The Ohio State Buckeyes open their season with an away game against the Indiana Hoosiers as we check out our best Ohio State vs. Indiana prediction based on the best college football odds.
The Buckeyes dominated the 2022 regular season, securing victory in each of their first 11 games with a margin of at least 11 points. Despite their loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the No. 3 team in the country has high hopes. The one genuine uncertainty for the Buckeyes lies at the quarterback position. Kyle McCord, with only 58 career pass attempts to his name, will assume the role vacated by NFL draftee C.J. Stroud.
The Hoosiers are coming off disappointing a 4-8 campaign, but the team will look much different this season. It hit the transfer portal hard, which gives it new players on both offense and defense. Tayven Jackson earned the starting q uarterback role after transferring from Tennessee, and the Hoosiers boast a three-pronged rushing attack that could keep the ball away from the Buckeyes' offense as we make our college football Week 1 predictions.
Here is our best Ohio State vs. Indiana prediction and college football picks (odds via our best college football betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Ohio State vs. Indiana prediction: Week 1
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The Buckeyes are clearly the better team in this matchup, but 30.5 points is a lot when making our college football best b ets for Saturday. Last year, the Buckeyes would have covered a spread this large in six of their 11 wins, but that was with Stroud under center.
McCord could end up being a great quarterback, but he's still a relative unknown heading into this season.
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The Hoosiers' defense lost a lot of talent, but they also brought in a lot of guys through the transfer portal. New doesn't always mean better, but when a relatively new quarterback is taking over with a lot of pressure against an unknown defense, the edge has to go to the defense.
Finally, there are two mor e reasons why the Hoosiers are going to cover. One, this game is being played in Indiana. It's opening night, and that stadium is going to be rocking with the Buckeyes coming to town. That's an unfriendly environment for McCord. And second, for all their flaws in 2022, the Hoosiers only lost two games by more than 30 points, and just one of those losses came at home.
Ohio State vs. Indiana best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +30 | +29.5 | +30.5 | +30 | +30 |
| -110 | -105 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
The beauty of a number this large is that the Hoosiers could get absolutely destroyed on Saturday, yet still cover the spread. However, we are not going to take any chances, and we recommend you take the largest number available as long as the price is -110 or better.
BetMGM is the only sportsbook offering +30.5. Their price is -110, which is the same vig that the rest of the best sports betting apps are offering for +30. FanDuel's price is -105 for +29.5, but don't be tempted by the slightly better price. Take the extra point to be safe.
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Ohio State vs. Indiana odds
Ohio State vs. Indiana odds analysis
The Buckeyes opened as 29.5-point favorites, and tha t number has moved in their favor at four of the five best sports betting sites. As for who will cover the spread, 51% of wagers are backing Ohio State. Don't expect to see much more movement ahead of kickoff.
The total opened at 59.5, and despite 59% of wagers backing the Over, the number has not moved much at all. In fact, the only two major sportsbooks that did move the number from where it opened actually dropped the total to 59. With McCord an unknown, oddsmakers don't seem willing to move this total up.
Ohio State vs. Indiana game info
- When: Saturday, Sept. 2, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
- How to watch: CBS
- Weather: 88 degrees, 7-mph winds, 2% chance of precipitation
Ohio State-Indiana pick made on 08/31/2023 at 8:30 a.m. ET
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