During Week 1 of the 2023 season, Michigan football downed East Carolina by 27 points (pulling its starters in the third quarter), while Ohio State football seemed to sleepwalk to a 20-point victory over Indiana. Now, it is far too early in the season for fans to draw conclusions from these games (though that has not stopped anyone from doing so), though it did cause a change in the betting world. According to the updated 2023-24 national title odds, the Wolverines have jumped the Buckeyes and are now among the nation’s top 3 candidates (per Vegas Insider).
Michigan football jumps Ohio State in newest 2023-24 national title odds
Heading into the 2023 college football season, the Wolverines were 4th in the 2023-24 national title odds, trailing Ohio State football, Georgia, and Alabama. Now, Michigan football has surpassed the Buckeyes, moving into third place in the updated odds, with OSU moving down to 4th place.
Still, Michigan football trails Alabama and Georgia for the time being — unless one of these two loses a game sometime soon, this will likely remain the case for quite some time.
Michigan made the jump after a solid (but not too impressive) Week 1 victory over East Carolina last weekend. The Wolverines won, 30-3, yet took their starters out before the third quarter came to a close. It’s also worth noting that the Maize and Blue had a number of injury issues, as well as two coaches (head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive play-caller Sherrone Moore) suspended for the season opener.
On the other hand, Ohio State football struggled to put Indiana away — uncharacteristically, the Buckeyes’ offense looked slow and out of sync. While there is a good chance that this will be worked out by Week 13 (when OSU comes to Ann Arbor), it is certainly something that oddsmakers have taken into account with these new national title odds.
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