Ohio State vs Michigan State Prop Bets: Battle for the Big Ten Championship Entry

Michigan State will travel to the Buckeye state to face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday for a noon kickoff on ABC. Both teams are 9-1 overall and ranked in the top ten, but Ohio State has the slight advantage of being perfect in the conference and first place in the Big Ten East. 

Michigan State is right behind them in second, tied with Michigan. Ohio State took care of Purdue last game, beating them 59-31. Michigan State got back on the right track after losing to Purdue by beating Maryland 40-21.

In the latest College Football Playoff polls, the Buckeyes held their No. 4 spot, being the last team projected to make the playoff. Michigan State also kept their No. 7 spot despite them beating Michigan a few weeks ago. Michigan holds the No. 6 position over Michigan State. 

Let’s take a look at the best prop bets for this matchup on Saturday.

Best Prop Bets

Michigan State Over 24.5 Points (+100)

I think this game will be a shootout with both teams scoring a lot of points throughout. Michigan State has an incredible running back in Kenneth Walker III who has ran for 1,473 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. I expect him to create some issues for the Ohio State defense that they will have to figure out if they want to stay perfect in the Big Ten.

Ohio State Under 10.5 Points - First Quarter (-140)

Ohio State has started off strong early in many Big Ten games, but they have not faced a team like Michigan State. If Michigan State plays run-heavy behind Walker III, this should run out the clock quicker with a long drive even if Ohio State scores an early touchdown. Michigan State will have to limit the big play to keep this prop bet alive.

Michigan State +10.5 Spread 1st Half (-110)

I know that all three of these prop bets go against Ohio State, but I believe that this game will be closer than the oddsmakers will make it out to be. If Ohio State pulls away, it will be in the second half because both teams will be showing up to play in this one especially since it’s the game of the week with College Gameday at the stadium.

Both teams should be able to score at will in this high-scoring affair. It should be close going into halftime unless a very good Buckeyes defense shows up on Saturday.

Expected Outcome

I think the oddsmakers aren’t giving enough credit to the Spartans in this one. The Michigan State offense has the ability to score against good teams as it did against Michigan where they put up 37 points.

Most of their games have been close this season and I think this will be another one of those games. The Buckeyes will pull it out, in the end, to win by one or two touchdowns because they are better on both sides of the ball, but I expect them to have some difficulty at the start of this game.