NCAAF Betting Preview - The Game

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We’ve gotten so used to seeing Michigan as a proverbial powerhouse over the years, that the history of the OSU-Michigan rivalry has brought this matchup to annually be referred to as “The Game”. Yet, with Ohio State ranked ninth in the country, with a ticket already punched to the Rose Bowl, battling an unranked and unmitigated disaster like Michigan just doesn’t seem to bring the same excitement to this game. Yet the Wolverines may be able to cause a big upset by matching OSU with a powerful offense of their own.

As far as college football sports betting goes, this is OSU’s game all the way. They Wolverines are just 1-4 ATS and 0-5 SU when playing Ohio State overall, and are 1-4 ATS when defending The Big House against the raiding Buckeyes. To say the least, this is a rivalry that has been owned by The Sweater Vest, Jim Tressel, for the better part of this decade.

Ohio State has been an incredibly strong bet this year, going 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games and 8-1 ATS in their last nine games on the road. While frustration and anger mount in big losses in any Ohio State season, wins haven’t been a problem. It’s just that there are two things worrying me about the spread.

Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2) vs. Michigan Wolverines (5-6)

Saturday, November 21st --- Michigan Stadium, Andover --- 12:00pm EST

NCAAF Betting Line: OSU -12 (47.5)

The lone hope for the Wolverines is that their offense racks up an average of 31.3 points per game. Ohio State’s passing defense is just 72nd in the country, giving up 196.8 yards through the air when they’re away from home and that could leave some holes open for the Wolverines. Going against the Buckeyes from a betting standpoint is the “nothing to lose” attitude of Michigan coupled with the “we blew our load last weekend” mentality of the Buckeyes.

It will be up to coach Jim Tressel to focus the boys of the Buckeyes to stay focused on this game. That hasn’t been his forte, and the fact that Ohio State peaked last weekend means that they’re vulnerable. They just are. These are kids we’re talking about at the end of the day. I expect them to build on momentum with a win, but I don’t trust Terrell Pryor all that much…yet.

Angry Toms Free Pick:

Michigan +12 (OVER)