Winning a National Championship and then bidding a controversial coach farewell would normally make for a good place to begin a preview for the next season.
But these are anything but normal times as college football enters 2024-25 following massive realignment, so the Michigan-Jim Harbaugh story in the Big Ten is more of a sidebar for the conference after adding a quartet of former Pac-12 schools to the fold.
The Wolverines are still going to be a big part of what promises to be a wild ride in the Big Ten, and college football overall, but it’s the four newcomers – Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington – that is going to have the biggest impact on the NCAAF futures odds.
2024 Big Ten Championship Odds
| SCHOOL | ODDS RANGE |
|---|---|
| Ohio State | +150 to +160 |
| Oregon | +210 to +260 |
| Michigan | +350 to +600 |
| Penn State | +500 to +600 |
| Southern Cal | +2000 to +2800 |
| Iowa | +2800 to +4000 |
| Washington | +5000 to +6000 |
| Nebraska | +5000 to +8000 |
| Wisconsin | +5000 to +8000 |
| Maryland | +5000 to +8000 |
| UCLA | +7500 to +12000 |
| Rutgers | +10000 to +11000 |
| Illinois | +10000 to +15000 |
| Michigan State | +10000 to +17000 |
| Northwestern | +15000 to +20000 |
| Minnesota | +15000 to +20000 |
| Purdue | +20000 to +30000 |
| Indiana | +30000 to +40000 |
Everything Points to the Buckeyes
And, oh yeah, Michigan’s biggest rival down in Columbus will also be a driving force as the favorite to win the Big Ten in 2024.
It’s all there for Ohio State’s taking. The Buckeyes are not only the chalkiest pick to win the Big Ten Championship, but the closest challenger to Georgia to win the National Championship according to the numbers at top sportsbooks.
Ryan Day already had enough talent returning to Columbus for the Buckeyes to have been a favorite in the conference, but then transformed a really good team into a really, really good team through the transfer portal additions of QB Will Howard, formerly of Kansas State, and DB Caleb Downs, who was at Alabama last season.
Ohio State’s schedule is very friendly. The Buckeyes meet Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall to begin matters, with the mid-October trip to Oregon and season-ender at home against Michigan serving as the toughest matchups.
After losing the last three to Michigan, Day has to beat the Wolverines this time, and anything less than reaching the semifinals of the CFP will be a failure.
Oregon Eyes Prize in 1st B1G Season
Big Ten newcomer Oregon is seen as Ohio State’s stiffest competition, and Dan Lanning did a pretty fair job in the transfer portal himself by luring QB Dillon Gabriel (OU, UCF) and WR Evan Stewart (Texas A&M) to Eugene.
The Ducks are running around +225 to win the Big Ten, and face a tougher slate than the Buckeyes. Oregon does get Ohio State at home, but there are potential stumbles with trips to UCLA (Week 5), Michigan (Week 10) and Washington (Week 13).
Is this the toughest Ducks schedule in Oregon history?
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–#MightyOregon #ScoDucks #TheDuck #Oregon #WinTheDay #Pac12 #Big10 #CollegeFootball #OregonDucks #GoDucks #OregonFootball #Ducks #DanLanning #ncaa #CFB #OregonDucksFootball #UniversityOfOregon #EugeneOregon pic.twitter.com/Fw8GLRZb7N— Thirsty Duck🦆 (@ThirstyyDuck) January 7, 2024
Michigan and Penn State follow the Ducks on the NCAAF futures odds. The Wolverines are priced as low as +350 and as high as +600, while the Nittany Lions show up in the +500 to +600 range.
There won’t be a bumpy transition from Harbaugh to Sherrone Moore in Ann Arbor after the latter guided the Wolverines through the former’s suspensions last season. Moore and his staff will be dealing with a bunch of new faces on both sides of the ball, however.
Just getting to the conference title game would be an accomplishment for Michigan. The Wolverines have home games with Texas (Week 2), USC (Week 4) and Oregon (Week 10), plus road tilts at Washington and Ohio State.
James Franklin doesn’t have as much pressure on him as Day, but the Penn State coach is on the hot seat in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions also face a rough slate with home games vs. UCLA, Ohio State and Washington plus a roadie to USC over a 6-week stretch.
Who Is Top Dark Horse?
The gap is wide between the top 4 teams expected to vie for the Big Ten title and the group that is scratching and clawing to be the fifth wheel.
Southern Cal is in the 5-hole presently, and Lincoln Riley’s days could be numbered if he can’t direct the Trojans to at least a respectable showing in their first season after moving over from the Pac-12.
The schedule-maker didn’t do Riley any favors with a season opener against LSU in Las Vegas, plus a trip to Ann Arbor in Week 4 to face the Wolverines. The Trojans get Penn State and Notre Dame at home, with the matchup against the Fighting Irish closing the fixture in Week 13.
USC’s 2024 schedule😳
9/1 LSU (Vegas)
9/7 Utah State
9/21 at Michigan
9/28 Wisconsin
10/5 at Minnesota
10/12 Penn State
10/19 at Maryland
10/26 Rutgers
11/2 at Washington
11/16 Nebraska
11/23 at UCLA
11/30 Notre Damehttps://t.co/PYT5V4eA0n pic.twitter.com/hstQTPDRSO— On3 (@On3sports) November 2, 2023
Iowa follows the Men of Troy at sportsbooks, and outside of an October 5th trip to Ohio State, the schedule isn’t overwhelming for the Hawkeyes.
There’s another big gap behind Iowa and the rest of the conference. Washington is generally listed seventh on the NCAAF futures, but at a distant 50/1 or greater after losing head coach Kalen DeBoer following the remarkable run to the CFP title game last year.
