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We're back with the college football edition of CLE’s Totals. Last week we got back to our winning ways as we easily cashed the over in the UCLA vs. USC game. That makes our record for these article plays 4-2 on the year. This week we head to the Big Ten for possibly the biggest game of the season in college football as Ohio State takes on, their rival, Michigan.
Ohio State comes into this one undefeated on the season at 11-0, ranked #2 in all the polls and tied for 1st in the Big Ten East with an 8-0 conference record. They are coming off a 43-30 win at Maryland last Saturday afternoon. Michigan like Ohio State is undefeated on the season at 11-0, is ranked #3 in all the polls and is tied with Ohio State for 1st in the Big Ten East with an 8-0 conference record. They are coming off a dramatic come from behind 19-17 win vs. Illinois.
We can all agree, ever since last year’s 42-27 upset by Michigan up at the Big House we have been waiting for this rematch this year. To add to the normal drama of this storied rivalry, we get our 1st undefeated matchup between these 2 storied programs since 2006. I believe Ohio State excels on Saturday, especially offensively. Yes, I remember how last year went but again this year it's in Columbus, a place Michigan has not played since 2018. On top of that, and I feel that this point isn’t being talked about enough, Michigan hasn’t played any team with offensive quality on the road this year. Three road games vs. the three worst yard per game offenses in the Big Ten in Iowa, Indiana and Rutgers. Those three also rank in the bottom five in points per game in the Big Ten. Do I think Michigan's defense is good? Yes, but do I think it can slow down the high octane express that is Ohio State's offense? No. Since Week 1, the only thing that’s slowed the Buckeyes offense down was 40 mph winds off Lake Michigan at Northwestern. If you take out that one weather game, the Ohio St. offense has averaged 49 points per game. That number increases at home where they have averaged almost 51 points in their seven home games this season. Also, in four games called by Ryan Day, Ohio St. has averaged 47.75 points vs Michigan, including scoring 62 in 2018, again the last time Michigan went to Columbus.
In the end, I believe that Ohio St. has too much on offense to be slowed down. C.J. Stroud is a top-2 Heisman candidate for a reason, and he has so many weapons at his disposal including Marvin Harrison Jr., who is arguably the top wide receiver in the country. Ohio St. has heard for a full year about what happened a year ago, how they aren’t tough enough, how last year was a turn in the rivalry and how Ryan Day was born on 3rd base. There is no snow storm this year, the game isn’t in Michigan and this year’s Ohio St. defense is light years ahead of last year's version. They should be able to get stops and turnovers especially with (if he even plays) Blake Corum not 100% for the Wolverines. On Saturday, I expect Ohio St. to take a year's worth of frustration out on Michigan. Let’s cash this play and move to 5-2 on these article plays.
The Play: Ohio St. TT o33.5 (+105)
Odds per DraftKings
By CLE Picks
@ClePicks
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