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No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (-8.5) vs. Ohio | over/under 52.5
Game Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Seattle, Washington
TV: CBS
Radio: 97.1 FM/1460 AM
Throughout this week, I have been a bit surprised by how much the national media, and even the betting markets, have been siding with the Washington Huskies. While I do believe that they are a good team, from the games that I have watched and the numbers that they have put up, I have not been overly impressed.
While Demond Williams Jr.. Jonah Coleman, and Denzel Boston are all great offensive talents, their numbers haven’t been overwhelming. In fact, in nearly every statistical passing category, the Buckeyes’ Julian Sayin is as good or better than Williams; completion percentage, yards per game, passing touchdowns, QBR, yards per attempt, all favor the OSU sophomore.
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Then through the air, Jeremiah Smith leads the Big Ten with 105 yards per game to Boston’s 84, and while the Buckeyes haven’t yet seemed to settle on a primary back (and probably won’t if they don’t have to), they still are averaging 5.59 yards per carry to Washington’s 6. So giving the Huskies’ numbers some context, puts a fairly substantical dent in the fear-level for me.
Especially when you couple that with what they’ve done on defense. They are 10th in the Big Ten in scoring defense, 11th in passing defense, and eighth in total defense. And with the injuries on that side of the ball, I find it difficult to imagine Washington being able to keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone.
Now, in fairness, Washington does have a not-so secret weapon as Husky Stadium is known for being one of the best home-field advantages in all of sports, let alone college football. Though not confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records, but the 70,000 seat venue claims to be the loudest stadium in college football at 133.6 decibels. Although, The Horseshoe of the South Neyland Stadium in Tennessee does claim to have hit 137.
With all of that aside, I think that this will be another point in the Buckeyes favor proving that they are the best team in college football.
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I predict Julian Sayin will throw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, while Bo Jackson will assume the mantle as the de facto RB1 and will lead all running backs with 125 yards on the ground.
On defense, Caleb Downs will have a day that will remind the country why he is the best defender in college football. While I think both he and Arvell Reese will be used to spy on Williams and keep him contained, it will be Downs’ versatility that ends up negating any advantage the dual-threat quarterback has on the game.
Matt’s Predictions: Ohio State 35, Washington 17
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