Ohio State is still in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff while Nebraska might soon be hunting for a new head coach, heading into Saturday afternoon’s Big Ten match-up in Lincoln. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 5 in the first CFP rankings, with plenty of opportunities to move up, and style points may yet come into play. The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, are playing out the string on yet another lost season.
How are we playing this game with our free college football betting pick?
Ohio State-Nebraska Betting Odds
This week’s college football betting lines opened the Buckeyes as 15-point road favorites for this game, with an over/under of right around 62.5. Early betting action then goosed that total 3.5 points to 66.
Ohio State Betting Preview
The Buckeyes are 7-1 on the season after beating Penn State last week 33-24. Ohio State spotted the Nittany Lions the first seven points of the game but scored the next 17 and led 17-10 at the half. OSU then allowed PSU to tie the game early in the third quarter but took the lead for good with ten quick points and held on from there for the victory.
However, the Buckeyes came up short against the spread as 18-point favorites in part because they settled for three very short field goals among their six trips inside the Penn State red zone.
Ohio State out-gained Penn State 466-394, out-rushed the Lions 161-33, and won the turnover battle 3-1, creating a +13 points differential.
So the Buckeyes have out-gained every opponent this season and out-rushed each of their last six foes.
At 5-0 in conference play, Ohio State is tied with Michigan State for the lead in the Big Ten East, a game up on 4-1 Michigan. The Buckeyes host the Spartans in two weeks, then finish at the Big House.
Nebraska Betting Preview
The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, are 3-6 on the season after losing at home to Purdue last week 28-23. Nebraska took an early 7-0 lead and still led 17-14 at the half. But the ‘Huskers allowed the Boilermakers to score the first 14 points of the second half, got back to within one score with two minutes to go but couldn’t recover an onside kick and lost outright as seven-point favorites.
Nebraska actually out-gained Purdue 399-349 but lost the turnover battle 4-0, resulting in a -7 points differential. Just enough to lose.
The ‘Huskers have actually out-gained and out-rushed three of their last five opponents. Unfortunately, they only won one of those games.
At 1-5 in conference play, Nebraska sits in last place in the Big Ten West, and with just three wins total, the ‘Huskers need to win out from here to become bowl-eligible. After this week, they play at Wisconsin, then host Iowa, so good luck with that.
However, we should point out that each of Nebraska’s six losses this season has come by one score, including three-point losses to Michigan and Michigan State and a seven-point loss at Oklahoma. So the ‘Huskers have actually played good teams tough this season.
- Get more details: Buckeyes vs. Cornhuskers Week 10 Match-up Stats
Ohio State-Nebraska Recent History
The Buckeyes own a six-game winning streak in the series with the Cornhuskers, winning those games by an average score of 53-18, going 5-1 ATS along the way. Last year Ohio State beat Nebraska in Columbus 52-17 and covered at -28.
Also, that game sneaked just under a total of 69.5.
Liberty at Ole Miss Odds & Predictions
College Football Betting Trends
So far this season, teams ranked in the Coaches Top 25 are 117-31 SU, 74-71 ATS vs. unranked opponents.
Totals Report
Overs are 5-3 in Buckeyes games this season, which are averaging 66 total points.
Totals are split 4-4-1 in Nebraska games this season, which are averaging 50 points.
Under are 3-0 over the last three meetings between these two teams.
