Ohio State vs. Ball State Official Pick for Week One Matchup
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
It is finally football season.
Take an extra sip of that coffee, breathe in the chill in the air, plan out the entire day, and get ready to enjoy a full slate of college football.
Admittedly, the first Saturday of week one is not the best slate of matchups. The best game doesn't come until Saturday night, when Clemson and LSU take center stage, but even that game is a 10-point spread in favor of the Tigers, the Louisiana version.
For the Buckeyes, they have one job and one job only: beat up on the Ball State Cardinals. This game is as lopsided as they come and is actually the biggest spread of the entire weekend thus far.
Ohio State enters the football game on Saturday as 49.5-point favorites with a total locked in at 56.5 for the over/under.
This is to be expected. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they are coming off a tough season where they lived in the middle of the pack in the MAC conference. However, after Thursday night in college football, throw all of that out the window.
Anyone can beat anyone at any time. You have to have your best and take every single opponent seriously, no matter who it is.
This is never a concern for the Buckeyes, but still, 49.5 points is a lot.
Using last year as the predictor, the Buckeyes would have covered this spread just one time. They scored more than 50 points once during the year, and that was a 70-point drubbing of Grambling State in week two.
They played one MAC team last year and it was a 37-9 victory over the Ohio Bobcats.
In terms of the prediction for Saturday's game, I do believe that two things can be true. Ohio State will struggle to cover the spread, but it will not be a negative indication of their team.
I do believe that, from a personality perspective, they are not built to blow the doors off of anyone. They have run a slow, methodical offense even before they hired Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator.
I believe that this game is going to be solidly in the hands of the Buckeyes, but winning by more than eight scores is a tall task. The defense will suffocate the Cardinals' offense, while the Buckeyes' offense is going to look good, but I don't have them covering the spread.
The final prediction is an easy Ohio State win by the score of 42-3, and the Buckeyes move on to Texas feeling good, but 0-1 against the spread.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos