Ohio State Buckeyes vs Indiana Hoosiers Free NCAAF Pick, 8–31–2017
Free College Football Prediction by ATS Experts
Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0) at Indiana Hoosiers (0–0)
Date: August 31, 2017
Game Time: 8:00 pm
NCAAF Odds: OSU -21 | IU +21 | 58
The #2 Ohio State Buckeyes hit the road for their opening game in the 2017 college football season by traveling to Bloomington, IN to take on the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers last season by a score of 38–17 but they failed to cover the -28 point spread. Adding intrigue is the presence on the Ohio State sideline of former Indiana head coach-turned-Buckeyes offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson.
J.T. Barrett is under center once again this season for the Buckeyes and we fully expect his senior season to be his best. Last season, Barrett threw for 2,555 yards with 24 TDs and seven picks (61.5%). He also ran for 845 yards and nine touchdowns on 4.1 YPC. Barrett and the Buckeyes offense has plenty to prove considering the last time they stepped on the field they lost to the Clemson Tigers, 31–0 in the College Football Playoff as -1 point favorites.
The offense shouldn’t be a major issue as the Buckeyes averaged 39.4 points per game and 459.2 yards per game. Running back Mike Weber returns after rushing for 1,096 yards with nine TDs on 6.0 yards per carry average. Defensively, the Buckeyes ranked sixth in the nation, allowing just 300.2 yards per game last season. This Buckeyes defensive front is perhaps the best in the nation and if they can get after the quarterback, they will make teams very uncomfortable.
For the Hoosiers, it all starts with the defensive-minded Tom Allen succeeding the aforementioned Kevin Wilson in the head coaching chair. Allen vastly improved the Indiana defense which allowed 129.4 fewer yards per game (from 509.4 to 380.1) when he became the defensive coordinator last season. On the defense, nine starters return including star linebacker Tegray Scales, who led the team with 23.5 tackles for loss.
On offense, quarterback Richard Lagow is back after completing 57.8 percent of his passes for 3,362 yards, 19 TDs and 17 interceptions as a junior. Lagow will have grown from his experience in 2016 and he will need to vastly cut down on the turnovers.
The Hoosiers home crowd should be fired up and it may be the biggest home opener in Indiana Football history. College Game Day will be in attendance and this will be one of the featuredThursday night games. The home crowd may keep their team in this game for a while but the Buckeyes have too much depth and too much talent for the Hoosiers to keep this close in the end. The Buckeyes cover the spread and win this game 40–17.
Ohio State vs Indiana Free College Football Pick: OSU -21
