Notable bets: Sportsbooks win big on Ohio State-Michigan game - ESPN

The Ohio State-Michigan game featured notable line movement and record betting interest, the bulk of it on the underdog Buckeyes.

More bets were placed on Saturday's version of The Game than on any other college football game in DraftKings' five years as a leading sportsbook in the U.S. DraftKings also reported that Ohio State-Michigan drew more money from bettors than any other regular-season game in company history.

At Caesars Sportsbook, the betting interest in Ohio State-Michigan was comparable to a top-tier NFL game but didn't set any company records for the amount bet.

«It was No. 2 this season to Colorado-Oregon,» Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, said. «We needed Michigan.»

According to multiple sportsbooks, there was generally twice as much money wagered on the Buckeyes as there was on Michigan, and it resulted in the line dropping all the way up until kickoff. Before Michigan's Nov. 18 game against Maryland, the Wolverines had been listed as high as 6.5-point favorites over Ohio State. Michigan closed as a consensus 3-point favorite over the Buckeyes, who attracted betting interest from both professional and public bettors.

The SuperBook in Las Vegas opened with the Wolverines as 4.5-point favorites and took instant action on Ohio State from established bettors. The line dropped but bettors continued to take the Buckeyes. «It was the so-called sharp side,» Ed Salmons, a longtime Las Vegas bookmaker with the SuperBook, said.

Bookmakers were expecting some late money on Michigan but, at Caesars, it never showed.

«We didn't take that much big Michigan money back after the line moved,» Pullen said.

The Wolverines' 30-24 win was the 10th consecutive Michigan-Ohio State game to go over