The Michigan Wolverines vaulted up the odds to win the national championship Saturday at sportsbooks around the nation, going from long shots to top-tier contenders after their resounding upset of Ohio State.
The Wolverines handled the Buckeyes 42-27 in the snow at The Big House, clinching a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game and moving from 50-1 to 10-1 in Caesars Sportsbook’s odds to win the national championship. Only Georgia, the odds-on favorite, and Alabama had better national title odds than Michigan as of late Saturday afternoon.
The Wolverines entered the season at 100-1 and lost some of their luster after a close defeat to Michigan State in late October. On Saturday, the betting public — including gamblers in Michigan — overwhelmingly sided with the favored Buckeyes. At Caesars Sportsbook in Michigan, 95% of the money bet on the game’s spread was on Ohio State.
A spokesman for sportsbook PointsBet told ESPN that Michigan’s upset of the Buckeyes produced the bookmaker’s largest win on a college football game this season.
There were some savvy Wolverines backers, though, who caused the point spread to move significantly late in the week and in the hours leading up to kickoff. The Buckeyes, who could be found as high as 9-point favorites during the week, closed as consensus 6.5-point favorites. Bets on the Wolverines from influential customers caused the line to shrink, multiple sportsbooks told ESPN.
Caesars Sportsbook reported taking a $275,000 bet on Michigan +8.5 earlier in the week, and BetMGM on Saturday tweeted that a bettor placed a $200,000 money-line wager on the Wolverines to win straight up at +250 odds. The bettor won a net $500,000.
Michigan’s performance also bolstered the Heisman odds of defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who had seven tackles, including three sacks against the Buckeyes. Hutchinson, who previously was not listed, had the third-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy at 7-1 Saturday at DraftKings.
