College Football

Michigan vs. Ohio State 2016 odds: Buckeyes the favorite in massive matchup

The favored Ohio State Buckeyes seek a fifth straight win over the Michigan Wolverines in their critical Big Ten matchup at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

by OddsShark

Nov 25, 2016, 5:00 PM UTC

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

The Ohio State Buckeyes are 11-1 straight up and 9-3 against the spread in their last 12 games against the Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes will try to keep that trend of success going with a win on Saturday at home against their biggest rival.

Ohio State is a 6.5-point home favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last seven home games against the Wolverines, the Buckeyes are 7-0 SU and 5-2 ATS.

Potentially caught looking ahead to this massive showdown against Michigan, the Buckeyes played a lackluster game in a narrow 17-16 win over the Michigan State Spartans last Saturday. Ohio State is just 2-5 ATS in its last seven games since starting the season off on a 4-0 ATS run, but those two covers came in back-to-back 59-point victories over Nebraska and Maryland.

While the Buckeyes offense has struggled with consistency this season, the defense has been strong all year, allowing just 13 points per game.

The Buckeyes are 18-1 SU in their last 19 games played in November, but are just 6-9 ATS in their last 15 November games per the OddsShark College Football Database.

Betting Line / Total: Ohio State -6.5 / 44.5 Points

Trend: Michigan is 2-7 ATS in its last nine games against Ohio State.

Trend: The total has gone OVER in 11 of Michigan’s last 15 games against its conference.

Michigan had a 10-0 SU and 6-4 ATS winning streak snapped earlier this month in a shocking 14-13 road loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Had the Wolverines entered this week’s game undefeated, they still might have advanced into the College Football Playoff with a close loss.

But with both teams having a loss on their record, the loser of this game will fall out of both the Playoff picture and the running for the Big Ten championship. UM wins the Big Ten East with a win, while the Buckeyes need Penn State to lose to Michigan State.

The Wolverines are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games after consecutive ATS losses.

Saturday’s total is set at 44.5 points. The OVER is 3-0 in the last three games between Ohio State and Michigan.

Pride is always on the line when these two teams meet, but in this case the stakes are even higher for both teams. Both of these teams are ranked in the top four in both the College Football Playoff rankings and the AP Top 25, but only one will remain there after Saturday’s clash.