College Football Betting: Big Ten Conference Preview

With the 2023 college football season on the horizon, it’s a great time to look at the latest odds for the Big Ten conference.

2023 Big Ten Conference Odds

Here are the updated odds for which team will win the Big Ten Championship Game this upcoming season, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

• Ohio State (+170)
• Michigan (+180)
• Penn State (+600)
• Wisconsin (+650)
• Iowa (+1500)
• Illinois (+3500)
• Minnesota (+4000)
• Nebraska (+6000)
• Purdue (+8000)
• Maryland (+8000)
• Michigan State (+12000)
• Northwestern (+20000)
• Rutgers (+25000)
• Indiana (+50000)

Wolverines Looking to Win Third Straight Big Ten Title

John Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines are looking to win their third straight Big Ten title this season, last done by Ohio State 2017-19. The Wolverines were one of the best teams in college football last season, as they finished with a 13-1 record and a 9-0 record in conference play. The Wolverines’ only loss came at the hands of the TCU Horned Frogs, who won 51-45 in the CFP Semifinal. Michigan has 13 starters returning from last year’s team, including QB J.J. McCarthy and RB Blake Corum. Corum was one of the best running backs in college football last season before going down with a torn meniscus and sprained MCL in his left knee. 

Corum had 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 247 carries in 12 games. If Corum is healthy and looks like the same player we saw last season, the Wolverines could be a threat to win the national title. However, much of the Wolverines’ success this upcoming season will fall on the arm of junior QB J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy had an excellent 2022 season, completing 64.6% of his passes for 2,719 yards, 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. The 6-foot-3 quarterback only had two games with 300-plus passing yards but had four games with at least three passing touchdowns. 

Also, look out for the Wolverines’ defense, which was one of the best in the country last season, allowing 16.1 points per game. Michigan returns six defensive starters, including All-Big Ten linebacker Junior Colson, who had 101 total tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks.

Ohio State Ushers in Kyle McCord Era

However, the Wolverines won’t have an easy path back to the Big Ten title game this season, as the Buckeyes will try to enact some revenge. Ohio State had one loss on their resume during the regular season – 45-23 defeat by Michigan. Outside of that humiliating loss, the Buckeyes handled their business, going 8-1 in Big Ten conference play and 11-1 overall. Ohio State will try to have similar success this season with Kyle McCord under center, replacing C.J. Stroud. 

McCord didn’t play a ton last season for the Buckeyes, completing 16-of-20 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown in seven games. Head coach Ryan Day will ask a lot out of the young quarterback, but he won’t have to go into battle alone. The Buckeyes have an outstanding RB duo in Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson, who scored 19 combined rushing touchdowns last season. McCord also has two dynamic wideouts to throw to in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, who will be on the NFL’s radar this season. 

Harrison produced 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns last year, while Egbuka added 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 scores. For Ohio State to be back in the playoff convo, the offense must start off fast, and the pass defense has to play lockdown defense. Ryan Day and company don’t have a forgiving schedule, as they open the season on the road at Indiana and will play Notre Dame in South Bend in September. However, Ohio State does get to play Penn State and Maryland at home and end the regular season in Ann Arbor against Michigan.

Hawkeyes and Badgers favorites to win the Big Ten West Division

With the Big Ten’s East Division being top-heavy with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Maryland, teams such as Iowa and Wisconsin in the West get lost in the shuffle. However, the Hawkeyes and Badgers are the clear-cut favorites to win the division, and the Badgers (+650) have the four-best odds to win the Big Ten title. 

Iowa and Wisconsin will have new QBs under center, as Michigan transfer Cade McNamara will try to revitalize a Hawkeye offense that only scored 17.7 points per game. The team hopes McNamara can play better than Spencer Petras, who had 1,725 passing yards, 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions last season. Iowa will be in many games and could potentially go over 7.5 wins (-170). 

As for Wisconsin, first-year head coach Luke Fickell will lean on SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai, who can throw the ball around the yard. In his last two years with SMU, the 6-foot-2 signal caller completed 66.4% of his passes for 7,152 yards, 72 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. If Mordecai can throw for at least 30 touchdowns this season and RB Braelon Allen can rush for 1,000 yards for the third straight season, it should be a fun year in Madison this season.

Best Bets for the Big Ten Conference

For bettors looking for a couple of best bets to place before the regular season kicks off, they should take Michigan to win the Big Ten (+185, FanDuel Sportsbook) and Illinois under 6.5 wins (+110, BetMGM).

The Fighting Illini had a great 2022 season, where they went 8-5 and 5-4 in Big Ten play. However, they don’t have RB Chase Brown and QB Tommy DeVito, who both went to the NFL, and they lost some key pieces on defense. Illinois doesn’t have to play Michigan this year, which is good, but they have to play Maryland, Iowa, and Kansas on the road. There will be a lot of pressure on Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmyer, who has only attempted 54 career passes in his collegiate career.