Ohio State at Nebraska Line
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to host the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Cornhuskers will look to rebound from an embarrassing 17-48 loss at Wisconsin this past Saturday. It was the first loss of the season for Nebraska, who had started the year with four straight non-conference wins. Ohio State was also on the losing end last week, falling 7-10 at home to Michigan State. The Buckeyes are 3-2 overall with their other loss coming at Miami a few weeks back.
Taking a look at the week 6 college football spreads, oddsmakers currently have Nebraska favored by 10.5-points over Ohio State.
Ohio State Buckeyes:
This was suppose to be the week that Ohio State got back suspended running back Dan Haren and wide out DeVier Posey, but new allegations about a summer work job have these two starts suspended once again. On top of that, Ohio State is expected to also be without starting wide out Verlon Reed, who injured his knee on the onside kick with just seconds left in the game against Michigan State.
Not getting those players back is a big loss for the Buckeyes, but that isn’t to say this team can’t move the ball on a Nebraska defense that has not been very good in the early goings. The Cornhuskers are giving up an average of 152.8 ypg on the ground and another 224 through the air. Last week Nebraska allowed 486 yards of total offense to Wisconsin.
The big question going into this game is who will the Buckeyes turn to at quarterback. They went with true freshman Braxton Miller against Michigan State, but he was benched late in favor of Joe Bauserman after completing just 5 of 10 for 56 yards with an interception. Bauserman came in and went just 7 of 14 for 87 yards, but led the Buckeyes to their only touchdown of the game, hitting Evan Spencer on a 33-yard touchdown pass.
Ohio State will likely try and get the ground game going behind the duo of Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall. Hyde leads the team with 296 yards and three scores, but had just five carries for 33 yards against the Spartans. Hall had 18 carries for 45 yards.
With Posey not allowed back and Reed possibly out with a knee injury, Ohio State is going to need a big game out of Devin Smith and Jake Stoneburner.
Nebraska Cornhuskers:
It is going to be interesting to see how the Cornhuskers respond after getting absolutely dominated by Wisconsin. Nebraska’s offense had some nice success running the ball early in the game, but really struggled to move the ball when they were forced to throw the ball. While Ohio State hasn’t been great offensively, they have been very strong on defense. They are holding opponents to just 93.6 ypg on the ground and allowing just 191.6 ypg through the air.
The Nebraska offense really relies a lot on the success of quarterback Taylor Martinez, and he is going to have play better inside the conference if Nebraska is going to be as good as they expect. Martinez rushed 20 times for 61 yards, but was just 11 of 22 passing for 176 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Running back Rex Burkhead had rushed for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the Cornhuskers previous two games, but had just 96 yards and a score on 18 attempts. Because Nebraska has so much trouble throwing the ball, they really need big games out of Martinez and Burkhead on the ground to beat the Buckeyes.
Betting Trends:
Ohio State is 21-4-1 ATS in their last 26 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Nebraska is 20-4-1 ATS in their last 25 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win in week 6 of college football.
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