No.8 Michigan State and No.14 Ohio State appear to be the only two Big Ten teams with a legitimate chance of qualifying for the College Football Playoff. After Saturday, only one of those teams will be in contention for the national title. The rivals are set to go head-to-head at Spartan Stadium. Both teams enter the contest with just one loss, and their eyes on reaching the conference championship game. The visiting Buckeyes enter the game as 3.5-point underdogs. Ohio State suffered a loss in their second game without injured quarterback Braxton Miller, but they’ve thrived for most of the season, winning seven games by an average of nearly 20 points. Backup J.T. Barrett has filled in admirably, but it’s been the team’s No.14 rushing attack that has them still alive in the playoff race. Running back Ezekiel Elliot has totaled 709 yards on 5.6 yards per carry, while Barrett has rushed for 496 yards on 105 carries of his own. In their last win, Ohio State rushed for 296 yards on 6.7 yards per carry. Ohio State has found themselves in trouble when they haven’t been able to dominate the ground game. In their loss to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes got just 108 rushing yards on 40 attempts. They needed overtime to beat Penn State in their only win that was decided by less than 17 points, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry, as compared to their season average of 5.3 yards per attempt…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Vs. Michigan State 2014: Prediction, Betting Odds, Preview For Big 10 Game
