Ohio State vs. Minnesota NCAA Football Lines Preview

Posted by Alex Murphy on Saturday,November 7, 2015 11:25, EDT in

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will look to bounce back from their heartbreaking Week 9 loss and pull off the big upset over the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes when they square off in their Big Ten showdown on Saturday. Now, let’s find out if the Buckeyes can bring home the bacon and cover the College Football odds spread set for the game?

How To Bet the Golden Gophers vs. Buckeyes, NCAA Football Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Saturday, November 7, 8:00 PM ET
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
TV: ABC, ESPN3
NFL Odds: Ohio State -23
Over/Under: 53.5

Betting on Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-4 SU, 3-5 ATS)

The Golden Gophers suffered an absolutely heartbreaking 29-26 loss to Michigan in its first game under interim coach Tracy Claeys following the health-related forced retirement of beloved former head coach Jerry Kill. The loss was all the more heartbreaking seeing as how the Gophers had a first-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line in the final 30 second before allowing approximately 12 seconds to run before failing twice to get in the end zone. Junior quarterback Mitch Leidner threw for a career-best 317 yards in the loss, but was stopped short of the goal line on the game’s final play.

“I just think in those situations you’ve got to be able to get half a yard,” Claeys said. “If it’s outside the 1-yard line, hey, we’ll kick it and move on. But in that situation I felt like we could get it. I’d do it all over again and do the same thing.”

Betting on Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0 SU, 3-5 ATS)

The Buckeyes will start junior Cardale Jones right after announcing that sophomore J.T. Barrett would be the starter for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, Barrett is suspended for this contest after being cited for driving under the influence of alcohol. Now, the Buckeyes will need to readjust to their former starter. “They’re a little bit different styles,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “J.T., he’s a little bit more a spread quarterback where he reads ends and Cardale, although he can do it, we have a little bit more drop-back pass game in.”

The good news for the Buckeyes is that they’ve never lost with Jones starting, going 10-0 since last season. Ohio State enters this contest looking for their 29th consecutive Big Ten victory, a record currently held by Florida State (1992-95). Offensive coordinator Ed Warinner  doesn’t expect the change at quarterback to affect the Buckeyes’ ability to win games. “We feel like we have a good answer for the red zone right now, and we’ve kind of evolved into what we’re going to do there, and we know what we can do,” he said. “(Jones) practices as part of that all through the last few weeks, even though J.T. has primarily done it. We’ll use the things that play to his strengths.”

Jones has passed for 1,266 yards and seven touchdowns against five interceptions. Former starter Braxton Miller, a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, is now the No. 2 quarterback. “He’s a two-time Big Ten player of the year at quarterback,” Decker said. “That’s all you need to say. The kid’s a playmaker and he’ll do whatever the team needs him to do.”

My Expert Game Analysis, Pick & Prediction

The Buckeyes will undoubtedly win this Week 10 affair against the overmatched Golden Gophers, but I believe they’re going to struggle to cover the spread and apparently, 55 percent of the betting public agrees. The Golden Gophers have gone a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a bye week while also racking up an incendiary 14-4 ATS mark in their last 18 conference games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Buckeyes are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games following a bye week and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Conversely, with Ohio State going 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following an SU win and 1-4 ATS in their L/5 home games, I like the Gophers for the upset!

My Pick: Ohio State 28 Minnesota 17