College Football Preview: Buy or Sell Michigan to Win the Big Ten?

Jim Harbaugh has led the Michigan Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten Championships. 

They’ve been near the top of the college football world over the last two seasons, notching a 25-3 record after bottoming out at 2-4 in the COVID-altered 2020 campaign.

Do the Wolverines have what it takes to notch a third-straight Big Ten title? Let’s take a look at BetMGM Sportsbook’s conference futures odds to gain some insight. 

Favorites: Ohio State and Michigan +180
Highest Ticket%: Ohio State 27.6%
Highest Handle%: Ohio State 40.5%
Biggest Liability: Ohio State

Michigan is tied with Ohio State atop Big Ten odds board at +180. It’s natural that these two rivals are neck-and-neck as the two leaders of this conference, but the Wolverines are being slighted a bit as they should be viewed as the favorite out of the Midwest.

The schedule sets up favorably for Michigan to make it back to the conference championship at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

The season starts with three non-conference walkthroughs in Ann Arbor against East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green.

Away games at Minnesota and at Penn State are the two real threats on this schedule, but the Wolverines should be favored in both. They destroyed the Nittany Lions 41-17 a year ago while winning the total yardage battle 563 to 268. There remains a large discrepancy in the trenches. Minnesota is pesky but fell short every time it stepped up in competition in 2022.

Most importantly, the Ohio State game comes at home — and it isn’t until November 25, during the final week of the regular season. Michigan has had the upper hand in the rivalry of late, winning by 15 points in 2021 and by 22 points a year ago. 

The Wolverines have dominated the Big Ten over the last two seasons, and there’s no reason to expect any dip in 2023.

Harbaugh’s squad is similarly being underestimated in the National Championship futures market, sitting at a decent value with the fourth-shortest odds at 9 to 1. 

J.J. McCarthy is back at quarterback and has two star-running backs in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, by his side. They’ll be behind an offensive line that should be elite yet again. 

The defense was superb a year ago, ranking fourth in EPA per play, and should be a thorn in opponents’ sides yet again, with Will Johnson leading the way in the secondary. 

Buy Michigan (+180) to Win the Big Ten