Buckeyes vs. Trojans
Contrary to what the schedule says, the college football season really starts this week for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Up until this Saturday, the Buckeyes have been playing ?Cupcake? competition racking up easy wins?ok they almost lost to the Ohio Bobcats?but with Ohio State (2-0 overall) heading west to play the University of Southern California Trojans (1-0 overall), not only do the Buckeyes face a top team, the NCAA gets its first true marquee matchup that could very well affect the national title picture.
Jim Rome?s Jungle radio show has been inundated with calls from SoCal fans knocking the mid-westerners for ?bad teeth? and ?roosters for alarm clocks? so the hype is in full swing.
SPORTSBETTING.COM has the Trojans listed as 10.5-point favorites.
If the Buckeyes are to cover the points, they?ll need to control the ball on offense and that starts with a good ground game.
One of the reasons OSU failed to cover the 33.5-point spread against Ohio (a 26-14 Buckeye win) is because RB Chris ?Beanie? Wells sat out the game with a foot injury.
?Beanie? is not only integral to the OSU offense; he?s also a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, listed at +800 to take the honor. As of Thursday, he was downgraded to ?doubtful? for this tilt.
This is rare situation for the Buckeyes, as they find themselves as double digit dogs, a position ?The? Ohio State has only been a DD dog once since the 1999 season, and that was in their 2002 bowl game vs. Miami.
However, Ohio State does show up when they are underdogs of more than 8-points, as the last seven instances they have been a very profitable 6-1 against the spread.
USC, on the other hand, has been a mediocre 10-10 ATS as favorites of more than 8-points in their last 20 games in that situation.
The Trojans usually come out fast in September, amassing an 18-2 record straight up, while posting a 12-8 record ATS in the last 20 games in the first month of the college football season.
Ohio State is pretty steady coming out of the gate as well going 19-1 SU and 11-7-1 in its last 20 games in September (a line wasn?t set for the Buckeyes? game against Youngstown St.).
However, the last time Ohio State lost a game of significance this early was around the same time back in 2005 when they played the then No. 2 team, Texas Longhorns.
The Buckeyes lost 25-22 at ?The Horseshoe?, failing to cover as a 1-point favorite.
While Big Ten snobs will preach of the virtues of their conference and turn their noses up at the Pac-10, the Trojans have feasted on Ohio State?s conference brethren, though not on Ohio State themselves recently, going 8-1 SU and ATS in the last nine games vs. the said Big Ten.
The Buckeyes have fared similarly, or to be more exact, identically against the Pac-10 going 8-1 SU and 8-1 ATS.
The betting public is jumping on the USC bandwagon so far in this tilt, which isn?t surprising after OSU?s easy schedule and their struggles to put away Ohio.
SPORTSBETTING.COM is showing 71% of the betting volume coming in on the Trojans.
The weekend draws nigh, summer draws to a close. Enjoy your weekend and the game.
Visit SPORTSBETTING.COM to check out all the NCAA lines for this week?s action.
Contrary to what the schedule says, the college football season really starts this week for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Up until this Saturday, the Buckeyes have been playing ?Cupcake? competition racking up easy wins?ok they almost lost to the Ohio Bobcats?but with Ohio State (2-0 overall) heading west to play the University of Southern California Trojans (1-0 overall), not only do the Buckeyes face a top team, the NCAA gets its first true marquee matchup that could very well affect the national title picture.
Jim Rome?s Jungle radio show has been inundated with calls from SoCal fans knocking the mid-westerners for ?bad teeth? and ?roosters for alarm clocks? so the hype is in full swing.
SPORTSBETTING.COM has the Trojans listed as 10.5-point favorites.
If the Buckeyes are to cover the points, they?ll need to control the ball on offense and that starts with a good ground game.
One of the reasons OSU failed to cover the 33.5-point spread against Ohio (a 26-14 Buckeye win) is because RB Chris ?Beanie? Wells sat out the game with a foot injury.
?Beanie? is not only integral to the OSU offense; he?s also a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, listed at +800 to take the honor. As of Thursday, he was downgraded to ?doubtful? for this tilt.
This is rare situation for the Buckeyes, as they find themselves as double digit dogs, a position ?The? Ohio State has only been a DD dog once since the 1999 season, and that was in their 2002 bowl game vs. Miami.
However, Ohio State does show up when they are underdogs of more than 8-points, as the last seven instances they have been a very profitable 6-1 against the spread.
USC, on the other hand, has been a mediocre 10-10 ATS as favorites of more than 8-points in their last 20 games in that situation.
The Trojans usually come out fast in September, amassing an 18-2 record straight up, while posting a 12-8 record ATS in the last 20 games in the first month of the college football season.
Ohio State is pretty steady coming out of the gate as well going 19-1 SU and 11-7-1 in its last 20 games in September (a line wasn?t set for the Buckeyes? game against Youngstown St.).
However, the last time Ohio State lost a game of significance this early was around the same time back in 2005 when they played the then No. 2 team, Texas Longhorns.
The Buckeyes lost 25-22 at ?The Horseshoe?, failing to cover as a 1-point favorite.
While Big Ten snobs will preach of the virtues of their conference and turn their noses up at the Pac-10, the Trojans have feasted on Ohio State?s conference brethren, though not on Ohio State themselves recently, going 8-1 SU and ATS in the last nine games vs. the said Big Ten.
The Buckeyes have fared similarly, or to be more exact, identically against the Pac-10 going 8-1 SU and 8-1 ATS.
The betting public is jumping on the USC bandwagon so far in this tilt, which isn?t surprising after OSU?s easy schedule and their struggles to put away Ohio.
SPORTSBETTING.COM is showing 71% of the betting volume coming in on the Trojans.
The weekend draws nigh, summer draws to a close. Enjoy your weekend and the game.
Visit SPORTSBETTING.COM to check out all the NCAA lines for this week?s action.
