The No. 9 Michigan State Spartans (9-1 5-1) travel to meet the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0) this week in a huge Big 10 matchup. The country’s third-leading rusher, Ezekiel Elliott (1,425 yards, 16 TDs), is a player to watch in this matchup. It will begin Saturday, Nov 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ABC.
Ohio State smashed Illinois 28-3 last week. Ezekiel Elliott had a great game on the ground in the win, rushing for 181 yards and two TDs on 27 attempts. Michael Thomas had a big game as well, totaling 76 receiving yards and a TD on six receptions. Michigan State also won last week’s performance, defeating Maryland 24-7. Macgarrett Kings Jr. had a quality performance for the Spartans, pulling in four passes for 48 yards and one TD. Gerald Holmes also had a big game with 83 rushing yards and a TD on 18 carries.
Ohio State is a 13-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 52 points.
Despite a 10-0 Straight Up (SU) record this season, the Buckeyes have not fared well Against The Spread (ATS) with a 4-6 record. The Ohio State rushing attack has averaged 250.0 rushing yards in the last five games. Crossing over to the defensive side of the ball, the Buckeyes look to have a distinct advantage in certain spots. Expect the Spartans to have a tough time running against the 24th-ranked Buckeyes run defense, which gives up 126.8 yards per game on the ground. Ohio State usually finishes games strong, averaging 10.8 points in the fourth quarter.
On the other side, the Spartans are unsuccessful ATS with a 3-7 record this season even though they have a 9-1 SU record. Over their last five games, the Spartans have a SU record of 4-1 and a 3-2 record ATS for those betting with them. Michigan State’s quarterback and wide receivers look to keep their strong passing attack rolling. Over the past five games, they’ve managed an impressive 310.4 yards through the air. Over the last five games, the Spartans turned it up on defense, only allowing an average of 237.2 passing yards per game. If the Buckeyes don’t do a good job holding on to the ball, they’ll have a hard time against the Spartans defense, which ranks 14th in the country in turnovers with 2.1 per game. The Spartans rarely get penalized when they take the field. The team earns the 21st-fewest penalty yards in the country with 43 per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ohio State, ATS Winner – Ohio State, O/U – Over
Notes
Ohio State is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games.
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Ohio State’s last 9 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ohio State’s last 6 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Ohio State’s last 15 games at home.
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Ohio State is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Ohio State is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing Michigan State.
Ohio State is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Michigan State.
Michigan State is 7-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Ohio State is 7-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Ohio State is undefeated (4-0 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle.
Since the beginning of last year, Ohio State is a perfect 15-0 SU against Big 10 opponents, while Michigan State is 12-2 SU against conference foes.
