Betting Line: Ohio State -9.5 | O/U 52.5
After getting the week off, Ohio State opens up Big Ten play next Saturday against Washington, with a 3:30 p.m. ET road contest (12:30 p.m. local time) at Husky Stadium.
Like the Buckeyes, the Huskies have opened up the season with a 3-0 record, coming off back-to-back dominant performances against UC Davis and Washington State. Washington won its rivalry game 59-24 over the Cougars, entering the fourth quarter in a close 31-24 contest before ripping off 28 unanswered points in the final frame to run away with it.
Jedd Fisch’s offense is led by quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who might be one of the most underrated players in college football. The dual-threat sophomore has been fantastic thus far for the Huskies, completing more than 73% of his passes for 778 yards with six touchdowns and no picks, while also rushing for an additional 220 yards and two scores.
Williams Jr. has his fair share of weapons as well, led by Jonah Coleman at running back and Denzel Boston at wide receiver.
Coleman leads all of FBS with nine touchdowns on the season, with no other running back in the country having more than seven, while averaging an impressive 6.8 yards per carry and adding another TD through the air. Boston is perhaps the best non-Ohio State pass-catcher in the Big Ten, hauling in 16 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns so far this year.
Ohio State’s defense is going to have its hands full, but so far Matt Patricia and his group have been up to the task.
The Buckeyes rank No. 2 in the nation allowing only 5.3 points per game. They have let up only two touchdowns in their first three games, and have held opponents to 0-for-4 scoring in the red zone as the only program in the country to have not yet allowed a point in the red zone.
That defensive effort has been led by Arvell Reese, who will likely be asked to do a lot to contain Williams Jr. next weekend. The team leader in tackles with 20 to go along with two sacks, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups, Reese did an excellent job as a QB spy against Ohio’s Parker Navarro. Expect to see more of that against the Huskies.
Ohio State’s offense, of course, is led by Jeremiah Smith, who has racked up 332 yards and four total touchdowns thus far. If you are somehow able to contain college football’s best overall player, you still have to deal with Carnell Tate on the other side, who has 219 yards and three touchdowns of his own.
On the ground, the Buckeyes are still trying to figure out the leader of the room, but Bo Jackson has made a compelling case to be RB1. The freshman has ran for 217 yards in only two games, averaging an insane 12.1 yards per carry. West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson seems to be the team’s best short-yardage back, providing value as a power runner down near the goal line.
This is going to be a big test for Ohio State. Ryan Day’s group pulled off an impressive victory in Week 1 over Texas, but this is the team’s first road contest in what will be a hostile environment against a very good football team.
All lines and odds are presented by FanDuel Sportsbook.
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