By the numbers: Vegas point spreads for every recent Michigan-Ohio State game, five Buckeye trends to know

Michigan Wolverines football opened as a massive, 20.5-point underdog against Ohio State, one of the largest point spreads in recent rivalry history.

The Maize and Blue are 6-5, while the Buckeyes are 10-1 and the current betting favorite to win the national championship (+250, per the DraftKings Sportsbook).

According to Goldsheet.com (1994-2017) and Oddshark (2018-2023), there has been only one occurrence of a team being favored by more than 20.5 points in the rivalry, when the Buckeyes were projected to win by 21 points in 2014.

There have been nine times that either Michigan or Ohio State has been favored by 10-plus against their rival, and the favorite has won all nine of those meetings.

In the last 28 renditions of ‘The Game,’ the favorite is 20-8 (since 1995). It was a pick ’em game in 1994, and Ohio State won 22-6.

Michigan has won the last three outings, but it was only favored the last time, by 3 points before winning 30-24 in Ann Arbor in 2023. The Wolverines were 6.5-point underdogs in 2021 (won 42-27) and 9-point underdogs in 2022 (won 45-23).

Here’s a look at the point spread for every Michigan vs. Ohio State game since 1994.

Season	Location	Favorite	Betting Line	Result	Favorite win/loss
2023	Ann Arbor	U-M	3	U-M 30, OSU 24	Win
2022	Columbus	OSU	9	U-M 45, OSU 23	Loss
2021	Ann Arbor	OSU	6.5	U-M 42, OSU 27	Loss
2019	Ann Arbor	OSU	9	OSU 56, U-M 27	Win
2018	Columbus	U-M	4.5	OSU 62, U-M 39	Lost
2017	Ann Arbor	OSU	12	OSU 31, U-M 20	Win
2016	Columbus	OSU	4	OSU 30, U-M 27 (2OT)	Win
2015	Ann Arbor	OSU	1	OSU 42, U-M 13	Win
2014	Columbus	OSU	21	OSU 42, U-M 28	Win
2013	Ann Arbor	OSU	16	OSU 42, U-M 41	Win
2012	Columbus	OSU	4	OSU 26, U-M 21	Win
2011	Ann Arbor	U-M	8	U-M 40, OSU 34	Win
2010	Columbus	OSU	17	OSU 37, U-M 7	Win
2009	Ann Arbor	OSU	12	OSU 21, U-M 10	Win
2008	Columbus	OSU	20	OSU 42, U-M 7	Win
2007	Ann Arbor	OSU	4	OSU 14, U-M 3	Win
2006	Columbus	OSU	6	OSU 42, U-M 39	Win
2005	Ann Arbor	OSU	3	OSU 25, U-M 21	Win
2004	Columbus	U-M	5	OSU 37, U-M 21	Loss
2003	Ann Arbor	U-M	7	U-M 35, OSU 21	Win
2002	Columbus	OSU	4	OSU 14, U-M 9	Win
2001	Ann Arbor	U-M	8	OSU 26, U-M 20	Loss
2000	Columbus	OSU	2	U-M 38, OSU 26	Loss
1999	Ann Arbor	U-M	11	UM 24, OSU 17	Win
1998	Columbus	OSU	10	OSU 31, OSU 16	Win
1997	Ann Arbor	U-M	3	U-M 20, OSU 14	Win
1996	Columbus	OSU	17	U-M 13, OSU 9	Loss
1995	Ann Arbor	OSU	9	U-M 31, OSU 23	Loss
1994	Columbus	Pick’em	—	OSU 22, U-M 6	—

Five Ohio State trends to know

1. Look out for Will Howard’s legs in the red zone
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard has rushed 21 times for 40 yards and 7 touchdowns in the red zone. He’s tied as the second-most common Buckeye player to get a carry in the red zone with running back Quinshon Judkins. Running back TreVeyon Henderson (22 rushes) is the only player who’s gotten more red-zone carries than Howard and Judkins.

Ohio State has been a tremendous red zone team this season, ranking first nationally with an 84.1-percent touchdown rate. The Buckeyes have scored 37 touchdowns on 44 trips to the opponent’s 20-yard line or deeper.

That success is due to not only having the aforementioned rushing threats, but also reliable targets. Two wideouts have combined for 16 of the team’s 27 receptions in the red area in Emeka Egbuka (9) and Jeremiah Smith (7), with both hauling in 6 touchdown grabs.

2. Top-five defense
Ohio State ranks top five in the nation in scoring (first), total (first), rushing (third) and passing (fourth) defense, with no true weakness on that side of the football.

The Buckeyes have pitched two shutouts, held six opponents to 7 points or less and limited all but one team to less than 20 points. Only Oregon — which beat Ohio State 32-31 in Eugene — has put up more than 20 points on coordinator Jim Knowles‘ outfit.

Ohio State has only surrendered more than 100 rushing yards in five games, and never more than 155. The Buckeyes have seen only two opponents rack up 200-plus passing yards. Only two opponents — Penn State (5.1) and Oregon (7.6) — registered more than 5 yards per play against the Buckeyes.

3. Pressure, pressure, pressure
According to Sports Info Solutions, Ohio State leads the FBS with a 39.8-percent pressure rate on defense. The Buckeyes are fourth with 3.3 sacks per game, and have a number of players who’ve contributed to the pass rush.

Ohio State has six defenders with double-digit pressures, per PFF: defensive end Jack Sawyer (40), defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau (30), linebacker Cody Simon (13), linebacker Sonny Styles (13), defensive end Kenyatta Jackson (13) and defensive end Caden Curry (10).

4. Ohio State’s offense
Ohio State doesn’t have its typical big-play offense, ranking tied for 30th nationally with 171 plays of 10-plus yards and 45th with 54 of 20-plus yards. But the Buckeyes are balanced and have a lot of different playmakers.

Howard has completed 74 percent of his passes for 2,685 yards and 26 touchdowns with 6 interceptions, and he has three different wide receivers with 35-plus receptions in Egbuka (56 for 692 yards and 9 touchdowns), Smith (52 for 899 yards and 9 scores) and Carnell Tate (35 for 525 yards).

The run game is led by a two-headed monster in Judkins and Henderson. Judkins, an Ole Miss transfer, has rushed 145 times for 759 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Henderson has notched 98 carries for 730 yards and 6 scores. His 7.5 yards-per-carry average ranks tied for eighth in the country.

5. Buckeyes coming off a big win
Ohio State is the favorite to win the Big Ten and national championships, despite having a loss on its résumé.

It just beat down Indiana, 38-15, fueled by a dominant defensive performance. The Hoosiers averaged only 2 yards per carry and went 8-of-18 passing with 68 yards and no touchdowns. Indiana was sacked 5 times and had 8 total negative plays.

On the other side of the ball, Ohio State didn’t surrender a single sack, despite Howard being pressured on 9 of his 28 dropbacks. The Buckeyes put up only 14 first downs and 316 total yards but leaned on great defense and special teams performances.