Minnesota football opens as major underdog to No. 1 Ohio State
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are coming off their third win of the season, a 31-28 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday but sportsbooks do not like their chances to pick up win No. 4 of the season this upcoming weekend.
According to BetMGM, Minnesota is a 23.5-point underdog to the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes for next Saturday’s primetime matchup in Columbus. The early total for the game is 44.5 point, meaning that the implied projected score for this weekend’s upcoming matchup is roughly 34 – 10.5 in favor of the Buckeyes.
The Gophers this season are 1-3 against the spread with their only cover being a 66-0 win over Northwestern State as a 42.5-point favorite. The Gophers failed to cover against Buffalo (-16.5), California (-3), and Rutgers (-4).
The buckeyes are 3-0-1 against the spread, covering against Texas (-1), Grambling St (-54.4), and Washington (-10) while having a push against Ohio (-28).
This weekend, Ohio State defeated the Washington Huskies 24-6 in Seattle. The Buckeyes had 357 total yards to Washington’s 234 in the agme including 208 passing yards on a strong day from quarterback Julian Sayin who finished 22-for-28 while also throwing two touchdowns.
Minnesota and Ohio State have met 54 times since 1921. The Golden Gophers have not defeated the Buckeyes since a 29-17 win in Columbus in 2000. Overall, Minnesota has just two wins against the Buckeyes since 1980.
Minnesota and Ohio State will kickoff next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 p.m. ET), the game will be televised nationally on NBC.
