Can the oddsmakers make the spread high enough on Ohio State Buckeyes contests? They\u2019ve laid -14.5, -17.5, -38.5 and -17 in each of the last four weeks and have covered every single time. They\u2019re fresh off a 48-7 blowout over Nebraska in what was supposed to be their toughest test to date. Now they\u2019ll get a visit from No. 25 Michigan State, who is probably the first opponent on their calendar that can push them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Spartans have a very minimal chance of actually winning this game, but they have a defense which can certainly enable them to cover the spread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michigan State has one of the best defensive lines in the country. If they can apply pressure, they can possibly slow down Ohio State\u2019s offense. Michigan State is currently tied for 18th in the country in terms of sacks and they have compiled 16 in five games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fields has faced teams like Nebraska, Cincinnati and Florida Atlantic, and he has not been pressured a lot. Yes, he is quick on his feet and can therefore dance out of trouble when he gets chased in the pocket. It\u2019s really something that this team hasn\u2019t had to deal with so far as Fields has been sacked just seven times in the last four games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On offense, Michigan State has a seasoned quarterback in Brian Lewerke, who won\u2019t be phased by the big moment on the road. Of course, the offense has had many hiccups this season but at least Lewerke gives this team the veteran hand they\u2019ll need to pull this out on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Buckeyes are simply executing at an extremely high level on both sides of the ball. They have blown out each of their first two Big Ten opponents this season, both on the road. They crushed Indiana and swamped Nebraska by a similar margin. They have had very few sequences this year in which they played poorly. They played the first seven to 10 minutes poorly against Miami of Ohio a few weeks ago and other than that, it is very hard to identify a period of time in which Ohio State struggled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would be one thing if they were eking out wins against bad teams. They\u2019re crushing decent ones as they went on the road and beat Indiana 51-10. Michigan State hosted Indiana last week and nearly lost the game outright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot will be made of Michigan State\u2019s defense and the defensive line, but you have to look at the full body of work. They couldn\u2019t get stops against Arizona State when they needed to and Indiana scored 31 points against them last week. It was actually the Spartans offense that saved them last week, not the defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for that offense, bettors should be concerned. They have the 29th-ranked passing offense and 65th-ranked rush defense. If this is any type of a shootout, they\u2019re not going to have the weapons to go blow-for-blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This comes down to the matchup between the Michigan State defense and the Ohio State offense. The Michigan State offense is bad and it does not figure to test the Ohio State defense frequently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This game depends on whether Ohio State scores in the 40\u2019s or in the low 30\u2019s or high 20\u2019s. The feeling here is that the speed of Justin Fields will wear out Michigan State\u2019s defensive line but it might not be the type of gaudy number we\u2019ve seen in recent weeks from the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two straight meetings have gone under including five of the last eight meetings at Ohio State. We\u2019re probably looking at another under here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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