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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State won’t head to Oregon for another four months, but the Buckeyes are already an underdog.

Per early odds released on DraftKings on Tuesday, Ohio State is a one-point underdog for the game against Oregon on Oct. 12. The Buckeyes are only listed as underdogs in one game this season.

Oregon, expected to be one of the top teams in the nation in 2024, will play its biggest game as a new member of the Big Ten against Ohio State at Autzen Stadium that day. The Ducks play Idaho, Boise State, Oregon State, UCLA and Michigan State before welcoming the Buckeyes. Barring a slip-up, they’ll be 5-0 entering that game.

The same can be said for Ohio State, which opens with Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State and Iowa. Both programs also would figure to be ranked in the top five for that game.

Ohio State is 9-1 all time against Oregon, including the team’s 2015 national title victory over the Ducks. The last matchup, though, was won by Oregon at Ohio Stadium in 2021.

While a one-point spread is essentially a pick-em, the oddsmakers have said that this should be one of the best games of the season.

Re-ranking the 2020 classes

The Athletic took a look at the 2020 recruiting classes, giving them a grade to look at scholarship players and how they fared. With a detailed grading system, they looked at which programs did the best job in a year of turmoil.

The goal was to find out which programs did the “best job of finding, retaining and developing difference-makers.” In an era where the portal and NIL were introduced, it wasn’t an easy task.

Georgia and Alabama ranked first and second, followed by Michigan and Ohio State. The Buckeyes’ top signees during the cycle, per the grading system, were quarterback C.J. Stroud, wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, offensive linemen Paris Johnson Jr. and Luke Wypler and safety Lathan Ransom. Just one player (Ransom) is still on the team.

Considering how the last few years have gone, the 2020 class standing out for Georgia, Alabama and Michigan certainly checks out.