Ohio at Ohio State
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes have a great shot at improving their overall record to 3-0 this weekend, as they are set to host the Ohio Bobcats this Saturday in Columbus. The Buckeyes come into the game off an impressive win over the Miami last week, as they took home a 36-24 win in their first real test of the season. After opening the season with a win over Wofford, Ohio fell to Toledo 20-13 at home to drop to 1-1 on the year. If you are interested in betting on the game this weekend, the current lines have the Buckeyes listed as 30.5-point favorites over the Bobcats this Saturday.
The Buckeyes got another strong performance out of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who once again showed why he is a legit threat to win the Heisman this season. Pryor finished with 233 yards passing, including a nice 18-yard pass to Brandon Saine for a score, but was also very effective with his feet, as he finished with 113 rushing yards and another touchdown. The Buckeyes could have easily won this game by a lot more than they did, as they were forced to kick five field goals.
The Buckeyes were a little shaky on special teams, as they allowed a 88 yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Lamar Miller, and then later gave up a 79 yard punt return for a score to Travis Benjamin. The defense however played a huge role in the win last weekend, as the Buckeyes defense forced four turnovers, and only allowed the Hurricanes 13-points outside of the two long returns.
The Bobcats really struggled to do much of anything on offense in the loss to Toledo, as they managed just 183 yards of total offense. The majority of the yards came in the passing game, as the Bobcats finished with just 46 rushing yards last week.
Ohio will have to do a much better job at protecting the football against the Buckeyes, as they turned the ball over four times against Toledo, including three interceptions from quarterback Boo Jackson. The only touchdown for the Bobcats came on a 35 yard pass from Jackson to wide out Riley Dunlop.
Looking at the Odds: It is never easy predicting games with such huge spreads, so I want to come out and say I am not a big fan of betting on this game. I don’t care how bad Ohio is, it is never easy beating your opponent by 30+ points. The last time these two teams met was in 2008, and Ohio State was favored by 33-points, but only managed to win the game by a score of 26-14, and actually trailed in the game after three quarters of play.
If you are set on placing a bet on this game, my advice would be to take Ohio and the 30.5 points, but I could honestly see this game going either way. My final score prediction is Ohio State 38, Ohio 13.
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