The Ohio State Buckeyes were supposed to clearly be the best team in the nation. While they’re still undefeated, they’ve been far from dominant.
There’s still time as they have yet another matchup with a weaker team, this time the Broncos from Western Michigan.
ODDS
The oddsmakers have tempered their excitement for the Buckeyes a bit after back to back losses ATS and a much too close 20-13 showing against Northern Illinois.
After a closing line of 41 against Hawaii and 34 against Northern Illinois, BookMaker opened the spread at 28.5 in favor of Ohio State.
While the oddsmakers are becoming a bit more cautious about the nation’s No. 1 team, the bettors still believe. Congratulations to those that took advantage of the lower spread. Since opening, the line has climbed to 31.5.
The total meanwhile has bumped from 57 to 58.
KEY MISMATCH
It’s hard to imagine with both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett, but the Buckeyes have struggled at the quarterback position.
Jones and Barrett have gotten nearly all of the work under center and have combined to complete just 56% of their passes and have four interceptions and just four touchdowns.
While the passing game has still yet to work out the kinks, Heisman candidate Ezekiel Elliott is taking care of business on the ground and Braxton Miller is doing well, too. Elliott already has four touchdowns and 331 yards while Miller has 126 yards and a score on just 18 supplemental carries.
Defensively, Western Michigan doesn’t have nearly the defensive prowess to compete with Ohio State even with questions in the passing game.
The Broncos rank No. 93 in the country allowing 413 total yards per game. The rush defense has been particularly troublesome, allowing 10 rushing touchdowns in just three games.
KEY STAT
69.2% - This is the percentage of touchdowns allowed by Western Michigan when the opposition has been in the red zone. If you add in the field goals, the opposition has gotten points 12 of 13 times they’ve been in the red zone against the Broncos.
Western Michigan has really struggled against the run in these situations, allowing seven touchdowns. Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, Ohio State has only had opponents in the red zone four times in three games.
BETTING ANGLE
This team is still running the ball very well and is still doing its job defensively. The passing game will come around. The talent is just too good for Jones and Barrett to continue to struggle.
In this situation Urban Meyer is the difference maker. He’s too good of a coach to let this continue too long. I look for some changes to be made on offense, perhaps with the player usage as the team looks for some solid answers before it takes on top end competition.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
When you look at the Ohio State offense against Western Michigan, the Broncos are just overmatched nearly everywhere on the field.
Look for Jones and/or Barrett to step up and give the team a bit of a better answer under center. Adding a more stable passing attack to an already top-notch ground game will just make Ohio State unstoppable against a 1-2 Broncos squad.
On the other side of the field, quarterback Zach Terrell has thrown two touchdowns in each game they’ve played this year and has completed 70.7% of his passes for 947 yards and eight touchdowns. While those numbers are good, his five interceptions are not and Ohio State is the type of team that can capitalize on those mistakes.
Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 13
The college football lines for this contest were first released by BookMaker and the Buckeyes were positioned as 28.5-point favorites with a total of 57. Gamble on the game between every commercial break with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen on the next play or how many points will be scored in the next quarter. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The Western Michigan Broncos and Ohio State Buckeyes square off on Saturday, September 26, 2015, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Ohio Stadium. You can watch the game live on ABC.
