College Football Betting: Ohio State Buckeyes at Indiana Hoosiers

By BetOnline September 10, 2019

0 Comments

The Ohio State Buckeyes were supposed to get a test in their second contest but they not challenged at all by the Cincinnati Bearcats this past Saturday. The Bearcats, regarded as a contender for the championship of the Group of Five, were swatted away 42-0. Now the Buckeyes play their first Big Ten Conference game of the season. Can the Indiana Hoosiers put up more of a battle than anything Cincinnati managed to do?

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES AT INDIANA HOOSIERS
CFB ODDS: OHIO STATE -13.5
CFB TOTAL: 60.5

WHY THE BUCKEYES WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Buckeyes are in good position to cover the spread because their defense looks really good. Even if you think Cincinnati is overrated or not playing well (or both), it still remains that the Buckeyes did not allow a single point on Saturday. The Ohio State defense has been very vulnerable and inconsistent over the past few years. The Buckeyes suffered memorable blowout losses to Iowa in 2017 and Purdue in 2018 in which they allowed 49 or more points. Last year’s Ohio State team not only got run over by Purdue, but it gave up a lot of points to Maryland in a shootout, and needed Maryland to misfire on a late 2-point conversion pass to win the game. OSU would have lost the East Division to Michigan had it lost that game against Maryland.

Therefore, this season began with a lot of questions swirling around the Ohio State defense. Does a blowout of Cincinnati mean there are no problems at all? No, but there is little evidence thus far to indicate that this defense is going to struggle a lot against Indiana, a school which has generally been good on defense and mediocre on offense. The Hoosiers hired a new offensive coordinator, Kalen DeBoer, this season, and this will be his first big challenge of the season against Ohio State.

It is a lot easier to trust Ohio State’s defense than Indiana’s offense right now.

WHY THE HOOSIERS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Hoosiers will cover the spread because their defense can slow down Ohio State more than Cincinnati did. Tom Allen is IU’s head coach. He was formerly the program’s defensive coordinator and was promoted to head coach. He’s made Indiana’s defense pesky and while the Hoosiers don’t have the best athletes in the Big Ten, they have given Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State a battle on most occasions – at least for a half. Indiana doesn’t win very many big games, but it is good at being competitive and forcing its opponents to play better in the second half. If that is the kind of pattern which emerges on Saturday, Indiana can keep the point spread below the number.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE TOTAL

We’ve got a relatively high number here but I’m not expecting a lot of points from the Hoosiers. If they can slow Ohio State down for a half, that will be a win for them and the under. Their offense should contribute 17 points or less, which means Ohio State has to do a lot of work to carry this over. With the Buckeyes being on the road in this spot and facing slightly more resistance than last week, they should be under 40.