A matchup of Top 25 Big Ten teams takes place on Saturday when the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to take on the 25th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers. Currently the College Football Odds for the game have the Buckeyes favored by two touchdowns.
Ohio State has risen in the rankings, especially coming off a big win at Michigan State last weekend. The Buckeyes scored 49 points in that game, the most against the Spartans defense all season. Oregon posted 46 on Michigan State, but the Buckeyes were able to eclipse that.
J.T. Barrett has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country this season and tossed 300 yards with three touchdowns while adding two rushing TDs as well against Michigan State. Barrett on the season has accounted for 34 combined touchdowns this season. His dual-threat option is going to cause Minnesota to have to stay home on defense, which could benefit the Buckeyes by getting one-on-one situations vertically down the field.
Minnesota has dropped eight in this series, covering the number in only two of those games. The last seven matchups between the schools has seen the Buckeyes win each by at least 13 points, which makes sense with the current point spread.
Ohio State has not lost at Minnesota since 1981.
Minnesota is coming off a massive win over Iowa last week, pushing them to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten standings. The Golden Gophers have made a lot of strides under coach Jerry Kill and last week showcased that as they beat up on the Hawkeyes 51-14. Minnesota is a bad loss to Illinois away from potentially being ranked inside the Top 10 as well. Had they picked up a victory in that game they'd be 8-1 with their only loss to TCU. But the final three games for the Golden Gophers will see them play Ohio State and then back-to-back road games at Nebraska and Wisconsin. Going to be tough.
In this one, Minnesota will want to get David Cobb going early. He's run for better than 1,200 yards but will be tough sledding against an Ohio State defense that allows only just over 21 points per game.
Ohio State can score points and they'll win this game, but Minnesota is going to keep this one close. It's going to be cold, Minnesota will run the football and control clock and play well at home.
Free Pick: Ohio State 31, Minnesota 23
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