Ohio State's Way-Too-Early Odds vs. Texas & Indiana Uncover Huge Stakes For Ryan Day

The college football season will eventually be right around the corner, especially regarding the anticipation surrounding the upcoming slate for Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes.

As one of the teams primed for College Football Playoff positioning this fall, the Buckeyes have a few must-win games worth noting if they want to keep not just their postseason hopes alive but put themselves in a position to end their long-standing Big Ten title drought under Day.

According to oddsmakers at BetMGM, early lines have already been posted for Ohio State's games against the Texas Longhorns and Indiana Hoosiers.

With Monday in the observance of Memorial Day and the countdown to the season still trickling ahead, odds are still being rolled out for the Buckeyes' remaining schedule. However, amongst the key matchups, there are a few major takeaways from information now known ahead of the Week 2 matchup with the Longhorns and the Week 7 matchup with the Hoosiers: both are must-win spots.

Oddsmakers are giving a slight edge to the Longhorns and quarterback Arch Manning as a 1.5-point favorite despite Ohio State prevailing in Columbus to begin last season's schedule. Unlike last year's game, which is still plentiful this year, it'll take place under the lights in Austin rather than the Horshoe (7:30 p.m. ET, Sept. 12).

Transitioning to October, the Buckeyes begin to play the meat of their conference schedule which culminates in an Oct. 17 date with the Hoosiers in Bloomington. The time, network designation and potential rankings for this game are still unknown. But given the Hoosiers' newfound momentum in the series, the defense of their national title the Buckeyes' brand recognition, an NBC Saturday night backdrop, or a Big Noon Kickoff slot seem viable for a game of this magnitude.

Regarding the odds, it tells an awfully similar story for the Buckeyes. Las Vegas sees the Hoosiers as a small 1.5-point favorite. This makes sense, given the Hoosiers won the last meeting, which saw them earn a Rose Bowl bid instead of Ohio State, keeping their eventual undefeated season alive.

The biggest takeaway from these odds: it may still be May, but if there is any type of motivation Ohio State needs to get over the hump, these may just be the games that will enhance its chances as it pushes toward being a potential No. 1 overall seed.

For good measure, too, both games are appointment viewing for Buckeyes fans everywhere.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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