What is Ohio State football’s gigantic point spread over Indiana? College betting lines

Published Aug. 26, 2023, 5:00 a. m.

By Nathan Baird, COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football carries a monster point spread into Saturday’s season opener at Indiana. According to BetMGM, the Buckeyes are 29. 5-point favorites over IU as of Saturday morning.

It sets up to be the largest spread for an opener since OSU was favored by 40 over Oregon State in 2018. Per the Odds Shark database, this is the second-highest OSU spread against the Hoosiers since 2014. The biggest was last season, when the Buckeyes covered a 40-point spread with a 56-14 victory.

Ohio State has covered the spread in the past two meetings with IU. Prior to that, however, it failed to cover eight times in a 10-game stretch. That included a string of six consecutive losses against the spread from 2011-16.

Of course, those did not reflect losses on the field. Ohio State has won 28 straight heads up, dating back to a 27-27 tie in 1990. The Hoosiers have not won a game in the series since 1988.

Dating back to 1995, IU is 0-10 when an underdog of 29 or more points. However, it is 6-4 against the spread in that span. Six of those games came against OSU, with the teams splitting against the spread, 3-3.

Ohio State has won 23 consecutive season openers, including a vacated win in 2010. .