College football odds: Ohio State big home favorite against Michigan State

Ohio State and Michigan State meet on Saturday in perhaps the most significant game of the Big Ten season. The No. 3 Buckeyes enter the matchup as a big home favorite.

The Michigan State Spartans are 7–2 straight up and 7–1–1 against the spread in their last nine games as an underdog. The Spartans could shake up the College Football Playoff picture with an upset win this Saturday on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Michigan State is a 13-point road underdog at Ohio Stadium according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last two games as an underdog against the Buckeyes, the Spartans are 2–0 SU and ATS.

With a 24–7 win over Maryland last Saturday, the Spartans covered the spread for the third time in their last four games and finally got an excellent performance from their defense.

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Michigan State’s usually stout D was allowing 24 points per game before last week’s performance and had given up 65 points in the team’s previous two games. The Spartans will need to bring their best on defense this week to have a chance at upsetting the Buckeyes.

Michigan State is 8–1 SU in its last nine games on the road. The Spartans are also 9–1 SU and ATS in their last 10 November road games per the OddsShark College Football Database.

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Ohio State dominated its road game against the Illinois Fighting Illini last week, coming away with a 28–3 win as a 17-point favorite. The Buckeyes had another strong day on the ground, rushing for 283 yards to bring their season average up to 244.9 rushing yards per game.

With Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett in the backfield, opposing defenses always have their hands full. Ohio State has won nine of its last 11 games against the Spartans with a 7–3–1 ATS record over that stretch.

The total for Saturday’s game is 5.5 points. The UNDER is 8–1 in Ohio State’s last nine games.

The winner of this game will control its own destiny in the Big Ten and be one win away from the Big Ten title game, likely against Iowa. In the last four games between these two teams, both the Spartans and Buckeyes are 2–2 SU and ATS with all four games being decided by 12 points or less. Saturday’s game should be another good one between these two rivals.