Once again, the Ohio State Buckeyes (-215) are favored by Big Ten odds to manhandle the Michigan Wolverines (+550) in what appears to be another lopsided Big Ten race.
However, think back to last season when the Buckeyes checked in at (-150) with Penn State at (+1600) and Michigan State (+2800).
Michigan defeated Ohio State, 42-27, in Ann Arbor, Mi., before routing Iowa in the Big Ten championship game and losing to national champion Georgia, 34-11, in the CFB Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. As college football has generally become a story of the same five or six teams playing for a national championship each season, the Buckeyes are generally expected to be the Big Ten title winner.
College football betting sites also note that Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud (+200) is the Heisman Trophy favorite over Alabama’s Bryce Williams (+350). Let’s dive into our Big Ten Conference betting preview and see where we should place our money.
Big 10 Odds to win Big 10 East:
| Players | Odds |
| Ohio State | -215 |
| Michigan | +550 |
| Penn State | +1600 |
| Michigan State | +2800 |
| Maryland | +15000 |
| Indiana | +30000 |
| Rutgers | +50000 |
Big Ten East: Stroud, Skill Players Make Buckeyes an Even Tougher Task
When evaluating Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud, the Buckeyes’ title hopes and his Heisman Trophy opportunity, last season’s 44 touchdowns with only six interceptions and the 4,435 passing yards give him and the Buckeyes the inside track.
Ohio State gets two key wide receivers back in Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+3000) and Garrett Wilson as they totaled 95 and 70 receptions last season as both went over 1,000 receiving yards.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 6.8 yards per carry which was for 1,248 yards last season. He is currently posting (+3000) in Big 10 betting odds to win the Heisman as he will give Ohio State a solid rushing game with which to complement Stroud and the pass.
Henderson is also a legitimate threat coming out of the backfield as he caught 27 balls for 312 yards and four touchdowns in 2021.
Defensively, the Buckeyes had a tough time with physical offenses and coach Ryan Day hired Jim Knowles, who was the defensive coordinator of an aggressive team at Oklahoma State.
Ryan Day knows #OhioState is different than most other programs in college football. pic.twitter.com/b4iBAI6Kqn
— Bucknuts (@Bucknuts247) July 27, 2022
Ohio State had major problems in the run-stop against quality running backs with offensive lines. Oregon beat down the Buckeyes for 269 yards rushing on 38 carries while Michigan grounded 297 yards on 41 carries.
Ohio State opens against Notre Dame on Sept. 3 and the Buckeyes are a (-14.5) favorite with an OVER/UNDER at 58 (-110). OSU has control on the moneyline as well at (-770) while the Irish currently house (+510) odds.
Wolverines A Far Reach To Repeat Big Ten Accolades
Michigan has an interesting competition as quarterbacks JJ McCarthy and Cade McNamara will vie for the number one QB spot.
McNamara completed 64.2 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions last season.
McCarthy started picking up more playing time in the seventh game vs. Indiana; however, he and the Wolverines, hit the wall in Michigan’s 34-11 loss to Georgia.
Michigan does return its second-best running back in Blake Corum (+10000), who ran for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2021.
The Wolverines return their top five wide receivers, led by Cornelius Johnson, who caught a team-high 40 passes for 627 yards. Whoever settles into the QB role will have a high level of skill to work with at the position.
Watch Ronnie Bell as a wideout as he was affixed with a torn ACL last season in week one and was Michigan’s leading receiver in 2020.
The Wolverines have the second-best Big Ten odds (+550), but there is a plethora of teams behind them that have the potential to push them into the middle of the pack. Solidity does not turn to the quarterback position if players do not step up into their positions on defense.
Penn State Looks To Move Forward After Tough Season
Who has the best game day atmosphere in college football? pic.twitter.com/5NAMytJ8cv
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 2, 2022
The Nittany Lions were humbled by Arkansas, 24-10, in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL, and now they come looking for a running game to start with in 2022.
Penn State has Big 10 odds sitting at (+1600) and they start with a running attack that averaged only 3.2 yards per carry, 13th in the 14-team league. Keyvone Lee returns to the backfield as the leading returnee after Noah Cain left for LSU. Lee’s 88 yards on 20 carries against Michigan was his best mark of the season. The Lions found only 108 yards rushing per game which was 118th among the 130 Division-1 college football teams. Incoming freshman Nick Singleton could be a focal point as he rushed for nearly 6500 yards in his high school career.
Quarterback Sean Clifford (+10000) returns for his fifth season as he is an average quarterback who never seems to have the talent to dominate a game against a solid opponent.
The Lions and Michigan State can vie for third in the Big Ten East, but both are light years ahead of Maryland, Indiana, and Rutgers.
Spartans Look for Follow-Up to Last Season’s 11 Wins
Michigan State athletic administration should have taken kudos of bows in hiring Mel Tucker as it’s head coach. He sent Sparty to an 11-2 record after a 2-5 beginning in the Covid-ridden 2020 season.
Michigan State was even a national championship caliber team until a loss at Purdue and a blow-out session at Ohio State. The Spartans (+2800) have to find a replacement for running back Kenneth Walker, III, and resurgence on the offensive line which will also play a key role in the protection of quarterback Payton Thorne. The new Michigan State QB was sacked 21 times and threw 10 picks.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed was the leading Spartans receiver with 59 catches, 1,026 yards, and ten touchdown receptions. Tre Mosley is another solid wide-out that could turn MSU into more of a pass-oriented team.
Michigan State led the Big Ten with 42 quarterback sacks while they had a run defense with the fourth-best numbers in the Big 10 at only 117.2.
With the win total sitting at 7.5, Michigan State is posting (-145), according to Big 10 odds, to go OVER and (+110) as an UNDER.
Maryland, Indiana and Rutgers Round Out the Big Ten East
Mike Locksley begins his fifth season as head coach at Maryland (+15000), as the Terrapins seem to be once again buried with little chance to get very far in the Big Ten East.
The Terrapins’ offense will be its calling card with an underrated quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa, whose Big Ten betting odds for the Heisman Trophy are set at (+10000). He completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 3,860 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions a year ago.
He has a plethora of solid wide receivers returning, led by Rakin Jarrett, who caught 62 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns.
Rutgers (+50000) looks to have competition at quarterback between Noah Vedral and Gavin Wimsatt, who came in early from his high school.
The Scarlet Knights were woeful offensively as Vedral had seven TD passes and seven interceptions while being sacked on 19 occasions.
Coach Greg Schiano brought in five new defensive coaches to try to jump-start the Scarlet Knights’ defense which gave up 161.8 yards rushing per game and accrued only five interceptions in 2021.
Big 10 West Odds to Win Big 10:
| Players | Odds |
| Wisconsin | +1100 |
| Nebraska | +1600 |
| Iowa | +2000 |
| Minnesota | +2800 |
| Purdue | +3000 |
| Illinois | +15000 |
| Northwestern | +20000 |
Big Ten West: Badgers Contend as Slight Favorite over Nebraska, Iowa
Wisconsin has a solid running back in sophomore Braylon Allen, who rushed for 1,268 yards with 12 touchdowns in 2021. Allen will be the focal point of coach Paul Chryst’s offense.
Scoring could be a problem if Graham Mertz is still not a passing threat at quarterback, where he led Wisconsin to only 160.2 yards passing per game, 13th in the league. He tossed only ten touchdown passes against 11 interceptions.
Kicking off Day 1
Our crew pic.twitter.com/WkF3bI5nJ8
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 3, 2022
The passing game was so inept last season that the leading receiver Danny Davis, III, had 478 yards which placed him at 25th in the Big Ten.
Defensively, the Badgers lost most of their starters, as they were second in quarterback sacks with 39 and second in interceptions where they accrued 16 passes. Wisconsin also led the nation by holding opponents to 239.1 yards total per game and 64.8 yards rushing per game.
Big 10 betting odds note that the Badgers’ win total is at 8.5 with the OVER at (-145) and the UNDER sitting at (+110).
Cornhuskers Look for Title Push in Big Ten West
It seems like Adrian Martinez has been the quarterback at Nebraska (+1600) for an NFL calendar. However, as Scott Frost begins his fifth season as the head coach, it’s the proverbial “put up or shut up” time for the Cornhuskers as Frost bought in Texas transfer Casey Thompson.
The move to Thompson (+10000) will accentuate the offense in a different way as Nebraska must improve off of last season’s 3-9 record that morphed to the bottom of the Big Ten and 1-8. College football betting sites are looking for the Cornhuskers to make a rebound off of last season as their win total is sitting at 7.5 with the OVER (even) and the UNDER at (-130).
Sophomore Rahmir Johnson could morph into the most solid offensive producer on this team. He tallied 495 yards on 112 carries with five touchdowns while catching 16 balls for 197 yards. In addition, he will have competition from likely four other running backs.
Thompson and Johnson are a duo with multiple skills which could be tough preparation for defenses on a short week.
Jaquez Yant is another factor in the offensive backfield as he averaged 6.3 yards per carry with the ‘Huskers were fourth in the Big Ten at 181 yards rushing per night.
Interestingly, the Cornhuskers open in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 27 against Northwestern, who they beat, 56-7, last season.
Nebraska (-12.5) also has solid Big 10 odds to recreate last season’s romp over Northwestern and the OVER/UNDER is listed at 50.5 with (-110) on both the OVER and UNDER.
Hawkeyes Looking to Fly Again in Big Ten West
Iowa (+2000) had a tough time solidifying its running game as the Hawkeyes rushed for only 123.6 yards on the ground per game. It was 11th in the Big Ten and Iowa didn’t find a hint of a passing game a year ago and the Hawks return both quarterbacks in Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla.
The Hawkeyes have to break in a feature back as Gavin Williams and Leshon Williams look like the key options, but both averaged just over 20 yards rushing per game in relief of Goodson.
Goin' campin' ⛺️#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/q8bgpSSyQu
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) August 3, 2022
The wide receiver positions will be the offense’s biggest threats, led by tight end Sam LaPorta, who made 53 catches for 670 yards and ten touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Jack Campbell will lead the defense after posting 140 tackles. Returnees Jermari Harris and Riley Moss had four interceptions each to lead the secondary.
Strong safety Kaevon Merriweather could be in for a big season as well with his athleticism and playmaking ability in the Iowa secondary.
Fleck, Gophers Operate as Sleeper
Minnesota (+2800) coach P.J. Fleck has spoken of last season’s offensive inconsistency which started with the Gophers’ lack of a passing attack.
Morgan should be elated to have running back Mo Ibrahim returning to the backfield where he tore his Achilles tendon and was out all of last season. In 2020. He rushed for 1,076 yards on 201 carries and scored 15 touchdowns.
Morgan and Trey Potts, who rushed for three 100-yard games in his first five last season, should be a nice one-two punch for Minnesota as Ky Thomas transferred to Kansas. Defensively, the Gophers will look to recreate last season’s defensive attack. Minnesota held it’s opponents to 17.3 points per game and 278.8 yards per outing as both of those were in the top ten in college football.
Two keys return in defensive end Thomas Rush and tackle Trill Carter. Rush led the Gophers with 5.5 sacks which accrued 51 yards in losses. Minnesota will have to find depth and replacements for six defensive linemen that played and started on its Front-7.
Boilermakers Will Finish in front of Illini, Northwestern
Purdue could be a sleeper with it’s Big 10 conference odds sitting at (+3000). Quarterback Aidan O’Connell (+5000) returns after completing 71.8 percent of his passes with 28 touchdown throws and 11 interceptions.
The Boilers lost David Bell, who was the number two receiver in the Big Ten, but Milton Wright will be the go-to receiver for coach Jeff Brohm. Wright caught 57 balls for 732 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns. Purdue could also be above the curve defensively as the defense only gave up 22.4 points (7th/B10) and 366.6 yards in total defense.
The Illini will be another run-oriented Big 10 offense with Chase Brown and Josh McCray at the key running back positions. Illinois will also plug in Syracuse transfer Tommy Devito at quarterback as he threw 19 touchdown passes in 2019.
Illinois’ defense has a plethora of returnees on the two deep. The Fighting Illini allowed only 21.9 points per game which was 29th in the nation after they were 97th in 2020 in allowing 34.9 points per game. Meanwhile, Northwestern will look for more steady play out of it’s wide receivers as South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski begins his second season. The Wildcats’ defense is looking to fix itself after giving up 145 yards rushing per game a year ago.
Northwestern has spent the last four seasons in trying to return to the team that won seven or eight games on average for several years. Sportsbooks feel Northwestern will have four wins in sitting with Big 10 conference odds. The Wildcats currently are at (-105) to go over four, but (-125) for under four wins.
Big Ten Championship Prediction
Take Ohio State over Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Heisman Trophy favorite in CJ Stroud (+200) and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be a passing combination that will be highlighted all season. Generally, this conference doesn’t have close to the kind of athletes to match up with the Buckeyes.
I like the Cornhuskers moving into their first Big Ten title game with the new signal caller in Texas transfer Casey Thompson. Nebraska was close, but no cigar in losing their eight Big Ten games by nine points or less last season.
There’s no one athletic enough to skew these Cornhuskers as Minnesota (+2800) and Wisconsin visit Lincoln while Nebraska (+1600) goes to Iowa (+2000) for the last game of the season.
