Nebraska vs. Ohio State Football Betting Preview
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
When: Saturday, November 5, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Nebraska Cornhuskers (+17) at Ohio State Buckeyes (-17); total: 52.0 – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
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- Arizona State vs. Stanford NCAA Football Preview - September 30, 2017
Betting on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (+17)
Unfortunately for the No. 9 Nebraska Cornhuskers, their undefeated season has come to a crushing end. They fell to the Wisconsin Badgers in overtime on Saturday, 23-17, after tallying a season-low 305 yards on offense.
Quarterback Tommy Armstrong could not escape from the Badgers’ relentless pass rush and was bothered all afternoon long. He finished with just 153 passing yards Saturday on a worrisome 38.7 completion rate with two interceptions. While Armstrong remains the team’s anchor on offense with 18 touchdowns (seven rushing) for the season, he does have seven picks to date already.
The Cornhuskers must get on the board fast in order to stand a chance against Ohio State this Saturday night. They’ve outscored opponents 55-15 in the first quarter this season before the loss to Wisconsin, wherein the Badgers tagged them for an early 7-0 lead and never looked back. Nebraska did, however, also outscore their opponents a whopping 108-13 in the fourth quarter, but they’d rather not play from behind at all as with what happened in Saturday’s defeat.
Still, the Cornhuskers can boast of a formidable defense to contain the hobbling Buckeyes offense of late. They’re 15th in the nation in points allowed and 20th in yards allowed per contest, and are tops in FBS with 15 interceptions. The D has even forced two turnovers in each of their past three games, proving the unit to be a key reason why the team is a decent 2-1 on the road this season and an even better 3-0 against the spread at that.
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes (-17)
A win is still a win for the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes, but Saturday’s 24-20 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats shows that they’re still far from being the juggernauts that they were early this season.
The offense as a whole has not been able to convert massive yardage to actual points lately, as Ohio State is just averaging 26 points per contest the past three weeks compared to a staggering 53.2 points through the first five games of the season. Nevertheless, the team’s rushing attack appears to still be relentless, as it still ranks eighth in the country with an average of 272.4 rushing yards per contest.
The Buckeyes may not have a deep threat to complement quarterback J.T. Barrett and the passing game as much, but they arguably have the best backfield tandem in the nation right now.
Curtis Samuel had 99 all-purpose yards with one rushing score and seven catches for 68 yards on Saturday, and he now leads the team with 44 receptions and 539 receiving yards this season. His partner in crime, Mike Weber, has a team-high 129 carries for 770 rushing yards and six TDs. Together, Samuel and Weber must power right through Nebraska’s front line often to get their team back into the offensive groove.
And as stout as the Cornhuskers’ defense has been, The Buckeyes have a D that’s just as impenetrable if not even better, as they’re sixth in the nation at both points allowed (15.1) and yards allowed (296) per contest. To make matters worse for Nebraska, Ohio State has won all six of its contests in the ‘Shoe.
Then again for us bettors, the team is just 4-2 against the spread in those six home games with both losses happening this past month alone. That being said, it would be best to think twice before going all-in on Ohio State with that daunting 17-point spread this week.
Writer’s Prediction
The Buckeyes win another close one, 35-29, as the Cornhuskers cover +17.
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