B1G Odds to Win (It All?)

(Ed note: this post is in no way promoting sports betting and is only meant to be used for general information and discussion purposes we thank the powers that be for allowing us to post such an article forever and ever amen. All lines were taken from www.bovada.lv)

Have a couple extra hundreds burning a hole in your pocket? Feeling a need to bet on some B1G teams? We degenerates at OTE decided to break down the odds from Vegas and tell you where to spend your money! To start, here's a rundown of the table: all teams were sorted first by odds to win their division, then the B1G championship, then the national--hahahahahaha ok.

If these betting odds are confusing you, here's a helpful conversion calculator for you. For example, Ohio State being -500 to win the Leaders means that they're being given an 83.33% chance of winning it, and that you would need to bet $500 to win $100. Those are, um, good odds for Ohio State, bad odds for your wallet.

Do: Take a chance on Nebraska or Northwestern to win the Legends Division. The Legends looks to be more or less a tossup, with no apologies to Michigan and all of the four teams at 4/1 or better having theoretical shots to finish somewhere in the 7-1 range. 11/4 and 4/1 are decent betting odds for both NU's, though you're gambling (O HAY) on Northwestern getting through a murderer's row of crossover games, save Illinois.

Don't: Bet on Michigan State. Sorry, Sparty, but even with the crossovers of Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana, I'm still not convinced you're going to have anything resembling offense to carry you to a title. 11/4 is a decent line if you're thinking that you can find a couple lucky days and catch a couple of the other 4/1-or-better teams napping, but road dates at Nebraska and Northwestern back-to-back in November could spell the end of Sparty's hopes, with a little help from Michigan on November 2.

Do: Drop a small bet on Wisconsin to win the Leaders. Yeah, we know that you're losing money to bet Ohio State, so taking a small 3-to-1 chance on Bucky to pull a horseshoe out of their collective ass again is a fair-to-middling play for the Leaders Division. Surviving Ohio State in September means that if Bucky can pick up steam during the crossovers against Northwestern and Iowa, look out. A potential 7-1 record and the possibility of Ohio State tripping up makes it a reasonable play.

Don't: Bet on Ohio State alone for B1G play. That would be silly.

Do: Drop some money on Michigan to win the B1GCG. With Michigan as odds-on favorite to win the Legends Division, and assuming, for argument's sake, that Ohio State goes 8-0 in Leaders play, I'd take a second chance with Michigan in the B1GCG. Taking a 7/2 improvement on a little cash would be decent for one of the teams that could only need to split with Ohio State to get it done.

Don't: Take Northwestern to win it all. It's a nice story, yeah, but Northwestern winning the Legends would likely require the 'Cats to beat the Buckeyes under the lights at Homecoming. I don't like those odds happening twice, when our own Hoegher has the 'Cats with a 26% chance to win. At 10/1, your money would be much better spent somewhere else.

Also Don't: Take Michigan State to win it all. Just don't. We've been over this. I'll excuse Nebraska and Wisconsin and their identical 15/2 odds from this, since they have some great offense and, 2012 B1GCG excluded, some semblance of defense (/Wisconsin just scored again). If I were to take any of the 15/2 teams, it would be Wisconsin, because I'd be fairly OK with their odds against any of the Legends teams, assuming they survive the Leaders.

Do: Give Ohio State a shot to win it all. 6/1 odds? It could happen. Consider that OSU is the second odds-on favorite to win it all, and at 6/1, you're getting a decent deal on a team with a fairly easy B1G slate (road games only @NU, @Mich, @Purdue, @ILL) that could go 7-1 and, assuming they beat Wisconsin, will probably be in the B1GCG, where a win sends them on to potentially a natty appearance, assuming a little batshit insanity happens somewhere along the line in the world of college football. With OSU as 5/6 favorites to get out of the B1G as champions, 6/1 odds in the finals are decent.

Don't: Bet on a B1G team to win it all. You know, bowl games and all that.

Equal Opportunity Don't: Bet on Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, or Purdue. This has fulfilled my obligation to provide terrible betting advice on all B1G schools. You're welcome, reader.