Wisconsin (+4) vs. Ohio State Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer Associated Press Wisconsin and Ohio State meet in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Conference Championship Game on Saturday (FOX, 8 p.m. ET). Ohio State enters the game without quarterback J.T. Barrett, who broke his ankle in last week’s game against Michigan. The Predictalator played out the Big Ten title game with a healthy Barrett and still had Wisconsin with the slight edge, winning 50.2% of the time in 50,000 simulations and by an average score of 29-28 Badgers. But oddsmakers have attributed the downgrade from Barrett to Cardale Jones to be around seven points, suggesting that Ohio State would have been around a three-point favorite on a neutral field. PredictionMachine projects that the Badgers will win and cover the four-point spread, with Jones filling in at quarterback for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has dropped to No. 17 in PredictionMachine’s College Football Power Rankings, which evaluates how many teams would be favored on a neutral field over the Buckeyes as presently constructed (Florida State is just two spots ahead of OSU). The Buckeyes are 11-1 straight-up and 7-5 against-the-spread versus the 60th-ranked schedule in FBS this year. Ohio State has only played one team (Michigan State) in the top 40 of the PredictionMachine rankings. While the weak schedule is a concern, putting numbers into context shows some of the Buckeyes’ issues even before Barrett’s injury. Ohio State’s defense ranks just 55th against the run and the team has allowed more than 5 yards per carry despite only playing two games against top 25 rushing teams. Wisconsin is the nation’s best rushing team…
Continue Reading: College Football Pick of the Week: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
