We all know gambling is only legal in certain forms and in certain locations. Of course this article is not instructing or counseling you to violate any of those gambling rules. But if you find yourself in Vegas on a Fall Saturday morning...
You might want to be very careful about dropping your coin on Big Ten teams. Quite frankly, we haven't fared very well against the spread over the last ten years. As Mike Hlas of The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette noted, if you bet $110 ($100 + the vig) on each of the Big Ten schools in every game with a line (games against FCS schools generally don't have lines; if there are unknown injury situations, there may not be lines), only 3 teams would have made you money - Ohio State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Penn State and Nebraska also have winning records against the spread, but the vig would have done you in (read the Hlas article if you don't understand the betting terms).
How did the Big Ten break down? Here you go.
| School | Record (against the spread) | Payout | |
| 1. | Ohio State | 75-49-2 | $2,110 |
| 2. | Iowa | 70-49-3 | $1,610 |
| 3. | Wisconsin | 65-56-2 | $340 |
| 4. | Penn State | 62-58-1 | -$180 |
| 5. | Nebraska | 64-61-1 | -$310 |
| 6. | Minnesota | 58-59 | -$690 |
| 7. | Purdue | 55-60-5 | -$1,100 |
| 8. | Northwestern | 56-61-2 | -$1,110 |
| 9. | Illinois | 53-61 | -$1,410 |
| 10. | Michigan | 53-67-3 | -$2,070 |
| 11. | Michigan State | 51-67-5 | -$2,270 |
| 12. | Indiana | 46-64-1 | -$2,440 |
As far as the nation, Hlas notes that Boise State, Ohio State, Connecticut, Utah, and Iowa were the five best returns for their bettors.