The No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-6, 1-5) get together Saturday for a noon ET Big Ten crossover game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. Below, we look at the Ohio State vs. Nebraska odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Ohio State wasn’t at its best last week against Penn State, but the Buckeyes managed a 33-24 win over the then 17th-ranked Nittany Lions. OSU had to work around 10 penalties and a lackluster red-zone performance in clocking its sixth consecutive win. The Buckeyes would eventually get their run game going as they outrushed the Lions 161 yards to 33.
The Cornhuskers suffered their third consecutive setback with a 28-23 home loss to Purdue last Saturday as they were held to just six points in the second half. All six of the Huskers’ losses this season — and nine of the program’s last 10 since last fall — have been by eight or fewer points.
Ohio State at Nebraska odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 10:23 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Ohio State -650 (bet $650 to win $100) | Nebraska +440 (bet $100 to win $440)
- Against the spread (ATS): Ohio State -14.5 (-112) | Nebraska +14.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 67.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Ohio State at Nebraska odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Ohio State 38, Nebraska 24
Money line
Nebraska was 2-2 with some shaky offensive indicators over its first four games this season, and is 1-3 over its last four games, but with some improved indicators. The Cornhuskers’ 36th-ranked passing attack (267.1 yards per game) should be able to make some plays against an OSU defense that has sometimes been soft against the aerial game. The ‘Huskers are balanced enough to stay within a score or 10 points against the Buckeyes in an early-Saturday game on the heels of a big Saturday-night atmosphere last week.
Some of the air has been taken out of this play by the price on Nebraska dropping during the week. However, there’s still just enough leverage to warrant perhaps a partial-unit play on the CORNHUSKERS (+440) as a value play in the event they pull off an upset.
Against the spread
The Cornhuskers are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games as underdogs.
Nebraska has a turnover margin of minus-3 on the season; Ohio State has a plus-8. A bit of gravity in those numbers and with OSU metrics on getting drive stops inside its 30 makes for just a bit of interest in the Nebraska side with this spread.
Against a powerful Buckeye team fighting for attention from the playoff committee, the lean is a slight one: consider a partial-unit play on NEBRASKA +14.5 (-108).
Over/Under
This number has edged higher by a couple points during the week and it’s reached the point where there is moderate value to zagging and taking the UNDER 67.5 (-112).
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