After seeing their faith rewarded last season, many Michigan fans may be looking forward to putting money down on the Wolverines on their favorite Michigan sports betting app. Michigan bettors can find odds on various markets, but only DraftKings Michigan has odds posted for one — to make the College Football Playoffs (CFP).
Winning it all is the goal of every team, but to do so, teams have to first qualify for the CFP. Michigan did it last year. Can the Wolverines do it again?
Michigan Wolverines Odds to Make the CFP
Last season’s success probably has many Michigan fans clamoring for more. The team has a solid, talented roster heading into the 2024 season, so why not? But is it good enough to compete with the nation’s elite teams?
Eh, that’s debatable. Michigan’s CFP championship odds at DraftKings are inside the top 10, but they’re at +4000, which gives them an implied probability of 2.44%. However, their odds of making the college football playoffs are a lot better:
- Yes +450
- No -650
Those odds give the Wolverines an 18.18% chance of making it and an 86.67% chance of falling short.
That does not sound too promising, but before the 2021 season got underway, Michigan’s odds were north of +1100, which implies an 8.33% chance, and it still made it. If the Wolverines overcame the odds last year, why not this year, too?
Beating Ohio State Will Be The Key To The College Football Playoffs
Any chance they have will rest on one thing — beating Ohio State. Winning the Big Ten would help, of course. Michigan has the second-best odds (+600) of winning the conference at DraftKings next to the Buckeyes (-210). But to do so, they’ll need to beat the Buckeyes.
Last season’s upset win was Michigan’s first since 2011, but both of those wins came at home. The game will be in Columbus this year, and the Wolverines have not won there since 2000. That does not mean they can’t, but the Buckeyes are 14-point favorites based on point spreads released this offseason. Michigan was an underdog of 6.5 points last year but won 42-27.
Ohio State is never easy to beat. A dominant defensive performance led to last year’s win. This year, Michigan may need a dominant offensive one. With seven returning starters, the Wolverines are in good shape on that side of the ball. However, they do need to replace two starters from the offensive line.
But the offensive line replacements are the least of their worries. Last year’s defense was one of the best in the country — and there are only three returning starters. The linebackers are in good shape, but the front is thin on depth and lacks experience on the outside.
As for the secondary, it lost three starters.
Luckily, new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will have the bulk of the regular season to get his best 11 defenders on the same page. He’ll need to if he’s going to slow down QB CJ Stroud and the Buckeyes’ offense.
Betting Analysis
It does not look like Michigan has a great chance of making it back to the CFP. Offensively, the Wolverines appear to be in good shape, but the defense is a giant question mark. Until they play and we see the defense in action, there is no telling if it will be good enough.
Our Pick: No on the CFP (for now).
AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
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