A look at Ohio State’s odds to win the Big Ten, CFP in 2021-22

It’s been nearly half a decade since the Buckeyes failed to win the Big Ten conference, and lo and behold, Ohio State is favored to win it once again per SportsBetting.ag’s latest odds.

But which Big Ten teams beyond the Scarlet and Gray have the best odds to give the Buckeyes a run for their money, and where might Ohio State end up in the College Football Playoff picture come the end of the 2021 season?

We’re exploring both topics as we take a look at SportsBetting.ag’s college football odds, which include lines for winning the Big Ten, national title and a slew of other categories.

As far as the Big Ten is concerned, even though Buckeye head coach Ryan Day is tasked with replacing a former Heisman Trophy finalist in Justin Fields with a young quarterback that will not have attempted a single throw in college football prior to the start of the season, the betting site has Ohio State as a 1/2 favorite to take home a fifth-straight undisputed Big Ten trophy this year.

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After the Buckeyes, Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers have the next best odds at 8/1, following a disappointing 4-3 2020 campaign in which COVID-19 helped to derail the Badgers’ momentum early on. Still, the emergence of Graham Mertz at quarterback may just make Wisconsin a threat to the Buckeyes –– who have matched up with the Badgers in two of the past four Big Ten Championship Games –– coming out of the west division.

With 9/1 odds, the Buckeyes’ two biggest east division rivals come in tied with the third-best odds to win the Big Ten next season, even though Michigan and Penn State have just one combined Big Ten Championship Game win since the title game was first instituted in the conference back in 2011.

Given Indiana’s success last season with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback last season, it may be surprising to see the Hoosiers given 12/1 odds to come out on top in the Big Ten next season, with SportsBetting.ag giving Ohio State, Wisconsin Michigan, Penn State and Iowa a better chance to be the conference champion.

Ohio State’s season-opening opponent Minnesota has 20/1 odds, and defending west division champion Northwestern, which Ohio State has beaten for the Big Ten crown in two of the past four seasons, slots in behind Indiana with 14/1 odds.

Bringing up the rear in the Big Ten are Rutgers and Illinois, which were given the worst odds to win the conference at 80/1 and 100/1, respectively.

In the national title picture, the Buckeyes won’t be favored to take home all the marbles, but Ohio State’s +650 odds are better than any team in the country besides Alabama and Clemson.

Despite Ohio State’s 49-28 win over the Tigers last season, Dabo Swinney and company have the second-best odds in the nation to win next year’s national championship at +475.

The program given the best shot to win it all, which should come as no surprise to any college football viewer, is Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, which hold +260 odds to repeat as national champions next season after a dominant 52-24 win over the Buckeyes in this past January’s CFP National Championship Game.

Ohio State, Alabama and Clemson are all, of course. favored to win their respective conferences, and rounding out the Power 5, SportsBetting.ag gives Oregon and Oklahoma the best shot at winning the Pac-12 and Big 12, respectively.