OSU Favored By 21 Points Over Central Michigan in Week 1

Oklahoma State is a heavy betting favorite in Vegas to open its season on Sept. 1 with a win in style, and its margin of victory among oddsmakers continues to rise as the season draws closer to starting.

The Cowboys are 21-point favorites over Central Michigan in Week 1 for the Thursday night opener, which is up several points from when the betting line first opened.

Caesars Sportsbook had OSU as an 18-point favorite in the game when the line first opened back in mid-May, but it has grown to three touchdowns (and three extra points) in the span of three months. By the end of May, actually, it was already up to 21 points, where it has held steady. Every other sportsbook has OSU as either a 20.5-point favorite, a 21-point favorite or a 21.5 point favorite.

The betting total on the game at Caesars, known as the over/under, is 58. At other books it is either 58 or somewhere between 57.5 and 58.5. At 58, with OSU as a 21-point favorite, the projected final score according to Vegas would be OSU 39.5, Central Michigan 18.5. (You can’t score half points, of course, but down to the decimal point Vegas goes!)

Central Michigan is coming off a 9-4 season under former Florida coach Jim McElwain, who has yet to record a losing season since taking over the program in 2019 after a 1-11 season under John Bonamego. As an underdog they were 4-1 last season against the spread and 3-2 straight up as a dog. OSU is coming off a 12-2 campaign in which it was 10-1 straight up as a favorite on the season and 4-2-1 against the spread at home as a favorite.