Time: 8 PM EST, Saturday
Spread: OSU -17.5
Total: 63.5
M/L: OSU -900, IND +650
Odds from Bookmaker
The Buckeyes have continued to rise in the AP ranking and now find themselves seated in the 8th position, headed into a matchup against Indiana that college football oddsmakers favor them by 18 points in. OSU has been the toast of the Big Ten and can win their 18th straight over Indiana on Saturday night.
The huge black mark for the Buckeyes remains that they can’t play in a bowl game and contend for a BCS championships in a year they might have if not due to the NCAA sanctions. Urban Meyer has no qualms about the problem, just adding “We’re not shy…(we’re) a top 10 football team and the stakes are real high.”
As to what stakes Meyer is referring to is unclear, but the Buckeyes will continue to gun for a number one spot in the polls, just to only further prove the strength of the program and build towards next season as a true contender. OSU DE John Simon said that the AP poll “is important to the team to show where we are right now” and that the Buckeyes will “try to get to No. 1 if at all possible.”
This week shouldn’t prove much of a challenge. Indiana has dropped 22 of their last 23 Big Ten contests. The Hoosiers sit at 2-3 on the season but have lost both of their conference games. They got off to a nice start against Michigan State last week, leading 17-0 in the first quarter, but they failed to score in the second half and lost their third straight.
The nightmare began against a high scoring Ball State squad, as the Hoosiers defense just couldn’t find an answer for the Cardinals’ air attack. It set the tone for subsequent losses to Northwestern and last week’s four point loss to MSU. The Hoosiers will try not to look forward to next week against Navy, which could serve as a legitimate rebound game after so many tough opponents, but at this point, even the Midshipmen are not a “gimme” for the Hoosiers.
Indiana has been effective offensively, with a pass game that ranks 20th in the nation with 305.2 yards per game. It’s carried an offense that averages 32.8 points per game.
It’s the defense that has been more problematic, and that’s not a good sign against Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes. If the Hoosiers gave up 41 to Ball State and 44 to Northwestern, how much rougher are things going to be against a top tier opponent like OSU?
Save a down week, which was still a victory, against Michigan State, the Buckeyes have scored at least 29 points in all of their games, and they blistered Nebraska last week for 63. Miller threw for 127 yards and rushed for 186, getting both a throwing and rushing TD, while Carlos Hyde had the game of his life, rushing for 140 yards and four of the Buckeyes’ TDs.
That ground game is going to give the Hoosiers a lot of trouble and 67.3 percent of bettors at Bookmaker are picking OSU to cover the spread at time of issue (3:30 PM EST, Friday), while 85.7 percent of bettors are predicting that the total goes OVER.
Ohio State Betting Trends:
Buckeyes are 26-9-1 ATS in their last 36 on the road, 22-8 ATS in their last 30 OCT games, 26-11 ATS in their last 37 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards, 34-16-1 ATS in their last 51 overall, and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs teams with losing records.
Indiana Betting Trends:
Hoosiers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 at home vs teams with winning road records, 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 after allowing 280+ passing yards, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 after accumulating more than 280 yards passing the previous week, and 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 at home.
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