes stop Michigan State on fourth down and one yard during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The No. 6 Oregon Ducks will host the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Oct. 12 in Autzen Stadium, and FanDuel Sports has the Buckeyes as a 2.5-point favorite. Autzen has proven to give the Ducks a valuable home-field advantage, but oddsmakers like Ryan Day's Ohio State team enough to overcome the Oregon crowd.

The game is scheduled for prime time, broadcast on TV by NBC at 4:30 p.m. PT. Looking at the schedule across the country, chances are high that ESPN's College GameDay will also make the trip to Eugene.

The Ducks are rumored to be debuting the "Fly Era" uniforms against the Buckeyes in prime time. A look that they have yet to wear on the field, the all-black uniforms were unveiled before the season began.

Ohio State's head coach Ryan Day, center, celebrates after the Buckeyes stop Michigan State on fourth down and one yard during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Through Week 5, both the Ducks and the Buckeyes remain undefeated, setting up the top-10 showdown in Eugene.

The game has been circled on calendars across the country as two of the best Big Ten teams face each other. Before the season even began, Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning was asked about the game on the Jim Rome show.

"Unbelievable team. We’re certainly not looking ahead, but you can’t look at your schedule and not recognize who there’s opportunities to play," said Lanning. "Ohio State has done an unbelievable job year in and year out. They’ve had a lot of success, they’re well coached, they’ve recruited really well, and they’ve built a history.”

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning leads the Ducks onto the field as the Oregon State Beavers host the Oregon Ducks Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the first two games of Oregon's season, they failed to cover large spreads against Idaho and No. 21 Boise State. The lackluster start caused the Ducks to move down the AP Poll from No. 3 to No. 9. With the help of some upsets around the country, Oregon moved back up to No. 6 after convincing wins over the Oregon State Beavers and UCLA Bruins.

Ohio State has impressed on both sides of the ball during the first few weeks of the season. While some have criticized their schedule, the Buckeyes beat Michigan state 38-7 on the road in their first Big Ten game of 2024.

As a result, Ohio State opens as a -2.5 favorite over the Oregon Ducks despite making the trip to Eugene. Other lines such as money line and the over/under total have not been released yet.

Before facing the Buckeyes, the Ducks will host their first Big Ten Conference game in Autzen as the Michigan State Spartans come to town on Friday, Oct. 4. The short week before facing Michigan State will give Lanning and his team an extra day to prepare.

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