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The Akron Zips and the Ohio State Buckeyes open their seasons at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we look at Akron vs. Ohio State odds from BetMGM Sportsbook before making our expert college football picks and predictions later in the week.
The Zips were 2-10 last season and went 0-7 on the road. Akron nearly pulled off an upset in its only game against a Big Ten opponent, though, falling 29-27 in 4 overtimes at Indiana on Sept. 23. The Zips easily covered as 16.5-point underdogs.
The Buckeyes are coming off an 11-2 season, but it was disappointing by their standards. For the 3rd consecutive season, Ohio State lost to rival Michigan to end the season, and then it had to watch as the Wolverines won a national title.
Ohio State opened up the transfer portal, and the purse strings, to make sure none of that happens again. Former UCLA coach Chip Kelly was hired by Ryan Day to serve as the offensive coordinator, giving Ohio State a huge bump in the coaching ranks, too.
The Buckeyes brought in QB Will Howard from Kansas State, and he won the camp battle to start the opener. Incumbent QB Devin Brown is the backup.
Ohio State also landed big-time 5-start recruit QB Julian Sayin, with QBs Air Noland and Lincoln Kienholz also waiting in the wings. Oh, and Bellefontaine (H.S.) QB Tavien St. Clair is a 5-star commit who is coming soon, too.
The Buckeyes also grabbed stud RB Quinshod Judkins from Ole Miss to give Ohio State a scary 1-2 punch with RB TreVeyon Henderson. WR Emuka Egbuka leads the receivers corps, with true freshman WR Jeremiah Smith receiving rave reviews.
On defense, the Buckeyes managed to keep plenty of key pieces, retaining 9 starters, while adding sophomore S Caleb Downs through the portal from Alabama.
Ohio State is No. 2 in the US LBM Coaches Poll — conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports.
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Akron at Ohio State odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 10:16 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Off the Board (OTB)
- Against the spread (ATS): Akron +50.5 (-110) | Ohio State -50.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 57.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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2023 betting stats
- ML: Akron 2-10 | Ohio State 11-2
- ATS: Akron 4-6-2 | Ohio State 7-6
- O/U: Akron 5-7 | Ohio State 3-10
Akron vs. Ohio State head-to-head
Ohio State leads the all-time series 8-1, with 5 straight victories. The last time these teams met was Sept. 25, 2021, a 59-7 win by the Buckeyes.
Akron’s lone win in the series came Sept. 5, 1894, prior to the formation of the Mid-American (MAC) Conference. In fact, no MAC team has ever beaten the Buckeyes. And, Ohio State’s last loss to a team from Ohio came in 1921, when Oberlin beat the Buckeyes 7-6.
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