Big 10 Betting Preview: 2023 College Football Predictions, Odds and Best Bets

We are just over a month away from the kickoff of the 2023 College Football season! In an effort to prepare ourselves for this upcoming campaign, we are going to do a preview and prediction series for some of the major conferences, breaking down team win totals, odds, roster changes and outlooks, and more. We’ll start this series with one of, if not the best conference in the nation, the Big 10!

2023 Big 10 Odds and Predictions

Let’s take a look at how the conference shakes out in terms of betting odds to win the conference.

• Michigan +165
• Ohio State +165
• Penn State +600
• Wisconsin +750
• Iowa +1200
• Minnesota +3000
• Illinois +3000
• Nebraska +6000
• Maryland +10000
• Purdue +10000
• Michigan State +10000
• Indiana +25000
• Rutgers +30000

I do think it’s quite difficult to stray away too far from the top when picking the winner of this conference, and if choosing between the top two dogs here, I am going to go with the Wolverines. They are returning QB J.J. McCarthy and two of the best RBs in the country in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. The Buckeyes should have plenty of success as well this year, and this conference could likely feature a season-defining matchup late in November between these two teams once again.

If looking for a bit of an underdog in this division, consider the Wisconsin Badgers, who will have a much easier road than the other tier two team, Penn State, as they are in the West division. The Badgers return most of their starters from a strong defensive unit from last year, and new Head Coach Luke Fickell and QB Tanner Mordecai look to bring some more dynamic ability to this offense.

Heisman Odds

There are zero Big 10 players inside the top 9 of betting odds, but here are the players within this conference with the shortest to take home the nation’s most prestigious college football individual award;

• J.J. McCarthy +1800
• Marvin Harrison Jr. +2000
• Kyle McCord +2200
• Blake Corum +2800
• Drew Allar +2500

Based on these names and odds alone, you can tell where a lot of the hype falls within this conference, as the top 5 mostly likely players in the Big 10 to win the Heisman trophy are made up of four Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes. Drew Allar also is an interesting name to monitor this season, as he is a top prospect who is getting the keys to an exciting offense.

Check out more 2023 College Football odds, schedules, matchups, and win probabilities with the tool below, powered by Action Analytics and created by Action Network’s own Collin Wilson.

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Big 10 Team Previews & Roster Notes

Michigan Wolverines

The co-favorites to win this division are on a two year streak of beating Ohio State, winning the conference, and making the college football, and they should absolutely have plans to make that three years running. J.J. McCarthy impressed plenty last year, and with another year under his belt, there’s a chance we see an even better version of the dynamic Michigan Quarterback. Blake Corum had a very serious case for the Heisman trophy last year before having his season cut short due to an injury, he ran for nearly 1,500 yards and also added 19 TDs. Following his injury, Donovan Edwards picked up where he left off as he racked up 520 rushing yards and 3 TDs in the final three games, while also dealing with several injuries. These three superstars are set to carry this team once again and are more than capable of doing so.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes failed to beat Michigan at home last year but was still able to make an appearance in the CFP, however lost in heartbreaking fashion to the eventual national Champion Georgia Bulldogs. Plenty of talent has departed this team, especially with C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njiba being top 20 picks in this years draft. However, in Ohio State fashion, the replacements for these guys will also be talented. The Buckeyes have arguably (or maybe not) the best WR room in the country headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, with a couple of lesser known studs Julian Fleming and Xavier Johnson behind them. This will make new QB Kyle McCord’s job much easier as he tries to fill the shoes of Stroud.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Sean Clifford finally departed after several years as the Penn State QB, making way for top prospect Drew Allar to lead this talented offense with weapons such as Nick Singleton and top transfer WR Dante Cephas. Penn State has failed to meet expectations over recent year, but Happy Valley hopes that Drew Allar can bring a new and improved feeling this season.

Wisconsin Badgers

I mentioned the Badgers as my surprise pick to win this conference, I don’t think they are quite on the level of Michigan and OSU, but they definitely have some room for excitement. Their defense should be good once again, and Tanner Mordecai might bring a dynamic to Wisconsin that has not been seen in quite some time.

Maryland Terrapins

The Terrapins are another very exciting next tier team in this conference, led by Taulia Tagovailoa, the weapons on this offense bring a very high ceiling with transfer Kaden Prather and Tyrese Chambers generating lots of buzz as they join returning RB Roman Hemby who brings back a ton of production from last season as well.

Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes might look a bit different this year, as Michigan transfer Cade McNamara is set to lead this offense. In years past, Iowa has relied on their stout defense and run games to carry them, and is McNamara likely a strong fit to continue that theme. Both of the teams top two RBs from last season return, and I would expect to see Kaleb Johnson lead the way here again with plenty of volume.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois did unfortunately lose their top offensive player in RB Chase Brown, and will also have to replace QB Tommy DeVito, but one of the better WRs in the conference Isaiah Williams is back and set to highlight this offense.

Big 10 Betting Picks

I already mentioned my pick to win the conference is Michigan at +165, but let’s dive into a few other picks I like within the Big 10 for this upcoming season:

• Wisconsin OVER 8.5 Wins
• Central Michigan +15 vs. Michigan State (Week 1)
• Michigan OVER 10.5 Wins

Wisconsin OVER 8.5 Wins.

Wisconsin has a very soft non-conference schedule this year and will also avoid having to play Michigan this season. They do play the Buckeyes but that could very easily be the only game in which they are underdogs this season.

Week 1 Bet, Michigan State vs. Central Michigan – (CMU +15)

This bet is more of an indictment on the MSU team than anything, they have lost their QB and top two playmakers from last year, and will have a lot of inexperience on the field in this week 1 matchup.

Michigan OVER 10.5 Wins.

I just really can’t see this Michigan team losing twice in the regular season. They are continuing their strategy of easy non-conference opponents as they play Bowling Green, UNLV and East Carolina. Their is a chance they are double digit favorites in the first 10 games of the season, and at that rate even if they don’t go undefeated in the regular season, they would need to beat just one of their final three games where the games get tough (at Maryland, at Penn State, vs. Ohio State).

There will be plenty of eyes on the Big 10 this year as this should be one of the top conferences in the country, and we should expect to have plenty of opportunity to experience these teams from a betting and daily fantasy sports perspective this season.