Ohio State vs Michigan State Opening Odds — Buckeyes 19.5-Point Home Favorite Against Spartans

• No. 4 Ohio State opened as a 19.5-point home favorite against No. 7 Michigan State for their November 20th contest
• Ohio State is 5-4-1 ATS, 3-3 as a home favorite
• Michigan State is 7-2-1 ATS, 2-0 as a road dog

No. 4 Ohio State (9-1, 7-0  Big Ten East) opened as a 19.5-point home favorite against No. 7 Michigan State noon ET Saturday. The Buckeyes have scored at least 52 points in five of their last seven games.

Michigan State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten East) rebounded from a loss at Purdue two weeks ago with a 40-21 victory over Maryland on Saturday.

Michigan State vs Ohio State Odds

Odds as of November 14th at DraftKings.With sports betting set to launch in Ohio on January 1, 2023, be sure to claim one of the Ohio sports betting promos at one of the top Ohio sports betting apps prior to launch. 

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Ohio State (+350) has emerged as FanDuel’s second favorite to win the national title behind Georgia (-125), Alabama is third (+450). Michigan State (+10000) is tied for 10th,

Serious Implications

The game does not get much bigger. A spot in both the Big Ten championship game and a berth in the CFP Final Four is at stake for both Ohio State and  Michigan State this week.

Ohio State will maintain its hold on the No. 4 spot in the CFP poll and move one step closer to the Big Ten title game with a victory in its final home game of the season. Given the CFP committee’s evaluations to this point, even a close victory should keep the Buckeyes a rung ahead of No. 5 Cincinnati (10-0).

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Michigan State must win to keep its East Division chances alive, inasmuch a loss would drop them two games behind Ohio State with one to play. At the same time, the Spartans would gain a tie-breaker advantage over both Ohio State and No. 6 Michigan (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten East) should they defy their role as an almost three-touchdown underdog.

The Spartans beat No. 6 Michigan 37-33 on Oct. 30, and Ohio State and Michigan meet in the final game of the regular-season in Ann Arbor. Michigan State plays Penn State (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten East) at home in the final game of the regular season.

Pur-Do, Pur-Don’t

It is hard to ignore the comparative results of the Purdue game for each, inasmuch as they came in back-to-back weeks.

Ohio State scored on all seven of its first-half possessions, taking a 45-17 halftime lead in a 59-31 victory over Purdue on Saturday. The Buckeyes’ offense, which had been sporadic in victories over Penn State and Nebraska in the previous two weeks, had 624 yards in total offense.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud passed for 361 yards and five touchdowns and wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave combined for 350 yards and five touchdowns.

Boilermakers’ quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw for a career-high 536 yards in a 40-29 home victory over Michigan State the previous week. The Spartans gave up 594 yards in total offense and had an 11-minute time of possession deficit.

The Spartans moved the ball behind Walker III but were hurt by two turnovers and six penalties. They may have been sporting a hangover after coming back from a 16-point deficit to beat Michigan the previous week.

Heisman Men

Michigan State’s Walker and Ohio State’s Stroud continue to rank in the top tier of Heisman Trophy candidates, with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Alabama’s Bryce Young.

Stroud has thrown for 766 yards and seven touchdowns against two interceptions in the last two games, and he ranks sixth in the FBS with 3378.3 passing yards per game. Walker has rushed for 586 yards and eight touchdowns in the last thee, and he leads the FBS with 147.3 rushing yards per game.

By the Numbers

The Spartans gave up career highs in passing yards to Michgan’s Cade McNamara (383) and Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell (536), and Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards against them Saturday.

Michigan State has split the last four games straight up and is 3-1 ATS in Columbus since 2011. The money should go toward the visitors here.