With a pair of road upsets to their credit already this season, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers are now 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games as road dogs. They'll put that trend on the line when they venture into unknown territory to provide the opposition for homecoming at the Horseshoe against Ohio State Saturday afternoon.
Point spread: The Buckeyes opened as 19.5-point favorites at Ohio Stadium, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)
College football pick via Odds Shark computer: 40.3-23.1 Buckeyes
Why the Rutgers Scarlet Knights can cover the spread
The Knights are 5-1 straight up, 4-2 ATS and 1-1 in Big Ten play this season after beating Michigan 26-24 two weeks ago. They then had last week off. Rutgers outgained the Wolverines 476-336 and converted eight of 16 third downs into first downs with help from a career day from senior quarterback Gary Nova, who threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.
The Knights could have been 6-0 on the season; their only loss so far was a 13-10 decision to Penn State in a game they led 10-0 at the half.
Why the Ohio State Buckeyes can cover the spread
Despite losing quarterback Braxton Miller before the season even started, the Buckeyes are off to a 4-1 start, and 4-1 ATS, after winning at Maryland two weeks ago 52-24, easily covering the spread as seven-point road favorites. OSUoutgained the Terrapins 533-310, outrushed them 269-66, held the ball for almost 37 minutes and picked off Terps quarterbacks four times.
The Buckeyes also got 139 yards rushing from Ezekiel Elliott and four touchdown passes from J.T. Barrett. Ohio State has scored 168 points over its last three games; who needs Braxton Miller when you're putting up numbers like that?
Smart pick
Ohio State is probably going to win this game, but Rutgers just might have enough talent and experience to keep this one close. The Knights will have to do a better job of running the ball than they did against Michigan, but even just 120-130 yards might be enough to cover the spread. Rutgers is also 3-1 ATS as a double-digit dog under coach Kyle Flood.
And should the Buckeyes build a lead, coach Urban Meyer might be tempted to empty the bench, being homecoming and all. So the pick here goes with the underdog Knights, plus the points.
Betting trends
- Rutgers is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games on the road
- Ohio State is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games
All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark; all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.
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