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Where has the time gone? Believe it or not, only three weeks remain of the regular season in college football as the second weekend in November will be kicked off with a Big Ten clash between the Indiana Hoosiers and the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. It is about that time to check out our college football odds series where our Indiana-Ohio State prediction and pick will be revealed.
On the verge of losing bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season after going 2-10 a year ago, the Hoosiers are running on fumes in the final weeks of the regular season. Currently on a six-game losing streak, life won't get any easier this weekend in a difficult matchup with the Buckeyes in Columbus. However, the Hoosiers will look to shock the college football world and seek to beat OSU for the first time since 1988.
Heading into last weekend's matchup with the lowly Northwestern Wildcats, the Buckeyes did not play well at all but did enough to garner a two-touchdown win on the road. With only 21 points on offense coming in that contest, can Ohio State bounce back with a huge point total at home against the Hoosiers?
Here are the Indiana-Ohio State college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Indiana-Ohio State Odds
Indiana: +39.5 (-106)
Ohio State: -39.5 (-114)
Over: 58.5 (-110)
Under: 58.5 (-110)
Why Indiana Could Cover The Spread
It seems like an eternity ago that Indiana started off the season 3-0, but since their last victory coming on Sept. 17, Indiana has been plagued with poor play, untimely injuries, and even some bad luck. All in all, this Hoosiers squad is struggling mightily and are on life support with six losses. After winning Big Ten Coach of the Year back in the COVID-shortened season in 2020, Tom Allen has since gone a combined 5-16 and has struggled to build off that momentum that put Bloomington back on the map with football.
Luckily, if there is anything going Indiana's way ahead of Saturday's showdown in the Shoe, it is the fact that the spread in this game is absolutely ginormous. Sitting at +39.5, while IU would love to win the game, covering the spread doesn't seem too out of the picture if they can just play at an admirable level.
Without a doubt, it will be important for Indiana to rely heavily on the run game and try to steal a page out of Northwestern's blueprint of inflicting some damage upon a Buckeyes' run defense that gave up over 200 yards on the ground a week ago. While the Hoosiers are only averaging 78 rushing yards to date this season, setting the tone by pounding the rock may do wonders for a scuffling offense.
The Hoosiers could cover the spread by winning the time-of-possession battle, which also falls on how effective they can be in the running game. Keeping one of the top offenses off the field will be critical, because IU's defense has been swiss cheese all year long with an average of 423 yards allowed.
Why Ohio State Could Cover The Spread
While few are arguing whether or not the Buckeyes can win their 27th straight game against Indiana, the debate is instead if Ohio State can cover a monumental 39.5-point spread after only generating a measly 21 points against a worse Northwestern crew. Even the best teams in the nation have sluggish weeks, and there is reason to believe that the Buckeyes will bounce back in a big way in the Horseshoe. The good news? There isn't expected to be a massive wind storm on campus that will limit what the Buckeyes can do through the air.
In order to cover the spread, OSU needs to stick to their guns and play like they are capable of playing. At first glance, there isn't really one area on the gridiron that the Buckeyes don't have an advantage in comparison to the Hoosiers, so getting the ball out in space to their speedy playmakers in the passing game will be a high priority.
In addition, like the Hoosiers' game plan, OSU will want to feed their running backs the ball often as they are accumulating 193 rushing yards per game against the opposition this year. With Indiana struggling to stop the rush this season, Ohio State may be running all the way to Cleveland if given the chance.
Not to mention this is the perfect game for the Buckeyes' defense to get right after getting gouged by the Wildcats. Although Ohio State only surrendered seven points to Northwestern, they inexplicably were outgained 285-283 in total yards and cannot afford another performance like that on both sides of the ball if they are going to cover the spread. Don't be surprised if Ohio State comes into this one with a whole lot of anger after not playing their best last Saturday.
Final Indiana-Ohio State Prediction & Pick
While Indiana has shown glimpses of being a stingy squad, they simply do not have the firepower to keep up with a national championship contending team like Ohio State.
Final Indiana-Ohio State Prediction & Pick: Ohio State -39.5 (-114)
