Ohio State football: How Ryan Day-led OSU teams are against the spread

Ohio State will begin its 2023 season Saturday as a big betting favorite. 

Ahead of their season opener on the road against Indiana at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS, the Buckeyes are 30-point favorites against the Hoosiers with -8000 odds to win on the money line, per DraftKings sportsbook. 

Last season, Ohio State had five games in which it was at least a 30-point favorite, covering spreads in two of those matchups, while pushing another against Rutgers. 

Taking the Ohio State head coaching job permanently in 2019 after three games as the coach in 2018 in place of Urban Meyer, Ryan Day has led the Buckeyes to 45 wins in 51 games. 

But how has Ohio State done with Day against the spread? Here’s a look. 

Is Ohio State football reliable against the spread?

Starting with Ohio State’s 77-31 2018 season-opening win against Oregon State in which the Buckeyes covered a 40-point spread, Day’s teams have covered 28 of 51 games where he’s been the head coach according to Covers.com

But after the Buckeyes covered 11 of their first 17 games under Day 2018-19, the Ohio State coach has been even on spreads ever since. 

In each of the past two seasons, Ohio State has finished with a 6-6-1 record against the spread after a 4-4 finish in 2020. 

Last season, the Buckeyes covered their matchups against Toledo, Wisconsin, Michigan State. Iowa, Indiana and Georgia — coming in as a 4.5-point underdog — while they failed to cover against Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Penn State, Northwestern Maryland and Michigan. Ohio State pushed in its 39-point win against Rutgers. 

Of Day’s 51 games, Ohio State has been at least a three-touchdown favorite 23 times, covering the spread in 14 of those games. 

In Day’s Ohio State career, the Buckeyes have been an underdog four times, all of which came in the College Football Playoff. While Ohio State has won only one of those games, the Buckeyes have covered spreads in two, including the 4.5-point spread against Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl. 

What spreads are set for Ohio State football in 2023? 

Heading into the 2023 season, spreads are already set for seven Ohio State games. 

Along with being a 30-point favorite in the season opener against the Hoosiers, Ohio State is a seven-point favorite on the road against Notre Dame Sept. 23, a 10-point favorite for its home matchup with Penn State Oct. 21, a 9.5-point favorite on the road against Wisconsin Oct. 28 and a 25.5-point favorite for its primetime home game against Michigan State Nov. 11. 

The Buckeyes are currently a 2.5-point underdog ahead of its road matchup with rival Michigan Nov. 25.

• Sept. 2: Ohio State vs. Indiana, Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana, 3:30 p.m., CBS
• Sept. 9: Ohio State vs. Youngstown State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, 12 p.m., Big Ten Network 
• Sept. 16: Ohio State vs. Western Kentucky, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, 4 p.m., FOX
• Sept. 23: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBC
• Oct. 7: Ohio State vs. Maryland, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, 3:30 p.m., Peacock
• Oct. 14: Ohio State vs. Purdue, Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana, 12 p.m., FOX 
• Oct. 21: Ohio State vs. Penn State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Oct. 28: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
• Nov. 4: Ohio State vs. Rutgers, SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
• Nov. 11: Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, 7:30 p.m., NBC
• Nov. 18: Ohio State vs. Minnesota, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Nov. 25: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 12 p.m., FOX