4* Ohio State Buckeyes +7 -110
1* Ohio State Buckeyes ML +240
Everyone knows the Buckeyes suck and are overrated. My grandmother at dinner the other night even knows how bad USC is going to spank the Buckeyes.....AGAIN. It's common sports knowledge. And that's why this line has tremendous value.
The books could have hung USC -9, USC -13.5, USC -16.5, they'd still be the heavy public play. Getting the full TD in this game is pretty nice I must say.
Sports bettors biggest problem is they only remember last week. USC 56-3 over whoever, and everyone knows the Buckeyes almost lost to Navy. If they can barely beat Navy, how can they possibly beat USC? That's not the way the world works, and that's not the way sports works.
Of the past few years with Ohio State you had an over confident, cocky team playing a super underrated athletic Florida team with a tremendous coach for the title and they got waxed. Last year you had Ohio State travel out to California on a long west coast trip, with a rookie QB, against the current Jets starting QB and they got waxed. And the examples go on and on.
One of the biggest factors in sports, especially college football, is putting these guys on a plane and sending them to another coast. It plays a huge factor to fly cross country in a big game. It turns LSU into a near victim against a winless Washington team. It turns a good Penn State team into mush in the Rose Bowl. It turns a good Cal team into a blowout at Tennessee, and the next year it turns Tennessee into mush at Cal. USC is 1-4 ATS last 5 games as a road favorite, and that was with an experienced QB.
If there was EVER a year to beat the Trojans this is it for the Buckeyes, and trust me this game means more to them than it does the Trojans. The Buckeyes have to get this unathletic, can't-hang-with-the-athletes monkey off their backs. This is a super important game to them for respect, recruiting, rankings, everything.
So why this year? Why is this time any different?
First, my favorite sports betting angle: Always fade rookie QBs making their first start on the ROAD. I can't tell you how different it is, I can't tell you how bad these guys crap their pants, it happens 80% of the time.
So what? USC has this STABLE of running backs, right? Sure, but Ohio State's strength as a team and as a conference I might add, is stopping the run. You beat Ohio State by passing all over their ass, and mixing in the run. You don't beat them by trying to line up and smash them in the mouth. That's what you call Big Ten Football, and that's what USC will have to do in this game with the teenage QB behind center.
If you look at every game Ohio State has gotten waxed, the one common theme is everyone passes on them, and the running game has mixed results at best. Afterall, Sanchez threw for 4 TDs last year vs Penn State and 4 more vs. Ohio State, McCoy threw for 4 more against Ohio State in the bowl game. And so on.
If USC's plan is to come in, and ease Barkley into this game, and try to run the ball, that plays right into Ohio State's hands.
A lot of new pieces for USC on defense, and they don't have much to go off of after Ohio State played very vanilla last week in their look ahead game.
The equalizer and X Factor in this game is Terrell Pryor. He was signed to be the savior of Ohio State football, he's going into his 2nd year, and he's playing USC at home with a freshman QB making his first road start.
Ohio State 27
USC 23
