At the beginning of the season few would have predicted the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio State Buckeyes Week 13 game would have Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff implications. Sporting a perfect 10-0 record after their Week 11 win over Michigan, IU moved to No. 5 in the national rankings. The 20-15 win over the Wolverines was IU’s closest game of the season and the only one decided by fewer than 14 points. They’ve also been a boon to college football parlays going 8-1 against the line in their last nine games.
Despite having a loss Ohio State is viewed as a better playoff option sitting second in the most recent CFP rankings. And the Buckeyes have been on fire since the Oregon loss winning all four games while allowing a total of 37 points in that stretch. Indiana has benefitted from a soft schedule that’s ranked 106th, according to ESPN, which is why the Hoosiers are catching 13-point on the early line at your Bitcoin sportsbook.
College Football Betting Lines
Indiana at Ohio State Betting Lines
Indiana Hoosiers +13 / ML +425
Ohio State Buckeyes -13 / ML -531
Over / Under 51.5
They may have a soft schedule, but the Hoosiers have more than capably taken care of business winning all 10 games and outscoring their opponents by an average of more than 30 points. IU tore through its first nine games before finally getting tested by Michigan. Their most recent game was a tale of two halves. The Hoosiers used their explosive offense to take a 17-3 lead over Michigan then the defense helped seal the program record 10th win. The Hoosiers allowed just 69 yards rushing and limited UM to 206 total yards baling out an offense that scored just three second-half points.
The lack of offensive production in the second half of the Michigan game is alarming since the Hoosiers get a better defense on Saturday. OSU leads the nation in scoring defense allowing just 10.3 points while also limiting teams to an average of 250.8 yards a game. That 32-31 loss to Oregon in Week 7 was enough to wake up the Buckeyes. Since that game they’ve allowed an average of just 9.25 points blanking Purdue and giving up an early touchdown to Northwestern. OSU has cashed the UNDER in its last four games and in six of previous seven.
While the Hoosiers are facing the toughest stop group in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes can’t overlook what IU has accomplished on offense. The Hoosiers scored more than 30 points in each of their first nine games and boast the nation’s second-best scoring unit averaging nearly 44 points. Kurtis Rourke has been the ring leader completing nearly 72 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions. If IU is going to have success running the football effectively is a must. If they remain one-dimensional Rourke will be a sitting duck for OSU’s relentless pressure.
Both teams have used the same blueprint for success this season; explosive on offense and stingy on defense. The difference is that OSU has done it just about every season. Known more as a basketball school, Indiana is doing things on the gridiron unheard of before. Not only have they won 10 games for the first time in program history, a win on Saturday keeps their hopes of a Big Ten championship alive. It’s been more than three decades since IU last finished first in the conference sharing the title with two other teams.
Given the history of the teams and the series it’s easy to see why OSU is a near two-touchdown favorite. The spread hasn’t been lower in any of the past 10 meetings and the Buckeyes won them all. They closed as a favorite of at least 30 points in the last two outscoring IU 79-17. This is a different IU squad, though, and I think Rourke and the offense can do enough to keep it close.
Indiana at Ohio State Same Game Parlay Picks
Indiana +13
Indiana / Ohio State OVER 51.5
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