Someone bet $1.3 million on Ohio State to cover vs. Clemson in Sugar Bowl
By Mark Powell
A huge bet from Big Ten country assumes Ohio State will cover against the Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl.
Someone in Indiana is betting the farm on Ohio State +7.5. Well, maybe a little more than just the farm.
The Buckeyes are generous underdogs at under 10 points despite the recent resurgence of the Clemson Tigers, who are expected to meet for a rematch against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff National Championship. To get there, however, they’ll have to go through the Buckeyes and Justin Fields. The game features two of the better defenses in the country, and perhaps the best two quarterback prospects (depending on where you stand on Fields) ahead of next April’s NFL Draft.
Is that side-by-side comparison enough to assume that the Buckeyes can keep matters within a touchdown? One gambler thinks so.
https://twitter.com/FDSportsbook/status/1345082609727102981
The bad blood between Ohio State and Clemson makes for one heck of a matchup
Dabo Swinney has routinely provided Ohio State with bulletin board material ahead of this game. The Buckeyes weren’t even in the top-10 of Swinney’s coaches’ poll ballot, slotting in at No. 11 since they’ve only played 11 games in a COVID-19 shortened slate. That’s of no fault of their own, but Swinney wanted to CFP committee to punish the Buckeyes for their small sample size.
Last season when these two met in the playoff, the Tigers narrowly beat out the Buckeyes, 29-23. In that game, however, OSU actually out-gained Clemson by 99 yards.
In terms of the line, Ohio State is only 3-3 against the spread this season, meaning gambling $1.3 million on them to do so against one of the best teams in the country is arguably playing with fire. Clemson is 10-1 on the year and 5-5 against the spread, so perhaps this betting line is more of a toss-up than the numbers might suggest.
Of course, that is Vegas’ job after all.
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