College Football Odds: Ohio State increasing favorite vs W. Michigan
The Ohio State Buckeyes extended the nation's longest winning streak last Saturday in improving to 16-0 straight up over their last 16 games, but the game was far too close for comfort. Ohio State will be looking for a stronger effort, especially from the offense, this Saturday at home against the Western Michigan Broncos.
Ohio State is a 31-point betting favorite on Saturday according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Buckeyes opened as a 27-point favorite, but have steadily been bet on early in the week to move the line to Ohio State -31.
Going off as a 34-point favorite at home against the Northern Illinois Huskies last week, Ohio State was supposed to have a walk in the park of a game. Instead, the Buckeyes were tied 10-10 at the half and needed a defensive stand on Northern Illinois' final drive to lock up a 20-13 victory.
Cardale Jones was just 4-of-9 with 36 passing yards and two interceptions, and J.T. Barrett wasn't much better going 11-of-19 for 97 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Head Coach Urban Meyer has indicated that his two-quarterback system may be part of the problem, and he plans to move forward with a clear starter that he will name sometime this week. The Buckeyes are only 1-5 ATS in their last six games as a favorite of 30 points or more according to the OddsShark College Football Database.
The Western Michigan Broncos put up 14 points in the second half of their 37-24 home loss to the Michigan State Spartans to pick up a backdoor cover as a 16-point underdog. The Broncos followed that performance up with a total dud, losing to Georgia Southern 43-17 at home as a 5-point favorite.
Georgia Southern put up a staggering 413 rushing yards on the Broncos, numbers that should have Ohio State back Ezekiel Elliot licking his chops. Western Michigan is 0-14 SU and 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games against Big Ten foes.
The total for Saturday's Broncos vs. Buckeyes betting matchup is currently set at 58 points. The UNDER is 2-0 in Ohio State's last two games and 10-3 in Western Michigan's last 13 games on the road.
