(3) Ohio St-Illinois
Time: 11 AM ET (ABC)
Spread: OSU -17.5
Total: 55
Betting odds c/o Bovada
Ohio State may have lost its stronghold on the No. 1 ranking, but Urban Meyer’s group can still counter with the ever popular, “Beat us.” Ohio State has won 23 straight games and still holds the nation’s longest winning streak.
College football oddsmakers at Bovada set the line 17.5-points in favor of the Buckeyes who will travel to face Illinois at 11 EDT on ABC.
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Ohio State has its toughest stretch of the season after this week, but it cannot simply look ahead to Michigan State and Michigan. Illinois is 5-4 with a 2-3 Big Ten record and the Buckeyes will put J.T. Barrett back in at QB. He was suspended last week after being cited with a DWI incident. Meyer said he would start unless he did not have a good week of practice,” saying that is the policy every week for his team.
Ohio State was not great with Cardale Jones taking snaps. It accrued just 376 yards of offense, its fewest in Big Ten play. He completed 14 of 18 against Rutgers on Oct 24 while throwing for three TDs and rushing for 101 yards and two more TDs. Ezekiel Elliot has continued to be a consistent workhorse, and he rushed for 114 yards and a TD in the win over Minnesota, while notching his 14th straight 100-plus yard game.
Illinois is in a state of turmoil and being led by an interim head coach in Bill Cubit, who is making his vie for the job. Cubit helped Illinois to a 48-14 drubbing of Purdue last Saturday, which snapped a three-game skid for the Fighting Illini.
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Illinois QB Wes Lunt has 2,000 yards on the season but just a 55.8 percent completion ratio while averaging just 5.78 yards per attempt. He has thrown 12 TDs and four INTs and has a 113.5 passer rating. Lunt’s top target is Geronimo Allison, who has 756 yards on 56 receptions with a tie for the team high three receiving TDs.
Illinois had 382 rushing yards against the Boilermakers after averaging just 67.2 yards per game over its first four conference games. Ke’Shawn Vaughn ran for 180 yards and two TDs and Josh Ferguson had 133 yards on 12 carries. Cubit raved on the effect Ferguson had, and said it is a “different offense when he is in there.”
The Buckeyes have won 16 straight on the road and have never lost a road game under Meyer. OSU has won seven straight in the series against Illinois. The last Fighting Illini victory came on Nov. 10, 2007 when he upset a No. 1 ranked Buckeyes team 28-21.
| Ohio State | Buckeyes are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games in November. Under is 5-0 in Buckeyes last 5 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game. Under is 5-0 in Buckeyes last 5 vs. a team with a winning record. |
| Illinois | Under is 7-0 in Fighting Illini last 7 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. Under is 6-0 in Fighting Illini last 6 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. Under is 4-0 in Fighting Illini last 4 games following a SU win of more than 20 points. |
| Head to Head | Home team is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings. Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 meetings. |
