OSU vs. MSU Betting Line
Carrie Stroup here with your OSU vs. MSU betting line, which was sitting at Buckeyes -5. You can claim your FREE $100 bet at Sportsbook.com and wager on this game LIVE.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Ohio State -5 & 51.5
Opening Line & Total: Buckeyes -6 & 51.5
Urban Meyer is undefeated in two seasons with No. 2 Ohio State and with a win against No. 10 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, a trip to the BCS Championship Game is likely.
The Buckeyes missed out on a chance to win the national title last season as they were ineligible to play in a bowl game. They have come back this season and once again gone undefeated, but did have a close call last week against rival Michigan. The game came down to the wire with Ohio State prevailing 42-41 as the Wolverines failed on a potential game-winning, two-point conversion with 32 seconds left on the clock. The Spartans have come back from a disappointing 2012 season (3-5 in Big Ten) to being undefeated in conference this year while winning all eight Big Ten games by more than 10 points. These two programs have had defensive battles in their past two matchups, with OSU pulling out a 17-16 win on the road as a 3-point underdog last season, and MSU winning 10-7 on the road two seasons ago, also as a 3-point underdog. The Buckeyes won the game last season with their big rushing attack (204 yards) and overcame three turnovers with their stellar defense as the Spartans managed only 34 rushing yards. Since 1992, Ohio State has dominated this series both SU (12-3) and ATS (9-6) with the average total in these games being 45.3 points. The Buckeyes are 6-0 ATS in non-home games versus good teams (10+ PPG margin) in the past three seasons, but the Spartans are 7-0 ATS in non-home games in the second half of the season since the start of 2012. Ohio State has failed to cover its past three games.
Ohio State has continued to use an impressive ground-and-pound offense as it ranks second in the nation with 321.3 YPG on the ground and has scored 48.2 PPG (3rd in the nation). QB Braxton Miller has once again been the best quarterback in the Big Ten and is in talks for the Heisman trophy. He uses both his arm and his legs to lead the Buckeyes to victory and has 1,759 passing yards (8.4 YPA) with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions while also running for 891 yards (6.8 YPC) and eight touchdowns. He has done all this despite missing nearly a quarter of the season. Miller made the most of his six completions last week with 133 passing yards and two touchdowns against Michigan but took over the game with his 153 rushing yards (9.6 YPC) and three touchdowns on the ground. He has run for 481 yards on 10.7 YPC with six touchdowns over the past three games. HB Carlos Hyde has also dominated with seven straight games of 110+ rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns (14 rushing) in those games. He has totaled 1,290 rushing yards (7.8 YPC) with 14 TD this season, and is coming off of a 226-yard performance (8.4 YPC) against the Wolverines. The WR duo of Devin Smith (644 rec. yards, 8 TD) and Philly Brown (602 rec. yards, 9 TD) has caught 43% of team's receptions this season. Smith has only three receptions over the past three games, but two have been long touchdowns (53 and 39 yards. LB Ryan Shazier (121 tackles, 6 sacks) and CB Bradley Roby (62 tackles, 3 INT) could be day-one NFL draft picks after the season, and have led the Buckeyes defense to the nation's 18th-best scoring defense (20.3 PPG). OSU is allowing a mere 100 rushing YPG on 3.0 YPC, but has allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for 256 YPG (6.8 YPA) on 61% completions.
Michigan State has really turned it around this season and mostly has the defense to thank, but its offense has done enough to win nearly every game. QB Connor Cook has not put up the most impressive numbers (2,119 passing yards, 7.0 YPA, 17 TD), but has thrown only four interceptions in 304 attempts and has a solid 58.2 completion percentage. Cook has eight touchdown passes and only two interceptions over his past five games. HB Jeremy Langford has been the workhorse of the offense and has 1,210 rushing yards (4.9 YPC) with 17 total touchdowns (16 rushing) on the year. He has rushed for 100+ yards in each of the past seven games and has 12 total rushing touchdowns in that time. Cook likes to spread the ball around in the passing game and has three wide receivers between 30 and 35 receptions with WR Bennie Fowler leading the team in receiving yards (496) and touchdowns (6). The Spartans' defense is littered with future NFL players with CB Darqueze Dennard (56 tackles, 4 interceptions) and LB Max Bullough (73 tackles) leading the way. They have allowed only 11.8 PPG (4th in the nation) to their opponents this season while allowing six points or fewer in five of their past six games. Opponents have gained a mere 237 total YPG and 3.8 yards per play, which includes a meager 64 rushing YPG on 2.2 YPC. Michigan State has also cranked up the turnovers with 11 takeaways over the past three contests.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
