The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and third-ranked Michigan Wolverines and will both look to emerge victorious when they ‘brawl for it all’ in ‘The Game’ on Saturday. The longtime Big Ten rivals will take to the field at Ohio Stadium at 12:00 PM ET with this matchup airing live on ABC, Now, let’s find out which one of these teams is going to have their playoff hopes vanquished in the college football lines.
Michigan at Ohio State Lines, Betting Pick & TV Info
#TBT#GoBlue #BeatOSU pic.twitter.com/bRjXTQyYwm
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 24, 2016
When: Saturday, November 26, 2016. 11 am CT
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
TV: ABC
Radio: Michigan / Ohio State
Stream Option: College Sports Live
NCAA Football Odds: Ohio State -7
Over/Under: 45.5
Why Bet The Michigan Wolverines?
The Wolverines didn’t look overwhelmingly good, but they managed to bounce back from their Week 10 loss to Iowa to squeak past mediocre Indiana 20-10 last weekend despite failing to cover the college football betting line as a whopping 24-point home favorite. More importantly, the Wolverines likely won’t have starting quarterback Wilton Speight for the second straight game, putting the onus squarely on backup John O’Korn when they take on Ohio State. Unfortunately, O’Korn didn’t look very competent in passing for a paltry 59 yards in Michigan’s win this past weekend and that simply won’t cut it against an elite opponent like the Buckeyes.
The Wolverines average a healthy 42.2 points per game to rank 11th nationally in scoring, but with Speight out, the outcome of this contest could come down to the Wolverines’ defense. Michigan ranks first in points allowed (10.9 ppg) and has limited four of their last five opponents to 14 points or less.
Why Bet The Ohio State Buckeyes?
Ohio State has won four consecutive games since falling to Penn State in late October, but almost fell again in their narrow 17-16 squeaker of a win against in-state rival Michigan State last weekend while failing to cover the spread as a 20.5-point road favorite. The Buckeyes have one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in J.T. Barrett, The dual-threat superstar has completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 2,304 yards with 24 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Barrett has one outstanding receiver in Curtis Samuel and a very good running back in Mike Weber (1,046 yards, 8 TDs) even if he doesn’t quite compare to former star back, Ezekiel Elliott.
The Buckeyes have an explosive offense that ranks fifth nationally in scoring (43.8 ppg), while also owning a powerful defensive unit that ranks a stellar fourth in points allowed (13.0 ppg) and has limited each of their last three opponents to 16 points or less.
Michigan at Ohio State Betting Pick:
While 60 percent of public bettors like Michigan to get it done at home in this huge affair, I just don’t see that happening as I fully expect the Buckeyes defense to force John O’Korn into at least one costly turnover and likely two. Besides, the Wolverines are 1-4 ATS in their last five conference games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven meetings against Ohio State.
With Ohio State going 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games and having the huge edge at quarterback, I say they win outright while covering the spread by the slimmest of margins.
Betting Pick: Ohio State 27 Michigan 17
