Like the Washington Huskies, Myles Gaskin had a disappointing 2018 campaign. Although the Huskies won another PAC 12 title and Gaskin ended up with more than 1,000 yards rushing, much more was expected from both Gaskin and the team. Still, Washington can’t be too disappointed with their first trip to Pasadena in nearly two decades, and Gaskin will have a chance to go out on a high note against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Online sportsbook BetDSI currently has a prop bet on how big of a day Gaskin will have in his final collegiate game.
How many total yards will Myles Gaskin accumulate against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl?
Over 109.5 -115
Under 109.5 -115
Gaskin became Washington’s all-time leading rusher in the season opener against Auburn, but this will probably go down as his least productive season with the Huskies. His numbers from his first three years are incredibly similar. He finished with over 1,300 yards rushing every year from 2015 to 2017, and he carried the ball between 222 and 237 times in all three seasons.
Related: College Football Betting Guide | Bowl Betting
However, he has not been as productive this season. Although he has around the same number of carries coming into the Rose Bowl, he is averaging almost a yard less per carry than he did in any of his previous three seasons. Losing some key starters along the offensive line led to Gaskin being bottled up more, and opponents started to crowd the line as they lost faith in Jake Browning’s ability to beat them through the air.
Over the last half of the season, the Huskies moved away from Browning and relied more on the ground game. He only threw more than 25 passes twice in Washington’s last seven games, and he threw for more than 200 passing yards twice in the Huskies’ last six games.
Gaskin saw an uptick in his numbers as a result. He had to sit out against Colorado and California due to injury, but once he returned he ran for 135 yards or more in his last three regular season games.
Washington is likely going to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible against Ohio State. The Buckeyes defense was not very good at stopping the run this year, and they gave up a number of big plays on the ground. Ohio State had the 79th best rushing defense in the country according to S&P+, and Gaskin could have a huge day.
He’ll need to have big numbers on the ground to go over his total, because he is not a real threat in the passing game. Gaskin has caught a total of 62 passes in four years as Washington’s primary running back, and it’s hard to see the Huskies throwing to him out of the backfield now.
Although many will like his chances of going over considering what we’ve seen from Ohio State’s defense this year, I like the ‘Under’. I think Ohio State will stack the line and make Browning beat their cornerbacks in single coverage, and their game plan will be to not let Gaskin beat them.
