Buckeyes open as road underdog in massive Oregon clash

COLUMBUS — Ohio State and Oregon are the two early favorites in the 2024 Big Ten title race.

They’ll meet for the first time as conference foes on Oct. 12 in Eugene, Oregon. The Buckeyes are already an underdog in that colossal matchup between two teams that are projected to be ranked in the top five in the preseason.

Yes, Ohio State will be an underdog in a Big Ten matchup. Fanduel Sportsbook recently debuted its betting lines for some of the biggest games of the college football season, months before toe meets leather on the college football season. And the Buckeyes opened as a 1.5-point underdog for their first trip to Autzen Stadium since 1967 when they beat Oregon.

The last time these two teams met, the Ducks upset the Buckeyes inside the Horseshoe early in the 2021 regular season, prompting Ryan Day to demote then-defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs. That season, Ohio State struggled on that side of the ball and missed the College Football Playoff. Following that year, Day parted ways with Coombs and other defensive coaches, leading to the Buckeyes hiring new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Since that last matchup, the Ducks lost then-coach Mario Cristobal to Miami and hired Dan Lanning, the former defensive coordinator at Georgia, to be the new head coach. He has led the Ducks to a PAC-12 title game and now leads them into the Big Ten this season.

Now they’re already a Big Ten heavyweight alongside Ohio State. The pair of conference favorites will battle in Eugene in October. Ohio State is already a small underdog in that contest.

Early spread also released for Ohio State vs. Michigan

And the Buckeyes opened as a 7.5-point favorite for their Nov. 30 matchup against Michigan in the Horseshoe.

Ohio State hasn’t beaten Michigan at home since 2018 and hasn’t won the rivalry game at all since 2019.

Of course, Ohio State has had the talent advantage in each of the last three years — according to all available metrics such as the On3 Industry rankings from the past few years. Yet Michigan has won the last three meetings on the field.

Ohio State hasn’t lost four straight games to Michigan since 1988-91. The Buckeyes will finally have a chance to get back over their rivals in late November. We’re a long way away from that game, but the expects in the desert are already pinning Ohio State as a favorite over its biggest rival.