Still No. 1 in the nation by a landslide in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, the Ohio State Buckeyes are fresh off a shutout of Hawaii and are looking for another blowout win against a Northern Illinois Huskies team that lacks the firepower of Ohio State, but has had a solid start to the year thus far.
ODDS
The Huskies cannot matchup with the talent the Buckeyes have and thus are heavy underdogs as they make the trek to Columbus. BookMaker opened the spread earlier this week with Ohio State 33-point favorites. Since then, the line has continued to grow and now sits at 34.5.
The Total, meanwhile, has also added a couple points, going from 64.5 to 66.5.
Ohio State should win this game in a landslide, but once you get up to a spread nearing five touchdowns, things can be tricky. The Buckeyes were 41-point favorites against the Rainbow Warriors last week and failed to cover the spread, winning 38-0.
While bettors should beware of that, Ohio State has still done pretty well for itself and its bettors ATS, going 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 September games, 5-1 ATS in its last six non-conference games and 6-2 ATS in its last eight against the MAC.
Northern Illinois, however, hasn’t been a bad bet either, winning 17 of its last 23 road games against the closing pointspread.
KEY MISMATCH
Against most teams, every aspect of Ohio State’s game creates a mismatch. While the team’s defense is very good, the Northern Illinois offense is good as well. On the other side, the Ohio State offense should have its way with an average, at best, Northern Illinois defense.
The particular mismatch is in the passing game. Cardale Jones is a very good quarterback and has weapons like Braxton Miller and Michael Thomas as well as running back Ezekiel Elliott to throw to out of the backfield.
Elliott’s dominance on the ground also helps to take pressure off the passing game and help keep the defense honest.
Defensively, Northern Illinois has done pretty well against the run, holding opponents to 128 rushing yards per game. In the air, however, they’re ranked No. 104 in the nation, allowing 305 yards per game.
KEY STAT
.323 – This is the third down conversion percentage for Ohio State opponents so far on the young season.
The Buckeyes defense has done a very good job of forcing three-and-outs and keeping the opposition off the field.
For Northern Illinois, that could be troublesome as the offense is its biggest asset.
They’ve got an underrated quarterback in Drew Hare who has completed 78.1% of his passes for 718 yards and six touchdowns in his first two games. He’s also yet to throw an interception. Of course, in third and short situations, the ground game is a bigger part of the equation and the Huskies are averaging 219.5 yards per game with Joel Bouagnon already scoring five touchdowns.
BETTING ANGLE
This is a statement game for the Huskies. While Ohio State is expected to blow them out, they just need to show they can play the Buckeyes competitively to make some noise.
For Ohio State, a win is a foregone conclusion; the question is by how much.
Obviously, the Buckeyes want to avoid embarrassment and another blowout can only help them maintain the top spot in the rankings, but given the mismatch, there is more drive on the Huskies’ side, just not nearly as much talent.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Even with Northern Illinois’s hot start, bettors are struggling to get behind them to make this a competitive game and it’s not hard to see why.
The Huskies have done well against lesser competition, but struggled when put up against big programs, getting creamed by Arkansas last year and then dominated by Marshall in their Bowl game.
Well, there’s no bigger program than Ohio State.
Ohio State 53, Northern Illinois 17
The college football odds for this game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Buckeyes were pegged as 33-point chalk while the total opened at 64.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Northern Illinois Huskies at Ohio State Buckeyes will start at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 19, 2015, at Ohio Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
