Minn-Ohio St
Time: 7 PM CST (ABC)
Spread: OSU -23.5
Total: 53
Betting odds c/o Bovada
Cardale Jones is starting again for No. 3 ranked Ohio State as it hosts Minnesota in a game college football oddsmakers have set 23.5 points in favor of Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes. The over/under for the game is 53 which will air on ABC at 7 PM CT.
J.T. Barrett is suspended for this game against 4-4 Minnesota (1-3 Big Ten). Jones is 10-0 as a starter, but he has struggled in the red zone. In the past 18 trips to the red zone OSU has 15 TDs and a FG, and it was just 12 of 16 with six TDs in the first five games.
Urban Meyer spoke of the difference between Jones and Barrett, saying “They’re a little bit different styles. JT is a little more a spread quarterback where he reads ends, and Cardale although he can do it, we have a little bit more drop back pass game in.”
The team seems to likely function better with Barrett, who had 223 passing yards and 101 on the ground last week against Rutgers. Ezekiel Elliot found the field more open and rushed for 142 yards, which was his 13th straight games with 100 yards or more. Braxton Miller will be the backup QB, and he may get his number called. He has functioned mostly as a WR, but he is a two-time Big Ten player of the year at QB position. As Dekker said, “That’s all you need to say. The kid’s a playmaker and he’ll do whatever the team needs him to do.”
Minnesota interim coach Tracy Claeys expects Miller to play some QB too, saying “How we handle that will probably have a big part of the outcome of the game.”
Will Miller really impact it that heavily?
The Gophers lost 29-26 to Michigan last week and fell to Nebraska 48-25 the week prior. It is 4-4 on the season. In the loss to Michigan, QB Mitch Leidner was 16 of 33 for 317 yards (9.6 per attempt) with a TD while posting a QBR of 78.5. Rodney Smith rushed for 74 yards on 12 carries and Leidner rushed for 37 yards on 11 attempts as well.
WR Brandon Lingren caught five passes for 111 yards while Rashad Still caught two passes, including the lone TD pass. Briean Boddy-Calhoun had an interception in the game.
Leidner is 141 of 244 on the season (57 percent) for 1,627 yards and eight TDs, though he has thrown six picks. His passer rating is 119.7, and in the backfield Smith has gone 127 carries for 541 yards with a TD.
Leidner has four rushing TDs, and Shannon Brooks leads the team in yards per carry with 6.1 per his 57 attempts, and three TDs.
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RECENT TRENDS
Minnesota Golden Gophers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a bye week.
Over is 4-0 in Golden Gophers last 4 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Golden Gophers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Ohio State Under is 4-0 in Buckeyes last 4 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.
Under is 4-0 in Buckeyes last 4 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game.
Over is 5-0 in Buckeyes last 5 games following a bye week.
Head to Head No recent Head to Head trends
