How Do Michigan Teams Do In October Compared To Other Big Ten Teams?

The new-look, 18-team Big Ten has a lot of interesting angles cooking for fans and Michigan sports betting customers alike in 2024.

October is around the corner. BetMichigan.com wanted to see how Big 10 teams compare for win-loss percentages in October games since 2018. Using Sports-Reference.com, we found the average win-loss percentage for each team during the month of October over the past five full seasons (excluding 2020). Note: Not all teams were in the Big 10 during this period.

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Ranking How Big Ten Teams Do in October

Rank	Team	Average W-L%
1	Ohio State Buckeyes	.933
2	Michigan Wolverines	.900
3	Oregon Ducks	.750
4	Minnesota Golden Gophers	.633
5	Penn State Nittany Lions	.617
6	Washington Huskies	.600
7	UCLA Bruins	.597
8	Wisconsin Badgers	.560
9	USC Trojans	.550
10	Iowa Hawkeyes	.533
T11	Nebraska Cornhuskers	.517
T11	Illinois Fighting Illini	.517
13	Purdue Boilermakers	.433
14	Northwestern Wildcats	.383
T15	Maryland Terrapins	.350
T15	Michigan State Spartans	.350
17	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	.283
18	Indiana Hoosiers	.200

How Spartans, Wolverines Fare in October

We should note that the COVID-shortened 2020 season was not included in our calculations, so these figures include the 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Ohio State fared the best in October games over the past five full seasons in the Big Ten, with a .933 winning percentage, but Michigan was a close second at a .900 clip. The Wolverines were perfect in October in 2023 (with a 3-0 record), 2022 (4-0) and 2018 (3-0). Stick with BetMichigan.com to follow Michigan Wolverines odds all season. Michigan’s most recent October loss was in 2021, when state rival Michigan State knocked off the Wolverines 37-33 in East Lansing.

Speaking of the Spartans, that 2021 win over UM was the program’s biggest October highlight in recent seasons. MSU is .350 in October games since 2018, ranking in a tie for 15th among the current 18 Big Ten teams. We included the four newcomers to the conference this season – USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon – in our calculations.

Last season, amid a dire 4-8 finish, Sparty went 0-3 in October games, including a 49-0 rout at the hands of Michigan. That was a far cry from 2021, when a 4-0 record in October was part of an 8-0 start to the season. Our Michigan State Spartans football betting guide helps keep you posted on the latest as new coach Jonathan Smith tries to get MSU going back in the right direction.

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Other Teams Have Mixed Fortunes

Out of the four teams joining the Big Ten this year after leaving the Pac-12, Oregon has fared best in October games since 2018, landing third on our list with a .750 winning percentage. It might surprise a lot of followers to see the Minnesota Golden Gophers rank fourth with a .633 success rate for the 10th month of the calendar year in the span that we researched.

At Caesars Michigan Sportsbook, OSU is the favorite to win the Big Ten at +120 odds as of Sept. 12, followed by Oregon (+280), Michigan, which lost at home to Texas in Week 2, has +1400 odds to repeat as league champions while Michigan State is at +20000.

Going back to our list of Big Ten successes and failures over the past five full seasons, Indiana brings up the rear with a .200 winning percentage in October. The Hoosiers have not won an October game (again, excluding 2020) since beating Nebraska, 38-31, on Oct. 26, 2019, and they have lost 11 in a row.

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Author

Jim Tomlin

Jim Tomlin writes and edits for BetMichigan.com. In 30 years as a journalist he has worked for publications such as the Tampa Bay Times, Saturday Tradition, Saturday Down South and FanRag. He now lends his sports and gambling expertise to BetMichigan among other websites.