As history proved, it is not smart to bet against Ohio State when the football team is coached by Urban Meyer. The three-time national champion is 50-4 overall through his first four seasons in Columbus.
Eighteen of those wins came in true road games — the Buckeyes have never lost under Meyer on the road. Six times, Ohio State entered its game as the underdog. The results of those six contests are below:
- Sept. 29, 2012: Ohio State 17, Michigan State (-2 1/2) 16
- Nov. 17, 2012: Ohio State 21, Wisconsin (-2 1/2) 14, OT
- Nov. 8, 2014: Ohio State 49, Michigan State (-3) 37
- Dec. 6, 2014: Ohio State 59, Wisconsin (-4 1/2) 0
- Jan. 1, 2015: Ohio State 42, Alabama (-9) 35
- Jan. 12, 2015: Ohio State 42, Oregon (-5) 20
Oddsmakers favored Ohio State in all 14 of its games in the 2013 season in addition to its 13 games last season. Meyer's team went 24-3 in those games. The Buckeyes were also 11-point favorites in their 2014 home loss to Virginia Tech.
Ohio State's 59-0 stomping of Wisconsin in the 2014 Big Ten Championship game is the largest margin of defeat ever by a team favored.
Friday, Vegas pitted Ohio State as a nine-point underdog for its road contest at Oklahoma this September. The Buckeyes opened as favorites in three other games. They are 26-point favorites in their season opener against Bowling Green at Ohio Stadium, three-point favorites at Wisconsin and a 6.5-point lean at home in the regular season finale against Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.
So, Meyer's winning percentage as an underdog while at Ohio State is 1.000. As the favorite, he is 44-4 — a winning percentage of 0.917.
The lines are subject to change, but it if history means anything, Ohio State should be very comfortable when it arrives at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, Sept. 17 in an unfamiliar position — an underdog.
