Ideally, the Ohio State Buckeyes would have played in the College Football Playoff if it were not for a devastating and embarrassing loss to the Purdue Boilermakers several weeks ago. Instead, they find themselves in a still heavyweight matchup with the champions from the Pac- 12: the Washington Huskies. Who wins this big time Rose Bowl matchup? Going into New Year’s Day, the sportsbook favors Ohio State by 6.5-points with a -225 moneyline.
Betting on the Washington Huskies (10-3 Overall / 7-2 Conference)
The Huskies are fresh off a low-scoring 10-3 win over the Utah Utes on Dec. 1 to capture the Pac-12 title. As the score obviously suggests, it was a defensive battle all game long for both the Huskies and the Utes, but the former will definitely find comfort in the fact that they still have quarterback Jake Browning. Browning, who only had 187 passing yards with zero touchdowns and an interception on 21-of-33 completions, can still pick his spots and use his experience as a senior to deal damage on the Ohio State’s defense that allows 25.7 points and 239.8 passing yards per game. That said, look for the Huskies to go run heavy just like always. The Huskies are 22nd in the nation with a 60.15 rushing play percentage, due in large part to the presence of running back Myles Gaskin, who is the program’s all-time leader in rushing yards. On the season, Gaskin has 1,147 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 235 carries.
The Huskies are 2-0 against the spread (ATS) in their last two games, and 4-9 ATS on the entire regular season.
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1 Overall / 8-1 Conference)
The Buckeyes won the conference title after beating the Northwestern Wildcats on Dec. 1, 45-24. In that game, Buckeyes quarterback Dwayne Haskins showed why he’s one of the most electrifying talents in the college level today, as he finished with 499 passing yards and five touchdowns with only an interception on 34-of-41 completions. It was as great as any performance, and he’ll look to carry that momentum into the Rose Bowl. With Haskins under center, the Buckeyes have become a high-scoring team that almost always put up a ton of points on the board. They finished the regular season sixth in the nation with 43.5 points and 548.9 rushing yards per game – sixth and second in the FBS, respectively. Washington’s defense is stingy, but it was not that long ago when Ohio State punished another vaunted stop unit in a 62-39 home win over the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 24.
The Buckeyes are 3-1 ATS in their last four games, while holding a 6-7 ATS record on the season.
