It’s a critical NCAAF Big Ten East battle this week in Columbus as 5-2 Penn State travels to 6-1 Ohio State. The visiting Nittany Lions are looking to move past an abysmal loss at home to Illinois last week.
Sean Clifford has been steady at quarterback, completing 64 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns. His favorite target is star wide receiver, Jahan Dotson. Dotson leads the team with 49 receptions for 563 yards and six touchdowns. Talented sophomore widout Parker Washington is the team’s second-leading receiver, but he’s been quiet the last three weeks. If Penn State has any shot at winning at Ohio State, they have to start running the ball better. A running back committee led by Noah Cain hasn’t been good enough all season.
The Buckeyes are starting to click on all cylinders right now. Signal caller C.J. Stroud is on a roll, completing 67 percent of his passes for nearly 2,000 yards in just seven games. Stroud has weapons everywhere to throw to, with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Phenom freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson has taken over the backfield. He’s averaging 8.8 yards per carry on 861 total yards and 14 touchdowns.
Penn State should be highly motivated coming in after a tough loss. A lot is riding for both teams in this one. I’m not sure Penn State has enough firepower to keep up with the Ohio State offense for four quarters on the road.
Ohio State -18.5
This is a big matchup in the SEC West as both teams still have a chance at winning the division, being tied in the loss column with Alabama. Ole Miss has already lost to Alabama, so they would need another loss by the Crimson Tide and cannot afford to lose to Auburn. The Tigers on the other hand have a game against Alabama at the end of the season and control their own destiny.
Auburn just came off of a bye week but before that, they had a huge win against Arkansas. Bo Nix had one of his best games with 292 Yards and two TDs. Auburn is in the top-50 in both total yards and total yards given up to their opponent.
Ole Miss continued their winning ways with a two TD win against LSU, where Matt Corral did not have his huge usual numbers. Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy lead the way for the team, combining for over 200 yards and a TD. The key player in this battle is Bo Nix, he has shown this year he has polar opposites in his play and if he has a good game Auburn will have a chance to take down the Rebels.
Auburn -3
Both Texas and Baylor are coming off bye weeks, but are going in opposite directions. Baylor with two commanding double-digit victories, and Texas with two consecutive losses where they had the lead in the game. Texas seems like a long shot to compete for the Big 12 title. Baylor is just a game back from 1st place Oklahoma.
Baylor is top-25 in rush yards per game and is a great defensive team, allowing under 350 yards per game. That ranks 31st in the NCAA. QB Gerry Bohanon does not have a ton of yards, but is efficient and stays away from turnovers. He has a 65.9 completion percentage, with 12 TDs to only 1 INT.
Texas has explosive players on offense, but the last two games they have struggled in the 2nd half, giving up double-digit leads. Bijan Robinson has been limited in the 2nd half of games and QB Casey Thompson has crumbled under the pressure. The big questions in this game surround if Texas found a way to keep a lead, and will the Baylor defense be able to limit both Robinson and Worthy.
Baylor -3
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