Nebraska at Ohio State odds, picks and best bets

Skip Snow
Sportsbook Wire

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0) travel to Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, for a Big Ten gridiron battle against the Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0). Kickoff in the Saturday afternoon season opener for both teams is slated for noon ET. Below, we analyze the Nebraska-Ohio State college football betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Ohio State is 5th in the Amway Coaches Poll.

Nebraska at Ohio State: Betting odds and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports' betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 8:25 a.m. ET.

  • Money line : Nebraska +950 (bet $100 to win $950) | Ohio State -2000 (bet $2,000 to win $10)
  • Against the spread/ATS : Nebraska +27.5 (-110) | Ohio State -27.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under : 66.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Nebraska at Ohio State: Three things to know

  1. Head coach Scott Frost heads into season No. 3 at the helm of the 'Husker program. Nebraska went 4-8 in 2018 and 5-7 in 2019, so the returns have been slow. Those first 24 games include two losses to Ohio State. The Buckeyes squeaked by Nebraska, 36-31, in 2018; OSU routed the Cornhuskers, 48-7, last year in Lincoln.
  2. Last year's game was a wire-to-wire blowout, with Ohio State scoring 48 points before Nebraska finally got on the board with a garbage-time score with under three minutes remaining in the game. OSU outgained UN, 580 yards to 231, and the Buckeyes ran wild, piling up 368 rushing yards. Ohio State was a plus-3 in turnovers, and five of its scoring drives were under 65 yards in length.
  3. The Buckeyes return 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist QB Justin Fields, who accounted for 284 yards (212 passing, 72 rushing) and four total touchdowns in last year's Nebraska game. Fields would go on to tally 41 passing TDs and 10 rushing scores in a 2019 season that saw the Scarlet and Gray hit half-a-hundred points a half-dozen times.

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Nebraska at Ohio State: Odds, betting lines and picks

Prediction

Ohio State 49, Nebraska 21

Money line (ML)

This is usually lay-off territory on these types of matchups, but some swing back into -1850 territory would make for some significant value on Ohio State. Figuring something north of a 96% win probability, it's a market worth watching.

Against the spread (ATS)

An Ohio State roster which figures as top-3 in recruiting talent will be one year more comfortable with the (head coach) Ryan Day-Fields dynamic. With a stable of future NFL receivers, the Buckeyes figure to throw the ball around quite a bit.

A Buckeyes-by-three-plus scores is the lean, but the horse has left the barn on getting any value. The line here started in the 22-range, but it has traveled into no-go territory. PASS.

Over/Under (O/U)

The best marginal profit potential on this game is on quarterbacks Fields and Adrian Martinez directing their units to an extra score or two relative to market expectations.

The Buckeyes defense may well be a top-5 group nationally again in 2020 (after holding foes to just 13.7 points per game in 2019), but it's a defense replacing some star-caliber at key, havoc-producing spots on the field. OSU is a bit banged up in replacing losses on the defensive line and untested in what it can become in the defensive backfield.

BACKTHE OVER 66.5 (-110).

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