Ranking Big Ten Programs On Overall Betting Experience

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On the heels of the first national title on the gridirons of the Great Lakes State in more than a quarter-century, it’s high time to recognize how well the Michigan Wolverines have played of late.  

While the school’s rivals from East Lansing have tailed off in recent years, the Wolverines have reared back to life, with now-former head coach Jim Harbaugh capturing Michigan’s first title since 1997 in 2024, before exiting to take the same role with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.  

While Harbaugh’s heir apparent (Sherrone Moore) showed some growing pains in his head coaching debut on Saturday against Fresno State, the year ahead is still primed to be one to remember in Ann Arbor, with oddsmakers from DraftKings Sportsbook Michigan giving the Wolverines +900 Big Ten championship odds, ranking fourth behind Ohio State (+145), Oregon (+240) and Penn State (+370). 

Bookmark our Michigan vs. Texas Odds for Week 2 page while you're here.

Over in East Lansing, things aren’t quite as rosy, with first-year head coach Jonathan Smith looking at +25000 odds of winning Michigan State’s conference in 2024, ranking in a tie with Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois for 13th overall.  

Heading into Week 2 of college football, BetMichigan.com wanted to see what Big Ten team offers the best betting experience. We factored in 2023 record, the status of legal betting on college football in the state, strength of schedule for this season, and AP polls heading into the second week of the sport’s regular season.  

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Top Big Ten Teams: Betting Experience

Rank 

Team 

Total Score 

 1 

Michigan Wolverines 

80 

 2 

Iowa Hawkeyes 

78 

 3 

Penn State Nittany Lions 

74 

 4 

Ohio State Buckeyes 

69 

 5 

Michigan State Spartans 

57 

 6 

Northwestern Wildcats 

54 

 7 

Maryland Terrapins 

51 

 T8 

Purdue Boilermakers 

50 

 T8 

USC Trojans 

50 

 10 

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 

49 

MORE: Learn more here about the gambling market in Michigan

Which MI School Offers Best Wagering Experience?

When it comes to Michigan sports betting in the Big Ten, no one does it better than the Wolverines, with our determined metrics showing UM having the best score out of 18 teams, at 80 points.  

Overall, Michigan finished ahead of rivals like Iowa (78 score), Penn State (74 score), Ohio State (69 score) and Michigan State (57 points), while Northwestern (54 points), Maryland (51 points), Purdue and USC (50 points each) being next in line in the 18-team conference.  

Finally, schools like Rutgers round out the top 10 in the ever-expanding media empire disguised as an amateur athletics conference, with the East Piscataway institution scoring 49 points in total.  

USA Today photo by Kimberly P. Mitchell.

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan is a staff writer for BetMichigan.com. He has covered sports and sports betting for more than seven years and has worked for publications such as ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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