College Football Pick: #12 Michigan State Spartans at #13 Ohio State Buckeyes
Big Ten Showdown at Noon Today
At noon today, the #12 Michigan State Spartans (7-2 Overall, 5-1 Big Ten) are at the #13 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2 Overall, 5-1 Big Ten). This game will determine at least two things with the first being which of these two college football teams will win the Big Ten East. The other thing that this game will help decide is exactly where these two teams will end up in the CFP Rankings. Both teams are four and one for their last five games, both beat Penn State in that time, and both lost to unranked Big Ten West opponents. Michigan State lost to North Western 39-31 in OT two weeks ago while OSU lost to Iowa 55-24 last week. Our Michigan State plays Ohio State 2017 NCAA football pick has the Buckeyes at -15.5 and the over/under at 54.5.
Michigan State- Pluses and Minuses
The Spartans defense has been solid versus the run. On defense, Kenny Willekes is a top stopper with 9 TFL, 48 tackles, and 3.5 sacks. The team has over 50 TFL. In the secondary, DB David Dowell has four picks, four passes broken up and two fumble recoveries. The D is limiting opponents to 20 PPG.
The Spartan offense is putting an average of just 24.1 PPG, which is a little over half of what the OSU offense has done this season. Sophomore QB Brian Lewerke (61.0 PPG, 16 TDs, 5 INTs) leads the offense with his primary outlet being WR Felton Davis III (45 REC, 586 YDs, 13.0 YPC, 8 TDs). Lewerke, a decent rusher who’s averaging 4.4 YPA, has three rushing TDs. Junior RB L.J. Scott brings a 4.4 YPA average to this game and five running scores.
Spartans Summary
- Tough vs. the run on D
- Lewerke needs to hit Davis a lot
- Defense must hold OSU to under 30 to win
Ohio State- Pluses and Minuses
The OSU offense is explosive, averaging 43.8 PPG while posting 549.0 YPG of offense. Senior QB J.T. Barrett (67.5 COMP%, 28 TDs, 5 INTs) has a slew of receivers who can break a game open, including his favorite pass catcher K.J. Hill, who tops the team with 43 catches, and Johnnie Dixon, who has converted half of his 17 catches to TDs. Barrett has run for five TDs, as have two of the team’s running backs with freshman RB J.K. Dobbins leading the way by gaining a total of 914 yards while averaging 7.7 YPA.
OSU has had its challenges on defense. Nick Bosa, DE, is an anchor. Bosa has 10.5 TFL, four sacks and one forced fumble. LBs Dante Booker (31 TCKLs, 2 SCKs, 5 TFL) and Jerome Baker (44 TCKLs, 2 SCKs, 4,5 TFL) are top performers. Teams are averging 22 PPG against them.
Buckeyes Summary
- Explosive offense
- Defense has its challenges
- Top QB
Top Three Takeaways
Here are out three takeaways for our Michigan State plays Ohio State 2017 NCAA football pick-
- OSU offense will be hard to stop
- Michigan State offense has to respond in a big way
- Spartan defense has to stay resiliant
Michigan State at OSU Spread and Over/Under Picks
Our Michigan State plays Ohio State 2017 NCAA football pick takes into consideration a Buckeye comeback after their big loss last week and the ability of OSU to put a lot of points on the scoreboard. The OSU defense is not as tough as it has been in the past and they have a difficult time handling the ground attack. On the other hand, the Spartan D has been adroit at handling opponent running games.
We see the OSU offense wearing down the Michigan State defense and by the second half breaking this game open. The Spartans will score some points but not enough. We’re taking OSU at -15.5 and the over at 54.5. Kickoff is at noon.
Michigan State plays Ohio State Pick: Buckeyes at -15.5 and over 54.5
