COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two impressive winning streaks are on the line in Ohio State’s Big Ten opener against Washington.
The Huskies come into the game having won 22 straight home games. That winning streak goes back four seasons with the last loss being a 40-13 loss to Washington State in the Apple Cup in the final of four straight home losses to close out the season.
The Buckeyes also come in with a winning streak. They’ve won 18 straight road games against unbanked opponents. Their last loss to someone with Washington’s description was when Ryan Day was still the offensive coordinator in a 49-20 loss to Purdue.
For one of these teams, an impressive winning streak will end inside Husky Stadium on Saturday. The other’s will get live another day, while getting one step closer to winning the Big Ten.
Our staff made game predictions based on DraftKings’ 8.5-point spread with an over/under point total of 52.5. Once again, we are betting Buckeye Talk tokens, starting with a bankroll of 100 and seeing who can grow their bankroll the most — or simply avoid losing it — over the course of the season.
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Stephen Means
Ohio State 41, Washington 13
Two things can be true here. Washington is a good football team. It also hasn’t yet had to prove that.
I’m starting to wonder if maybe we’re overthinking this as a line continues to drop — it opened at 13.5 — because people are falling in love with the idea that facing an explosive team who hasn’t lost at home in four years signals a trap game. But it can’t really be a trap game if a team has two weeks to prepare for it and seems to be going out of its way to make sure people know they’re taking this seriously.
Washington is a good football team. There’s just a chance that OSU is a significantly better football team, and this becomes a ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’ scenario. Maybe this becomes a game that’s close for 2.5 quarters, then all of a sudden it’s not.
Game pick: Ohio State -8.5 (12 BTT)
Over/under: Over 52.5 (3 BTT)
Record: 3-0
Against the spread: 2-1-0
Over/under record: 2-1-0
Tokens left: 102
Stefan Krajisnik
Ohio State 41, Washington 21
The environment inside Husky Stadium is going to be wild, and Washington will land some early punches as a result. However, I don’t trust the UW defense to hold up long-term.
Ohio State, while facing man coverage, will have opportunities to make some explosive plays in the passing game. Once Julian Sayin settles into the game, he’ll have a plethora of open weapons to find on the perimeter.
Washington’s offense can score enough to keep things tight early, but Ohio State’s defense won’t let them get past the 30-point mark. Washington’s defense can’t say the same.
Game pick: Ohio State -8.5 (10 BTT)
Over/under: Over 52.5 (10 BTT)
Record: 3-0
Against the spread: 2-1-0
Over/under record: 2-1-0
Tokens left: 97
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Andrew Gillis
Ohio State 31, Washington 20
This has been a rough one to get a handle on.
I think Washington has talented players to make Ohio State uncomfortable — notably running back Jonah Coleman. He’s one of the best in the nation, and can give the Buckeyes fits if they’re not stout in run defense.
But in the end, Ohio State has just too much talent to overcome any potential problems that the Huskies present.
Could Washington hit a few big plays? Sure. Could it run the ball well? Absolutely. Could the defense for a turnover or two? Wouldn’t shock me.
Ohio State counters everything that Washington throws at them with something better, though. The Buckeyes, in games like this, can pull ahead in the second half with their abundance of talent. Don’t expect this one to be a blowout from the jump, though.
Game pick: Ohio State -8.5 (5 BTT)
Over/under: Under 52.5 (10 BTT)
Record: 2-1
Against the spread: 2-1-0
Over/under record: 2-1-0