After the Ohio State Buckeyes failed to make the Big Ten championship game last year, watching Michigan State take a close game on their home field, one expects nothing less from Urban Meyer than to go back to the drawing board and make a few changes. Let’s take a look at what we can expect to see in this college football betting preview for Ohio State.
Ohio State College Football Betting Preview
On offense, the Buckeyes averaged 35.7 points per game. However, when they needed a key score against Michigan State, they simply could not get it. That average also included some really big scoring totals against the cupcakes on their schedule, so now the Buckeyes’ offensive coaching staff are going to try to find ways to speed up the offense a little. This won’t be a Big Ten manifestation of Chip Kelly’s Blur offense, but it will be quicker, running through J.T. Barrett. The problem will be that his skilled receivers have all left, and Ezekiel Elliott has entered the NFL. This means that Barrett will have to get the most out of the next crop of skill players. Billy Price and Pat Elflein return to anchor one of the stronger offensive lines in the nation. Curtis Samuel should emerge as a talented wideout. Torrance Gibson, Austin Mack and Parris Campbell are competing to be the other featured wideout. Last year, Ohio State ranked #100 in the nation in passing, so this has to improve.
Ohio State Odds to win the 2017 College Football Championship: +650
Ohio State Odds to win the 2016 Big 10 Conference Championship: +125
There are no worries on the defensive side of the ball, as it will remain athletic and speedy. They did lose their defensive coordinator and six big starters, so there may be a bit of a learning curve to start, but Sam Hubbard and Tyquan Lewis will tear in off the corners on the pass rush, and Nick Bosa appears to have the center of the D-line nailed down. Raekwon McMillan will become an All-American at linebacker, and Malik Hooker is getting rave reviews for his work at safety.
So what are the keys to a big season for the Buckeyes? One will be if they can stick with a strong running game. One reason why the Buckeyes fell to Michigan State in the 2013 Big Ten title game is that the Buckeyes stopped pounding the ball in crucial situations, even though they ran for 273 yards in that game. If you look at the tape down the stretch in last year’s home loss to the Spartans, you see the same thing, trying to get too cute with the ball when the chips are down. Yes, you want to see more production from your passing game, but that is going to be a complement for the running attack when you have J.T. Barrett at the helm. If Barrett can galvanize the offense this year, he should be in the conversation when Heisman Trophy lists start growing.
This coming year, the Buckeyes should be able to (mostly) cruise to the two matchups at the end of the slate — Michigan State and Michigan. They also face Wisconsin and Oklahoma on the road, but other than that, it’s pretty clear sailing. It won’t surprise me to see Ohio State in that Big Ten title game this year as Michigan State has to rebuild a bit and Michigan is still a couple of years away.
