Ohio State vs UCLA Prediction: The Best Team in the Land Gets To Show Off

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No one’s really questioning whether or not Ohio State is the best team in the country – at least not seriously – and now it has to keep on showing off with everyone looking for the slightest blip.

It’s toying with teams on a weekly basis, but the last three teams it beat – Wisconsin, Penn State, and Purdue – are a combined 1-18 in the Big Ten.

With Rutgers to follow, it hasn’t exactly been a stressful run as it all builds up to the showdown against That Team Up North.

UCLA has hit a bit of a wall after its shocking three-game winning streak, but it has a shot to screw things up down the stretch with Washington and USC after this.

Ohio State vs UCLA Preview

Nov 1, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates his touchdown during the first quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium. © Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

How To Watch Ohio State vs UCLA

Why UCLA Will Win

Nico Iamaleava did everything humanly possible in the 42-17 College Football Playoff loss to Ohio State last season.

The last time he played in Columbus, he struggled with the passing game, but ran for two scores and was the only thing on the offensive side that worked.

Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) throws against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at the Rose Bowl. © Gary A&period; Vasquez-Imagn Images

For the Bruins to have any reasonable shot, he has to get moving. Ohio State’s defense might be fantastic, but it hasn’t faced any quarterback other than Washington’s Demond Williams, who was any real danger of taking off.

The Buckeyes forced him to be a passer, and he hit 18-of-22 throws and kept the Huskies in the game well into the fourth quarter, and …

Why Ohio State Will Win

Demond Williams was sacked all game long and didn’t do a thing with his legs.

The bigger problem for UCLA is a defense that can’t get off the field. It’s dead last in the nation in third down stops, and it’s not even close. UAB allows teams to connect on 49% of their chances, Air Force 51%.

Teams are converting over 55% of their third down tries against UCLA, which, if this holds, would be the worst season by a mile since ULM in 2020.

Ohio State isn’t the best team in the nation in third down conversions; it’s the second-best behind Indiana. So …

Ohio State vs UCLA Prediction, Betting Lines

The Buckeyes will once again do their performance art. UCLA will scrap its way to a few scores, but not enough to overcome a huge day from the Buckeye ground game and another sharp performance from Julian Sayin.

Ohio State has only turned it over six times all year, but once in each of the last two games. That’s not anything to get into a twist over, but at this point, the team is pushing for tweaking the little things.

Watch to see if this is when the Buckeye attack opens it up a bit and takes a few more chances than normal.

Ohio State 38, UCLA 10
Line: Ohio State -31.5, o/u: 47.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Rating: 3

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. 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.

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This story was originally reported by College Football News on Nov 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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