Texas-Ohio State line narrowing as bettors pick Longhorns - ESPN

The point spread on Saturday's Texas-Ohio State showdown has been dropping all week, with one influential sportsbook moving the Longhorns from underdogs to favorites on Thursday.

As of Friday morning, Ohio State was a consensus 1-point home favorite, with some sportsbooks, including ESPN BET, at -1.5.

The Buckeyes opened as a 3-point favorite months ago, but sportsbooks have been reporting a steady stream of money on the Longhorns throughout the summer, causing the line to move toward Texas.

Sportsbook Circa, known to cater to professional bettors, had seen enough interest on the Longhorns to move them to a 1-point favorite on Thursday. Derek Stevens, the owner of Circa, said on VSIN that a $550,000 bet on Texas preceded the move to Longhorns -1. The line had ticked back to pick 'em by Friday at Circa.

«It seems like the public is moving the line,» Chris Bennett, sportsbook director at Circa, told ESPN. «We've seen a lot of interest in Texas, but not from the usual suspects, and by that I mean a subset of sharp customers we have a lot of history with.»

The Buckeyes have not been a home underdog since 2018 against Michigan and have been favored by less than three points at Ohio Stadium only once since 2012. If the line holds with Ohio State as the favorite, Texas will become the first team ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 to be an underdog in its first game.

«The perception is that Texas is just more experienced than Ohio State,» said Ed Salmons, veteran football oddsmaker for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. "Arch Manning is considered a much better quarterback than the Ohio State quarterback [Julian Sayin]. Both are such unknowns, no one really knows."

Salmons said it became obvious over the