College Football 2019: Predictions for the biggest games of Week 9
Wisconsin at Ohio State (Saturday at 12 p.m. ET, FOX)
Spread: Ohio State -14.5
The luster of this Big Ten showdown was lost when Wisconsin appeared to be looking ahead to to their trip to Columbus and let Illinois sneak up on them and hand them a shocking defeat. Now, instead of a battle of undefeated conference opponents and a potential Big Ten Championship preview, we get the unbeaten Buckeyes against a now desperate one-loss Badgers squad.
Wisconsin has long looked like the runaway favorite in the Big Ten West after a dominant start to the season, but division rival Minnesota remains undefeated, and a second straight conference loss would really put the Badgers behind the eight-ball as the calendar flips to November.
Both Wisconsin and Ohio State bring in dominant defensive units, but the Buckeyes have been the most well-rounded team in college football so far in 2019. Not only do Chase Young and company get after the quarterback, but they stop the run and then when opposing quarterbacks actually do get a ball out, Jeff Okudah and a dominant secondary is there to make a play.
On the other side of the ball, Justin Fields has made the most of his opportunity in Columbus, and running back J.K. Dobbins is kind of quietly having a tremendous season for the Buckeyes. Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor has been the toast of college football, but Dobbins has only 10 less yards than Taylor on 23 less carries.
Ohio State will load the box to shut down Taylor, forcing Jack Coan – who has been very solid in his own right — to try and keep pace with the explosive Buckeyes offense. I just don’t see that happening.
I expect another dominant win for Ohio State as Ryan Day’s team once again states its case as the best team in the country.
Pick: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 17