Rutgers At Ohio State College Football Week 5 Expert Predictions

Posted by Henry Watkins on Thursday,September 29, 2016 6:19, EDT in

NCAA College Football News

In order for a team to have a legitimate shot at the college football playoff, they need to be able to navigate the rather tricky waters of conference play. There have been few teams better than that over the past few years than the Ohio State Buckeyes. Since Urban Meyer arrived back in 2012, the Buckeyes have gone a staggering 31-1 in Big 10 play, which is why they are always there or thereabouts come the end of the season. The conference is starting to get stronger, though, and Ohio State are going to have bigger fish to fry before this season comes to an end, but they should be able to have a pretty comfortable weekend against a Rutgers Scarlet Knights team that they have totally dominated in the past two years. The biggest question waiting to be answered this coming Saturday is whether or not the Buckeyes will be able to cover the 38.5-point online betting spread, but if the last two years are anything to go by, it may well be possible.

A Closer Look At The Scarlet Knights At Buckeyes College Football Week 5 Expert Predictions

When: Saturday, October 1 at 12 PM EST
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus
TV: BTN
Live Stream: NCAA Live
NCAAF Odds: TBA

Why bet on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

After getting blown out by Washington in the opening week of the season, Rutgers Scarlet Knights have been able to right the ship. They followed that defeat up with back to back wins against Howard and New Mexico, and were very competitive in a 14-7 loss to Iowa last weekend. They have been a good bet ATS in the past couple of weeks, covering both times. That said, they have failed to cover in their last two games versus Ohio State where they were beaten by 39 and 42 points, respectively. If the Scarlet Knights are going to keep this thing respectable, they are going to have to stop turning the ball over, which they have done at least once in each of their 4 games this season.

Why bet on the Ohio State Buckeyes

Perhaps the biggest issue for the Buckeyes coming into this one will be in shaking off some rust after having a bye week last weekend. While that may have proven to be an issue against a better opponent, the fact of the matter is that they should be able to win this one quite comfortably without having to bring their A-game. QB J.T. Barrett is off to a fast start this season, and we can expect to see him chucking the ball all over the field on Saturday. The fact that he can also beat teams with his legs should be enough to keep this Rutgers defense off balance all day long.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

As mentioned earlier, Ohio State have had their way with Rutgers in the past two meetings, and I really don’t see anything to suggest that his game will be any different. The Buckeyes will want to get out to a fast start after a week off, and if they do, they’ll be off to the races.