Michigan football opens as massive favorite over Rutgers
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines football (3-0) will open Big Ten play at The Big House Sept. 23 against also undefeated and 3-0 Rutgers. The Maize and Blue opened as a massive, 31.5-point favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook. However, in the span of less than an hour, the line shrunk to 27.5 points as of 1 p.m. ET Sunday. The over/under is set at 44.5 points.
Michigan is coming off a clunky 31-6 win over Bowling Green Saturday night. The Wolverines turned the ball over 4 times for the first time since a 35-14 loss to Wisconsin in 2019, including 3 interceptions from junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Michigan, which played all Group of Five opponents in non-conference play, also dismantled East Carolina (30-3) and UNLV (35-7).
Michigan will have head coach Jim Harbaugh, who just wrapped up a three-game, school-imposed suspension, back on the sideline Saturday.
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Rutgers, meanwhile, is 3-0 for the third consecutive season under head coach Greg Schiano, having beaten Northwestern (24-7), Temple (36-7) and Virginia Tech (35-16) in a trio of home contests. The Scarlet Knights will hit the road for the first time this season, after going 2-4 away from Piscataway in 2022.
Michigan, which hasn’t lost a home game with a full-capacity crowd since 2019, has failed to cover the Vegas points spread in all three outings this season. The Wolverines were favored by 35 points against East Carolina, 38 versus UNLV and 40.5 in the Bowling Green game. The Maize and Blue are 1-4 against the spread (ATS) in their last five games and 1-5 ATS in their last six home outings.
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Rutgers is 3-0 ATS this season, covering 5 points against Northwestern, 7.5 versus Temple and 6.5 versus Virginia Tech. The Scarlet Knights are 4-2 ATS in their last six games, but only 1-3-1 in their last five road clashes.
The Scarlet Knights have challenged Michigan each of the last two seasons. They gave the Wolverines a scare in a 20-13 game at The Big House in 2021 and led 17-14 at halftime in Piscataway last November. Michigan out-scored Schiano’s crew 38-0 in the second half, though.
Michigan and Rutgers will kick off at noon ET Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are 8-1 against the Scarlet Knights all time and have won the last eight meetings.
