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College Football Odds – Ohio State Begins Season

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Sportsbook customers who take their chances with the college football odds are looking upon Ohio State as a real contender to win the national title, and their quarterback as a possibility for the Heisman Trophy. On Thursday night they will make their 2010 debut against the Thundering Herd of Marshall, in NCAA football action that begins at 7:30 PM ET at Ohio Stadium (artificial turf) in Columbus. O. In the college football odds, the Buckeyes are favored by 28 points, and the total on the game is posted at 46.5 points.

Marshall Thundering Herd at Ohio State Buckeyes

Live at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Thursday, September 2 -- 7:30 PM ET
TV: Big Ten Network

College Football Betting Lines:

Ohio State -28
Marshall +28
Total 46.5

Marshall was hoping it would get more out of its passing game this season as fifth-year senior Willy Korn, who was one of the most highly-touted quarterback prospects when coming out of high school, completed his transfer from Clemson, and was expected to challenge Brian Anderson for the starting job. However, Korn misfired in spring practice, was switched to safety, and finally wound up leaving for Division II North Greenville University. So it's Anderson, who at least has experience and gives this team the best chance it has in the college football odds. Marshall should be able to move the ball; Martin Ward may be fully capable of stepping into the shoes of Darius Marshall, who left school early, and with a year under his belt, Aaron Dobson, who was a big play receiver as a freshman (24.1 yards a catch) should have a chance to make more plays.

No, it isn't going to resemble the days when Chad Pennington was hooking up with Randy Moss, but our decision in the college football odds is made according to whether they can score enough to keep things respectable. Doc Holliday, the West Virginia assistant who has taken over as head coach after the ouster of Mark Snyder, should bring some urgency back to the program, but the defensive setup needs improvement. Capable teams moved the ball on the ground against the Herd; Virginia Tech ran for 44 yards against them last season.

Here are some of the ncaaf betting trends as they impact the football handicapping line on this game:

  • Marshall has played nine of its last eleven games UNDER the total
  • Marshall has lost 17 of its last 20 road games SU
  • Marshall has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
  • OSU has won its last six games SU
  • OSU has played eight of its last 12 games UNDER the total
  • OSU has covered five of its last six games
  • OSU has covered five of its last six home games
  • OSU has won its last five home games SU

Ohio State's offense will be largely dependent on Terrelle Pryor, who is priced at +450 in the college football odds to win the Heisman Trophy this season. Pryor threw for 2094 yards and ran for 779 more last season, and the word out of Columbus is that Pryor's passing is a lot more refined this season. We don't know that Pryor, who can be best described as a poor man's Vince Young, can beat sophisticated defenses with his arm, but he may be able to do some damages against lesser teams. I'm expecting that we could be seeing Brandon Saine emerge as one of the best backs in the country, and he'll be the guy who bails Pryor out.

There is a lot resting on the 6'6" Pryor's broad shoulders. Only one team is at shorter odds to win the national title than Ohio State, which is +600 in the college football odds. The dilemma is that there is a game next week against Miami, and the big question becomes how much of the playbook coach Jim Tressel really wants to show in advance of that game against the toughest non-conference opponent on the schedule. Holliday is going to do a great job at Marshall, but this task is daunting at best in the "Horseshoe," where OSU has won 31 straight home openers. Early in the season, the Buckeyes have won comfortably against this kind of opponent, but they haven't often blown them right out of the water. That makes it very hard to lay this kind of heavy lumber in the football handicapping line, especially when OSU doesn't really gain anything by running it up. We'll look for Marshall to keep this one within the margin, grabbing 28 points in the college football odds.

JAY'S PLAY:  MARSHALL +28 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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