Betting odds on Ohio State, Alabama shift in reaction to Urban Meyer suspension
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Urban Meyer’s suspension has made Ohio State a more popular bet to win the national championship. At least at one online sportsbook.
“Where we have seen the odds on Ohio State move are in the futures,” Bovada.lv sportsbook manager Kevin Bradley said Thursday in a release. “An influx of Ohio State action has moved (shortened) their odds in multiple future categories.”
An end to the uncertainty has apparently led to more bets on the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s odds to win the College Football Playoff championship went from +850 ($100 bet wins $850) to +750 after the three-game suspension was announced. The news had a corresponding effect on Alabama’s odds. The Crimson Tide were previously at +200 to win the CFP championship and are now at +210.
Other OSU odds to improve at Bovada were for OSU to win the Big Ten East (+105 to -105), win the Big Ten championship (+175 to +160) and make the CFP’s final four (+130 to +120).
“These moves can be attributed to the influx of action on Ohio State as well as the fact that we believed that there would be much stiffer penalties for coach Meyer and most of the prices factored in that he would be missing a significant part of the season,” Bradley said. “With him only missing three games they should win easily, most odds on Ohio State have moved back to where they were before this story broke and some even beyond that.”
Meyer will miss OSU’s games against Oregon State (Week 1), Rutgers (Week 2) and TCU (Week 3). The TCU game, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, is widely expected be the most difficult of the three. Though the Big Ten was left out of the CFP field in 2017, the conference is expected to be one of college football’s strongest in 2018 with the best team from it likely earning a Playoff berth.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
