Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Illinois Fighting Illini
Saturday, 11/16/13, 12:00 PM EST
Opening Point Spread: Ohio State -32
Current Betting Line: Ohio State -32
Opening Total: 65
Current Total: 67
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Ohio State enters the game with the nation’s longest winning streak at 21 games, as it comes off a 56-0 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers as 31.5-point road favorites on Nov. 2, while going UNDER the betting total for the first time in four contests. The Buckeyes are No. 3 in the BCS rankings after three weeks of being in the No. 4 spot, which is important to consider when making your college football betting picks in Week 12. Defensively, the team ranks third nationally in allowing just 88.2 yards per game, while not allowing a run of 20 or more yards this season. Ohio State is 19-7-1 ATS in its last 27 games in November.
The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten Conference and rank fifth nationally in averaging 48.2 points per game, which can’t be ignored when looking over the college basketball odds page. Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller needs 90 yards of total offense to become the third player in school history to record 7,000 yards in his career. Senior running back Carlos Hyde has rushed for 575 yards and seven touchdowns in his last four games—sitting behind just one player in averaging 132.0 yards per game on the ground during conference play.
Illinois has lost five games in a row, while also losing the statistical battle in each of those contests, including a 52-35 setback to the Indiana Hoosiers as 9.5-point road underdogs last Saturday. The Fighting Illini revamped offense has jumped 55 spots in the national rankings from last year to this year in long scrimmage plays under new coordinator Bill Cubit. The team is also averaging 129 yards more per game during the 2013 campaign. Illinois is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games versus teams with a winning record.
The Fighting Illini are led by the play of senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, who leads the Big Ten and ranks in the top 25 nationally in completing 22.1 passes per game. He finished with a career-high 495 yards of total offense at Indiana—the third-best mark of its kind in that particular category in school history. His main target was wide receiver Steve Hull in the passing game, who finished with 224 yards receiving in Week 11.
Sports bettors will likely back the Buckeyes due to their 4-1 ATS mark in the last five meetings in this series.
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