College Football Point Spread - Ohio State vs. Michigan

One of the best online football betting rivalries in the land goes on Saturday afternoon when the Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2, 8-3 ATS) face off with the Michigan Wolverines (5-6, 5-6 ATS). These two teams are going in opposite directions right now heading into their regular season finales.

The Buckeyes locked up their spot in the Granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl, by beating Iowa 27-24 in overtime last weekend. The Wolverines, who started the season at 4-0, dropped to 5-6 with another bad defeat last week in Camp Randall loosing to the Badgers, 45-24.

The college football point spread features the Buckeyes as 12-point favorites. BetUS Sportsbook has the over/under posted at 47.5.

Ohio State looked a little bit vulnerable on Saturday. Everyone expected the Buckeyes to come out and ream the Hawkeyes, as they were without the quarterback Ricky Stanzi. However, the defense showed some holes, allowing 300 yards and more points than they had allowed in the previous three weeks combined.

Offensively, this is still a team that is struggling. In their games against teams that are likely to go bowling this year, the Buckeyes have scored an average of 27.7 points per game. Though that's a respectable number, the fact that the passing attack still only ranks 104th in the country is disheartening to say the least.

QB Terrelle Pryor is coming off of an efficient game against Iowa, as he went 14/17 for 93 yards through the air. The day belonged to RBs Brandon Saine and Daniel Herron, though. The duo rushed the ball 43 times for 200 yards and three scores combined.

Michigan's defense has just been woeful this season. The unit allowed 469 yards of offense to Wisconsin last week. It was the fourth straight game in which the Wolverines allowed at least 35 points and the seventh time they allowed at least 30 points in a game this season.

Ohio State Buckeyes -12 vs. Michigan Wolverines >>Join Now to Bet

QB Tate Forcier had a fairly good game, going 20/26 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and a pick. If he can keep the passing attack together, it is already clear that Michigan can run the football. The unit may have had a bad game against Wisconsin, but it is still averaging 195.8 yards per game on the ground, the 22nd best mark in the land.

Throw out all of the numbers when these two teams meet. If there's one thing for certain, it's that these squads don't like each other. It's always difficult for one team to score a victory on the other's home turf, especially when you're talking about trying to beat a spread of almost two full touchdowns.

HC Rich Rodriguez badly needs this game, as he'll be under a ton of scrutiny if the Wolverines don't qualify for a bowl game for the second straight season. Last year, the Buckeyes laid the smack down on Michigan 42-3, but this is a much different time and a much different setting.

OSU won't have its bowl plans changed whether it wins or loses. Michigan has a lot more riding on this one, and it should show in a very hotly contested close game on Saturday in Ann Arbor.

Rose's Recommendation: 4* Michigan Wolverines
Rating Scale 1* - 5*