The Ball State Cardinals and Miami-Ohio Redhawks open their seasons at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio, for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff Wednesday. Below, we analyze the Ball State-Miami college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Ball State at Miami-Ohio: Betting odds and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 5:29 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Ball State +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Miami-Ohio -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Ball State +2 (-110) | Miami-Ohio -2 (-110)
- Over/Under: 55 (O: -115 | U: -106)
Ball State at Miami-Ohio: Three things to know
- Ball State was involved in plenty of high-scoring games in 2019. The Cardinals racked up 464.8 total yards per game to rank 16th in the country, while posting 221.3 rushing yards per contest to rank 20th overall. In addition, they rolled up 34.8 PPG to check in 19th. Defensively, they allowed 31.4 PPG.
- Miami won the East Division last season, surprising everyone. The Redhawks loved close games, going 5-0 SU in one-score games a season ago, and they were 5-1 ATS in games with a spread between -7 and +7.
- Ball State won last season’s meeting in Muncie by a 41-27 score, covering as a 3-point favorite on Nov. 29, 2019. It was the Cardinals only victory in their final five games, although they certainly came close. Their final three setbacks came by 4 or fewer points. While they were 5-7 SU, just missing out on a bowl invite, they weren’t far off from a postseason bid.
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Ball State at Miami-Ohio: Odds, prediction, betting lines and picks
Prediction
Miami-Ohio 34, Ball State 27
Money line (ML)
MIAMI-OHIO (-125) is the play on its home field. QB Brett Gabbert is back to lead a solid offense, and he will be protected by perhaps the best O-line in the MAC. The Redhawks have double trouble in the backfield with Jaylon Bester and Tyre Shelton, and big-play receivers in Jack Sorenson and Jalen Walker. The Redhawks have plenty of offensive firepower to hang with the Cardinals.
Against the spread (ATS)
MIAMI-OHIO (-2, -110) is a little cheap playing against the spread, and it’s a strong play at home. The Redhawks will exact a little revenge in the opener after falling by 14 at Ball State in the regular-season finale last November. Miami is 8-2 ATS in the past 10 in Oxford, and 14-4 ATS in the previous 18 MAC contests, too. The home team has cashed in five of the past seven in this series.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 55 (-115) is the best play in this game, as both offenses have a lot of returning firepower. The Cardinals hit the Over in their final four games in 2019. While the Redhawks trended more to the Under last season, Gabbert and company should be much improved in 2020.
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