Western Michigan vs Ohio State Prediction College Football Picks 9/7/24

The Western Michigan Broncos and the Ohio State Buckeyes meet in week 2 college football action from Ohio Stadium on Saturday night. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Western Michigan vs. Ohio State prediction.

Western Michigan Recap

The Western Michigan Broncos will try to spring the massive upset here after falling short against Wisconsin in their opener thanks to a 28-14 loss last time out. After this game, Western Michigan will head home to take on Bethune Cookman.

Buckley Stars In Competitive Effort

Hayden Wolff threw for 141 yards and an interception on 12 of 18 passing while Jalen Buckley rushed for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries to lead the Broncos’ ground attack. Palmer Domschke added 26 rushing yards and Zahir Abdus-Salaam added 22 rushing yards as well in the defeat. Malique Dieudonne had a team-high 45 receiving yards as well for WMU in the losing effort. On defense, Donald Willis and Bilhal Kone each had a team-high 10 total tackles while Isaiah Green added a sack for the Broncos’ defense.

Why the Western Michigan Broncos will win

• Western Michigan has covered the spread in five of its last six road games.
• Ohio State has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.

Ohio State Recap

The Ohio State Buckeyes come into this one looking to build on their 52-3 rout of Akron to start the year. After this matchup, the Buckeyes will welcome the Marshall Thundering Herd to town before heading to East Lansing to kick off Big Ten play against Michigan State.

Howard Leads The Way For Buckeyes

Will Howard threw for 228 yards and 3 TDs on 17 of 28 passing while TreVeyon Henderson rushed for a team-high 65 yards on 8 carries and Quinshon Judkins added 55 rushing yards and a touchdown. James Peoples also chipped in 30 rushing yards and a TD for the Buckeyes in the victory. Jeremiah Smith had a team-high 6 receptions for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Carnell Tate had 4 grabs for 58 yards and a TD and Emeka Egbuka added 51 receiving yards on 4 catches as well. On defense, Lathan Ransom led the Buckeyes with 9 total tackles while JT Tuimoloau had a team-high 1.5 sacks and Tyleik Williams and C.J. Hicks each had a sack as well. Gabe Powers also chipped in a 29-yard pick-six and Denzel Burke had an interception as well for the Buckeyes’ defense.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes will win

• Ohio State has won each of its last 49 home games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Western Michigan has lost each of its last eight games against opponents from the Big Ten Conference.
• Western Michigan has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight games against opponents from the Big Ten Conference.
• Ohio State has covered the spread in five of its last six games at Ohio Stadium.

Western Michigan vs. Ohio State Prediction

I’m on the over in this one. The only reason I’m not on Ohio State here is because I think this number could set up for a backdoor cover by WMU. I fully expect the Buckeyes to rout the Broncos as they did Akron, but I could easily see a 49-14 kind of game where Ohio State wins comfortably, but Western Michigan does just enough to keep in the cover zone. It also wouldn’t shock me if OSU got near or over this total on their own. Give me the over here.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Over 52.5