Sportsbooks release initial Big Ten Championship odds
The college football season is growing closer, and the bookies have set their initial groundwork.
BetOnline.Ag released odds for the 2021 Big Ten Championship, and there's a predictable name at the top.
Ohio State is the odds-on favorite to win a fifth Big Ten title in a row, while the Nittany Lions sit tied with Michigan as the third most likely team to take home the trophy, according to the bookies.
Below is the full list of odds:
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Ohio State Buckeyes: 2/3
Wisconsin Badgers: 8/1
Penn State Nittany Lions: 17/2
Michigan Wolverines: 17/2
Iowa Hawkeyes: 11/1
Indiana Hoosiers: 12/1
Northwestern Wildcats: 12/1
Nebraska Cornhuskers: 14/1
Minnesota Golden Gophers: 20/1
Michigan State Spartans: 50/1
Purdue Boilermakers: 50/1
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 50/1
Maryland Terrapins: 80/1
Illinois Fighting Illini: 100/1
Big Ten East schools occupy three of the top four slots, according to the bookies.
Penn State was the second-favorite to claim the title and dethrone Ohio State in the early-release odds last season, but drops down a spot following a disappointing 4-5 campaign in 2020.
The oddsmakers rank Penn State and Michigan's championship hopes just a fraction lower than Wisconsin's. The Badgers were beaten to the Big Ten West crown by Northwestern last season, and the Wildcats are a more distant 12/1 contender to get back to Indianapolis and win the trophy.
Interestingly, Rutgers — which was tabbed as five times more unlikely to win the title than the next biggest underdog, Maryland, last season — has climbed up two spots out of the cellar after one season under Greg Schiano. The Scarlet Knights are now 50/1 underdogs after they were 500/1 underdogs last season.
Illinois, under new coach Bret Bielema, is the biggest longshot, at 100/1 odds.
Outside of the Big Ten, Alabama is the odds-on favorite to win the SEC, Oregon is the early favorite in the Pac-12, Oklahoma is the odds-on favorite in the Big 12, and Clemson is a massive, 1/8, favorite to win the ACC.
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