Ohio State Hosts Northern Illinois Saturday
The No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes host the Northern Illinois Huskies in what should be a lopsided affair on Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.
The current line has Ohio State favored by 35 points with the point total sitting on 66.
Ohio State is 2-0 straight up on the season and 1-1 against the spread. NIU is 2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS.
Ohio State is looking for its 16th straight victory when it hosts the Huskies on Saturday.
The Buckeyes have yet to completely sort out who their starting quarterback will be, but have sailed to two easy wins over Virginia Tech in Week 1 and Hawaii last week.
Cardale Jones the junior quarterback will start for Ohio State for the third consecutive game, but J.T. Barnett will see plenty of action as his backup.
The Buckeyes have fared exceptionally well against teams from the Mid-American Conference. Overall, Ohio State is 30-1 but the Huskies will have their full attention, said coach Urban Meyer.
Northern Illinois has won its past three games versus schools from the Big Ten. The Huskies defeated Iowa, Purdue and most recently Northwestern in that stretch.
The Huskies have 11 or more wins in each of the last five seasons.
Drew Hare the Huskies quarterback has completed 78% of his passes for a total of 718 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Buckeyes snapped their record of 24 consecutive games with a touchdown pass versus Hawaii. However, that is not a bad thing when you have the likes of Ezekeil Elliott in the backfield. Elliott has run for 223 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season, with 100 yards rushing in 7 straight games dating back to last season.
On defense, Joey Bosa a top defensive end in the country had only two tackles last week in his debut after being suspended for the first game of the season. However, the linebacker corps has ruled each game and is what makes the Buckeyes defense so strong.
Ohio State won the only other head-to-head game versus Northern Illinois 35-12 back in 2006. The Buckeyes wide receiver Curtis Samuel has seven receptions versus Hawaii.
Northern Illinois has won 19 of its past 20 true away games with the only loss against the SEC Arkansas Razorbacks.
Ohio State should not have too many problems with NIU, but the Buckeyes cannot let their guard down otherwise the Huskies will surprise them. Ohio State must come out strong and win big if they want to keep their No. 1 ranking intact.
