Michigan Sportsbooks Like Playoff Odds for Some Collegiate Teams, But Detroit Lions a Longshot

Oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook MI and BetRivers Sportsbook MI appear optimistic that the college football programs at Michigan and Central Michigan will make the playoffs in 2021, but its in-state rivals in the Big Ten and the Mid-American Conference (MAC) are likely to miss out.

Meanwhile, the NFL’s Detroit Lions, which have lost both of the preseason games they’ve played, appear headed to another season of futility.

Currently, BetMGM Sportsbook MI projects the Michigan Wolverines will win at least eight regular season games and shows that a $100 bet for the team to make the playoffs would pay $2,000. A $100 bet for the Wolverines to win the national championship would pay $10,000.

Oddsmakers at BetRivers Sportsbook MI agree that the Wolverines are more likely to win eight regular season games in 2021 and project that a $100 bet for the team to win the Big Ten East would pay $1,600. A $100 bet that Michigan wins the Big Ten outright would pay $2,500, while a similar $100 bet on the national championship would pay $12,500.

Michigan’s in-state rival in the Big Ten, the Michigan State, is not expected to fare as well. While BetMGM projects the Spartans are more likely to win five regular season games, BetRivers believes it is more likely to just win four games.

The odds of Michigan State winning the national championship are also considerably lower – with a $100 bet at both sportsbooks set to pay the winner $200,000.

In the MAC, both sportsbooks project the Central Michigan Chippewas are more likely to win six regular season games, while the Western Michigan Broncos are more likely to win fewer than six games.

The sportsbooks also show an even over/under on the Eastern Michigan Eagles either winning more than or fewer than 6.5 games. At BetRivers, a $100 bet for the Chippewas to win the MAC would pay $500, while similar wagers on the Broncos and Eagle would pay $1,200 and $2,500, respectively.

Michigan starts the season against Western Michigan on September 4. The team went 2-4 and missed the playoffs during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. One of those defeats was a 27-24 home loss to Michigan State on October 30, 2020.

The Wolverines will have a chance to avenge that loss when they play the Spartans on the same date this year, but the game will be played in East Lansing, not Ann Arbor.

Lions rebuilding under Holmes, Campbell

The Detroit Lions cleaned house after the team finished their 2020 campaign in the basement of the NFC North and a record of 5-11. The Lions hired Brad Holmes as executive vice president and general manager, and Dan Campbell as head coach. During the off-season, the team traded longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford – who had been under center in Detroit since the 2009 season – for quarterback Jason Goff and three draft picks from the Los Angeles Rams.

Despite the changes, oddsmakers believe the first year of the Holmes/Campbell era will be a rebuilding effort and that the team — which hasn’t made a playoff appearance since 2016 and hasn’t won a playoff game since 1992 – are once again unlikely to be playing in the post-season.

Both the BetMGM MI and BetRivers MI sportsbooks list the Lions as underdogs to the visiting San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 on September 12. The point spread at both sportsbooks is 7.5 with -110 odds, with an over/under of 45.5, but that is where the similarities end. While BetMGM shows -110 odds for both lines of the over/under, BetRivers has them as -114 odds for the 49ers and -107 odds for the Lions.

The sportsbooks also differ on money lines for the Week 1 game. BetMGM shows money lines of -375 and +290 for the 49ers and Lions, respectively, but BetRivers has them pegged at -400 and +310.

At BetMGM, a $100 wager for the Lions to make the playoffs would pay $700. Similar bets for the Lions to win eight or more regular season games would pay $500, and for the Lions to win Super Bowl LVI the bet would pay $25,000. Meanwhile, BetRivers will pay $2,500 on a $100 wager for the Lions to win the NFC North, $8,000 if they win the NFC and $20,000 if they win Super Bowl LVI.