Western Michigan Broncos at Ohio Bobcats Spread Bet

Western Michigan Broncos (2-5 SU, 4-3 ATS) at Ohio Bobcats (5-2, 4-3), 10/21/23

When: Noon ET, Saturday, Oct. 21

Where: Peden Stadium

TV: CBSSN

CFB Betting Odds

Point Spread: WMU +16.5 / Ohio -16.5 (This is a great game to throw in a 20 point college football teaser at Wagerweb Sportsbook!)

Money Line: Western Mich. +580, OU -880

Over/Under: 52

Ohio continues its pursuit of a return ticket to the MAC championship game when it hosts Western Michigan Saturday afternoon in Athens.

The Bobcats are chasing their first conference championship since 1968 while the Broncos are going through a bit of a rebuild at the moment.

NCAAF Betting Odds

This week’s college football betting market opened Ohio at -15.5 over Western Michigan, with an over/under of right around 52. Early betting action then bumped the Bobcats to -16.5.

Western Michigan Betting Preview

The Broncos are 1-2 in MAC play after falling at home to Miami (Ohio) last Saturday 34-21. Western Michigan fell behind for good on a RedHawks touchdown five minutes into the game, trailed 21-10 at the half, got to within 28-21 early in the fourth quarter but came up empty from there and came up short ATS at +7.5.

The Broncos only got out-gained by Miami 315-303. But an early 4th-down failure led to one RedHawks touchdown and a missed field goal in the second quarter led to another.

Four games ago, WMU opened its MAC slate with a 49-31 loss to defending conference champion Toledo. But that game was a lot closer than that final score might indicate. The Broncos then beat Ball State 42-24, then stepped out of conference and lost at Mississippi State 41-28 but covered at +21.

Western Michigan only returned nine starters this season, its first under Coach Taylor, from a team that played 4-4 in the MAC last year. So the Broncos are definitely going through some growing pains at the moment.

Ohio Betting Preview

Meanwhile, the Bobcats are 2-1 in the MAC after losing at Northern Illinois last Saturday 23-13. Ohio, favored by 5.5 points on the road, fell behind 7-0 early, then came back to lead 13-7 into the half. But the Bobcats then gave up a second long touchdown early in the third quarter and mustered no response from there.

Ohio got out-gained by the Huskies 302-254, but 111 of the yards the Bobcats defense gave up came on two plays. Ohio also turned the ball over three times, though, on its last three possessions of the game.

Three games ago, the Bobcats opened their MAC campaign with a 38-7 win over Bowling Green, covering at -13. Two games ago, Ohio beat Kent State 42-17, covering at -24. So the Bobcats already own a couple of covers against double-digit spreads this season.

Ohio returned 15 starters this season from a team that played 7-1 in the MAC and made it to the conference championship game last season. The goal this year is to snap that 55-year title drought.

Western Michigan-Ohio Recent History

The Broncos beat the Bobcats four times in a row through 2016, but Ohio is 2-1 SU over the last three meetings, 3-1 ATS over the last four. Last year in Kalamazoo, the Bobcats broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and won 33-14.

College Football Betting Trends

The overs are 5-2 in Broncos games this season, which are averaging 61 total points.

The unders are 6-1 in Bobcats games, which are averaging 36 points.

Free College Football Betting Pick

Ohio is clearly the better team in this match-up and should bounce back to win this game outright. But Western Michigan played well against Toledo and gave both Mississippi State and Miami decent games. Also, the spread on this contest is probably inflated toward the home-standing Bobcats by a couple-three points. We won’t call for the outright upset here but we will bet the Broncos plus the points.