The No. 1 The Ohio State University Buckeyes battle the Western Michigan University Broncos this week in a game that will feature the country’s fourth-leading receiver, Daniel Braverman (398 yards, 3 TDs). The Buckeyes have gone 3-0 thus far, while the Broncos are 1-2. The game will air Saturday, Sep 26 at 11:30 a.m. ET on ABC and the ESP2.
In last week’s matchup, Ohio State defeated Northern Illinois 20-13. Michael Thomas had a quality performance in the victory, pulling in three receptions for 60 yards and one TD. Western Michigan smashed Murray State 52-20 in its matchup. Daniel Braverman had a great game for the Broncos, grabbing 14 receptions for 167 yards and two TDs. Corey Davis had a great game as well, adding 139 yards and two TDs on six catches.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is unavailable currently and the Broncos are a big 27-point underdog.
Sitting at 3-0 Straight Up (SU) and 1-2 Against The Spread (ATS), the Buckeyes will look to improve heading into Week 4. The Ohio State’s offense will face a weak Broncos run defense that ranks 109th in the country with 224 rushing yards allowed per game. Turning to the Buckeyes defense, there are several areas to keep an eye on. The Broncos is not likely to run the ball very often at Ohio State. They are one of the least-effective running teams in the nation, averaging 93.3 rushing yards per game. The Broncos will need to stop Ohio State’s defense from getting to their quarterbacks in order to be successful in this game. The Buckeyes rank third in the nation in sacks with four per game. The Buckeyes are one of the best in the country at scoring in the fourth quarter, averaging 11.7 points.
As for their opponent, the Broncos head into Week 4 with records of 2-1 ATS and 1-2 SU. Western Michigan’s game plan centers around passing the football. The Broncos pass 39.7 times per game. Moving on to the Western Michigan defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Buckeyes. Stopping the pass doesn’t have to be Western Michigan’s first priority since the Buckeyes aren’t putting up scary numbers through the air. Ohio State ranks 105th in the nation with a passing average of 176.3 yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – OhioSt, ATS Winner – OhioSt
Notes
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Ohio State’s last 17 games.
Ohio State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Both teams are 1-0 SU when leading at the half this season.
The Ohio State passing attack is ranked only 105th in the country, while the Western Michigan pass defense is ranked 47th. The Broncos passing game is ranked just 18th, compared to the fifth-ranked pass defense of the Buckeyes.
