Ohio State vs Northwestern Expert College Football Picks Against the Spread

Friday, October 18, 2019

Ryan Field

Hunter Johnson and the Northwestern Wildcats play the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ryan Field on Friday, October 18, 2019. The spread on this game has Ohio State as 28-point favorites. The Buckeyes are 5-1-0 ATS and 2-3-1 when betting on the total. The Wildcats are 1-4-0 when wagering on the over/under and 2-3-0 against the spread.

In their last outing, the Ohio State Buckeyes played the Michigan State Spartans and ended up getting the win by a score of 34-10. Running the show from under center for the Buckeyes was Justin Fields who went 17/25 with 206 yards through the air and tossed 2 touchdowns. He walked away with 1 interception in the game. J.K. Dobbins paced the team in rushing in the game. He tore off a long run of 67 yards and he ran for 1 touchdown in the game. He racked up a total of 172 yards by way of 24 carries which means he ran for an average of 7.2 yards per carry. Binjimen Victor was the receiving yardage leader with a total of 79 yards on 3 receptions. He notched an average of 26.3 yards per catch in the game. The Buckeyes ended up running the ball 49 times and added 323 yards earning them an average of 6.6 yards per rushing attempt. In all, they ran 74 plays for 529 yards. In the game, the Buckeyes had a total of 22 first downs and they had 10 infractions for 85 yards which is telling in terms of discipline. In terms of defense, Ohio State gave up 20 completions on 38 attempts totaling 218 yards, and a completion percentage of 52.6%. For this contest, they allowed a total of 287 yards and earned 3 turnovers. On the ground, the Buckeyes gave up 69 yards on 26 runs which means they had an average of 2.7 yards per rushing attempt allowed.

The Buckeyes head into this matchup 6-0 in 2019. They are one of top scoring teams in the nation with an average of 49.3 points per game, which has them at 4th in college football. As a unit, they are averaging 289 rushing yards per game which is 1st in the Big Ten Conference. For total yards, they are currently ranked 1st in the conference and 9th in college football with 3,210 yards. The Buckeyes have one of the top tier defenses in D-1, allowing 8.8 points per game putting them 3rd in the Big Ten. When it comes to yards through the air, the Buckeyes have conceded 1,476 yards. Teams are completing 54.6% of the throws they are attempting against them and averaging 5.2 yards per try. In regard to rushing yards, Ohio State is giving up 82.7 yards per game which has them at 3rd in the conference and 8th in the country. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 2.4 yards per rush ranking them 3rd in the Big Ten and 5th in D-1 overall. In total, they have allowed 496 rushing yards through 6 games.

The last time they took the field, the Northwestern Wildcats faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers and took the defeat by a score of 13-10. Aidan Smith led the team on the ground in the game. He broke a long run for 11 yards and he notched 1 TD for the game. He ran for a total of 64 yards by way of 16 carries which meant he averaged 4.0 yards per run. Riley Lees was the receiving yardage leader by earning 48 yards on 7 catches. He earned an average of 6.9 yards per reception in the game. Taking the lead at quarterback for the Wildcats was Aidan Smith who went 19/32 with 136 yards passing but didn't get a passing TD in the game. He walked away with 1 interception during the game. The Wildcats ended up running the ball 41 times and racked up 157 yards which had them averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Overall, the Wildcats got 18 1st downs and they had a total of 6 infractions for 50 yards which tells us their heads weren't always in the game. In all, they ran 73 plays for a total of 293 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Northwestern gave up 15 catches on 25 attempts for a total of 186 yards, and a completion percentage of 60.0%. In the game, they conceded 319 yards but weren't able to foce a turnover. In the running game, the Wildcats gave up 133 yards on 40 runs which means they had an average of 3.3 yards per rushing attempt allowed.

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The Wildcats head into this game 1-4. In discussing the offensive production, the Wildcats have one of the worst offenses in college football. Northwestern needs to do more to make teams respect their running game by averaging 152.6 rushing yards per game, which has them at 80th in the nation. As a unit, they have compiled a total of 763 rushing yards through 5 games, so they are going to want to make some changes to the ground game if they want to make teams respect them. The Wildcats average 293 yards per game overall which has them at 126th in D-1 and 13th in the conference. The Wildcats are conceding 19.8 points per game which puts them at 7th in the Big Ten Conference and 30th in college football. Their passing defense is one of the best groups in college football. They are allowing 176 passing yards per contest. For passing yards allowed per game, the Wildcats sit in 6th in the Big Ten Conference. In terms of points allowed, they have allowed 99 points in total. When it comes to rushing yards, they are conceding 144 yards per contest which puts them at 54th in the country and 10th in the Big Ten Conference. In 2019, they have conceded a total of 720 yards on the ground and 5 rushing TDs.

Who will win tonight's Buckeyes/Wildcats college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Buckeyes -28

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