Ohio state defensively did not look great in week one they allowed 31 points to Minnesota although Ohio state won45-31 they still allowed 31 points to Minnesota on the Oregon side they also ended up facing Fresno state and even though they won it was only 31.24then how much of what you saw last week are you taking into this week's matchup between Oregon and Ohio state well.
I think what you
mentioned there are the two things that you really should take from both of those
teams into this matchup now against each other Ohio states secondary in that the defensive side of the football was going to be the question for the buckeyes
coming in it was the thing that held them back last year it was their biggest
question mark for this year not only did they allow 31points to Minnesota they
allowed 408yards of total offense 203 of those yards coming on the ground a lot
of that against Mohammed Ibrahim who unfortunately suffered a lower leg injury makes me sad, that's the season for the golden gophers.
I know still very very sad but maybe that's where Ohio state looks and say okay we're not playing mo
Ibrahim this week well I would not be that close because when you look at what
Oregon has offensively they are known for what they can do in the ground game
Chris feel one of the best running backs in the past-12 and what they do in that
scheme to highlight their running backs is very impressive Anthony brown the starter
for the Oregon ducks at quarterback, he was not overly impressive against Fresno
state last week.
In fact, it was the
Oregon defense that really set up the ducks to do any of the scorings they did
offensively they forced three fumbles and based on those three fumbles Oregon
scored 17 points but Oregon did not score in that third quarter against the
bulldogs a third quarter that allowed Fresno state to come back even take the
lead at one point and Fresno state covered big times 19 and a half-point
underdogs against Oregon.
I mentioned that defense for the ducks one of the biggest
question marks heading into this game is will their talented edge rusher Lavon Thibodeaux who a lot of people project to be the number one pick in this upcoming NFL draft will he play in Columbus tomorrow against the buckeyes he has been said
today-to-day from head coach Mario Cristobal his status is uncertain for tomorrow's contest against the Ohio state.
I don't love this game
from a betting perspective, I cannot wait to watch it at noon eastern time
tomorrow in the shoe for the first time with fans in over two years but the
numbers are weird for this game you mentioned the game last week against Minnesota ariel Ohio state sure was on the road in a regular-season opener but
was only a 13 and a half point favorite that's why I like the buckeyes they were
inside that number of14. it turned out to work out by the hook there in that the game between Ohio State and Minnesota now although they are back home they are
hosting the number 13 ranked teams in the country and are a bigger favorite this
week than they were last week there is a reason for that and I don't love the number because of it so Ohio state laying 14and a half points.
I think you have to respect that so then you look at the total of 63 and a half, it seems a little bit lofty for an Oregon team offensively that left a lot to be desired last week against Fresno State, and Ohio State should get some reinforcements in the secondary.
I expect this buckeyes defense to grow and grow each and every stage of his season so maybe you look to Ohio states team total it's at 38 and a half Lavon Thibodeau does not play and we get that ruling before kickoff tomorrow that might be where I look you could even look at Ohio state in the first half they're favored by seven and a half-past that key number of seven in that first half spread so here's my approach to this game look at it live try to get some in-game live opportunities.
Here on this games between Ohio
state and Oregon Ohio state starts slow or if Oregon takes an early lead or if
that total especially from a team total perspective drops on the buckeyes then go
and hammer the over on Ohio state you heard cjs Traub the freshman quarterback or the redshirt freshman quarterback last week he mentioned it after the game against Minnesota that he was nervous going onthe road for his first start he
did not look like himself in that first half well what did he do in the second half he threw four touchdown passes in an offense that looked incredibly explosive for Ohio state I think there might be some butterflies for CJ stroud playing under the home crowd in the horseshoe for the first time but then. I expect him to settle in that's why I would look for live totals in this game
specifically on that team total for Ohio state