MI State linebacker Darien Harris, who earned a journalism degree in May, is a huge Michael Wilbon fan and said: “I can talk sports – any sports – and love to voice my opinion”. Bet shops are offering 52.5 or 53 for totals.
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Check out our college football odds page for instant line updates on every game. Also read the thoughts of John Avello , head oddsmaker at The Wynn, on this game and several others for the week.
#10 Baylor at #6 Oklahoma State – 7:30pm on FOX: Both of these teams dealt with a double-digit deficit during the second half of last week’s games, but only the sixth-ranked Cowboys could come from behind and keep their undefeated season alive. Its only conference loss in the last four seasons came in the 2013 Big Ten championship game to MI State. We were supposed to see them running unencumbered in space, either as H-backs or receivers, but they’ve been stopped in their tracks by injuries or other issues not readily apparent.
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last five games.
LB Ed Davis (knee), out for season; CB Vayante Copeland (fractured vertebra), out for season; OT Dennis Finley (leg), out for season; S Jalen Watts-Jackson (hip), out for season; S RJ Williamson (biceps), out; OT Kodi Kieler (upper body), questionable; DT Joel Heath (leg), probable.
The first 10 games of the season for the Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) seemed like preliminaries. Cook has passed for 2,482 yards, 21 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The 6-6, 275-pounder leads the Big Ten with 12.5 tackles for lost yardage. he has 15 TFLs overall and tied a career-high with three last week at IL when the Buckeyes charted 11. The Buckeyes are 13-point favorites as it hosts MI State Saturday afternoon at 2:30 CT on ABC.
MI State: Connor Cook, the quarterback from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who was not recruited by Ohio State, has a 32-4 record as a starter, including 21-2 in Big Ten play. Although Ohio State is in the same shoes as previous year – they’re not the same team and all the teams they have played were not even considered a challenge. J.T. Barrett threw for 300 yards, 3 TDs and zero picks on 16 of 26 passes, in addition to 14 carries for 86 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Their offensive output is down on a season ago, but to counter that their defence has improved in most of the major categories of measurement. You swept away the doubters, you did not “Clemson” any games, and you brought your own guts!
It’s not time to panic – there’s always Ezekiel Elliott to save the day – but Ohio State’s bid for a repeat national championship now hangs in the balance.
The Buckeyes’ D is the most efficient in the nation against FBS foes, allowing a paltry. It’s excellent 4.1 yards per play is third-best. Turnovers, however, are minimal this season.
The situation is better than it has been but both of those players will be at sizable matchup disadvantages and without their best showings of the year, OSU will be able to take to the skies with relative ease.
Watch the weather: Rain is expected at game time. Check wunderground for current forecasts.
“You have to have the all-time winningest quarterback in the program in that environment in Columbus”, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, told the Tribune on Tuesday in Chicago.
The Spartans tussled into the fourth quarter with a few weaker teams early in the season, needed a miracle to beat rival MI, and then lost at Nebraska on a debatable touchdown. Ohio State isn’t the only team he’s had success against.
Urban Meyer, ever unsatisfied, said “This is not a flawless team, I’ve never seen a ideal team…we’ve got a long way to go, there are certain area we’re not playing very good”.
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MI State no doubt is capable.
