No. 3 Ohio State (-1.5 at BetMGM) hosted No. 1 Texas in Arch Manning’s debut on Saturday. The biggest game of college football’s Week 1 — and one of the biggest games all season — was even bigger for one person.
A bettor at Caesars Sportsbook in Nevada placed the first reported seven-figure bet of the college football season early on Saturday morning: $1 million on the Texas moneyline at -105 odds.
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The wager would’ve won $952,380.95, but unfortunately for the bettor, Manning’s fourth-quarterback comeback came up short and Ohio State prevailed in a close-fought 14-7 game. It was a mixed debut for the Longhorns signal-caller, as he threw for 170 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception.
The line for this game moved a lot, opening this summer with Ohio State as a 3-point favorite, before Texas moved to a slight favorite at several books (and a pick-em at several others) based on outsized public support on Friday. On Saturday morning, Ohio State moved back to — and closed — as a consensus short favorite.
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Circa Sports reported taking a $550,000 wager on Texas +1 on Thursday. At BetMGM sportsbooks, as of Saturday morning, Texas +1 was the most-bet college football wager (among Top 25 games) by both total bets and total dollars wagered, with 66% of the money on Texas to cover.
The Longhorns became the first No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll to close as an underdog in Week 1 since at least 1978, per ESPN research.
