Ohio State Football Betting Preview | Big Ten Odds and Projections
The Ohio State football team enters the 2024 season with the same question it had prior to the 2023 season: Do they have the right quarterback? The Buckeyes’ roster is loaded with talent, but head coach Ryan Day made a chin-scratching move bringing in Chip Kelly to run the offense with Kansas State transfer Will Howard under center. WagerTalk is also the home of best NFL bets today throughout the year.
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2024 Ohio State Football Schedule
| Date | Opponent | GoldSheet Line |
| Aug 31 | vs Akron | -51 |
| Sept 7 | vs Western Michigan | -41 |
| Sept 14 | Bye | |
| Sept 21 | vs Marshall | -39 |
| Sept 28 | at Michigan State | -27 |
| Oct 5 | vs Iowa | -24 |
| Oct 12 | at Oregon | +2 |
| Oct 19 | Bye | |
| Oct 26 | vs Nebraska | -28 |
| Nov 2 | at Penn State | -2 |
| Nov 9 | vs Purdue | -31 |
| Nov 16 | at Northwestern | -27 |
| Nov 23 | vs Indiana | -33 |
| Nov 30 | vs Michigan | -11 |
Our power ratings have Ohio State favored in 11 of their 12 regular season games with their Week 7 trip to Oregon as the lone exception. We project Ohio State to be double-digit favorites in ten of their 12 games, with that trip to Oregon and a visit to Penn State being the two outliers.
In addition to Ohio State’s Week 1 game against Akron, DraftKings has opened five additional Games of the Year for the Buckeyes. Odds below as of Wednesday, June 19:
- Ohio State -24 vs Iowa
- Ohio State pick’em at Oregon
- Ohio State -25.5 vs Nebraska
- Ohio State -4 (-120) at Penn State
- Ohio State -10 vs Michigan
Ohio State Football Betting Odds
| National Championship | +400 |
| Big Ten Championship | +160 |
| To Make the CFP | Yes -650 / No +425 |
| Season Win Total | 10.5 (o -140 / u +120) |
| To Go Undefeated | Yes +280 / No -380 |
| Will Howard Heisman | +1500 |
Odds above courtesy of DraftKings as of Wednesday, June 19. The Buckeyes have opened as the second choice in the National Championship pool behind Georgia. Ohio State has opened as the favorite for the Big Ten Championship, but keep in mind that the conference has gotten rid of the division format. After years of beating up on the representative from the West Division, the Buckeyes could now see Oregon, Penn State or Michigan for the conference crown.
Will Howard has opened as the fifth choice on the Heisman board behind Georgia’s Carson Beck, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. Buckeyes’ running backs Quinshon Judkins (+7500) and TreVeyon Henderson (+8000) also figure to be in the mix.
Ohio State Football Returning Production
Ohio State is projected to return 14 starters from last year’s squad: Six on offense and eight on defense. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the Buckeyes are projected to return 65-percent of their production from last season: 62-percent on offense and 68-percent on defense.
247Sports ranks each team’s incoming talent, combining the freshman recruiting class with the players they attracted in the transfer portal. Ohio State enters the 2024 season with the No. 3 nationally-ranked class of incoming talent (No. 1 in the Big Ten).
Howard threw for 2,643 and 24 touchdowns last year at Kansas State, with a 61.3-percent completion rate. Not exactly known to be a polished pocket passer, it will be interesting to see how he gels with the Buckeyes’ offense. Following spring practice, head coach Ryan Day refused to name Howard as his starting quarterback heading into the summer.
Enter the wild card that few people saw coming: Chip Kelly. The former UCLA coach left a head coaching job in Pasadena to become a coordinator in Columbus. Kelly’s offenses have traditionally been built around the running game, and he will have a pair of good ones to work with in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. However, that leaves some big questions in the passing game. Ohio State has been a wide receiver factory in recent seasons, producing top-level pass catchers (including the No. 4 overall pick in last year’s draft).
This year’s wide receiver class is once again considered one of the best in the country with Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and true freshman Jeremiah Smith. Ohio State has welcomed a quarterback that likes to run and an offensive coordinator that likes to run, while having the best receiving corps in the country. That could prove to be a testy mix if things don’t gel with Howard at the helm.
GoldSheet College Football Preview
The GoldSheet team has assembled a FREE 60-page college football guide to help you get ready for the 2024-25 NCAAF season. Did you enjoy this Ohio State football preview? We’ve got plenty more where that came from. We break down every schedule from every team with projected point spreads, win probabilities and much more. Stay up-to-date on coaching moves, quarterback transfers and conference re-alignment with this complimentary download.
NCAAF Team Previews
Here are the top-25 (actually, 27) teams in our opening power ratings for the 2024 college football season:
| 1) Georgia | T11) Missouri | T21) Arizona |
| 2) Ohio State | T11) Oklahoma | T21) USC |
| 3) Oregon | T11) Texas A&M | T23) Auburn |
| 4) Alabama | T14) Clemson | T23) Washington |
| 5) Texas | T14) Florida State | T23) Iowa State |
| 6) Penn State | 16) Tennessee | T23) TCU |
| 7) Michigan | 17) Kansas State | T23) Oklahoma State |
| 8) Ole Miss | T18) Louisville | |
| 9) Notre Dame | T18) Utah | |
| 10) LSU | T18) Miami (Fla) |
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the point spreads, moneylines, totals and betting percentages through every week of the college football season. Oh yeah, you can also find free college football picks and predictions!
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