College Football Picks: Akron at Ohio State 9/25/21

Akron Zips (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS) at Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1, 0-2-1), 9/25/21

When: 7:30 pm ET Saturday, Sept. 25

Where: Ohio Stadium

TV: BTN

Point Spread: Akr +49/OSU -49. Bet this game and ALL your football bets EVERY week at -105 instead of -110 at BAS Sportsbook!

Over/Under: 67.5

Ohio State rebounded last week from that loss to Oregon but not in a big way, not enough for a supposed College Football Playoff contender. The Buckeyes shoot for a better performance when they host Akron out of the MAC Saturday night at the Horseshoe.

OSU is favored by seven touchdowns for this game, but numbers like that can be hard to cover when games are already decided.

Akron-Ohio State Betting Odds

Week 4’s college football betting lines opened Ohio State at -49, with an over/under of right around 67.5. Both those figures were holding steady in the early betting action

Akron-Ohio State College Football Betting Preview

The Zips are 1-2 on the season after beating FCS Bryant last week 35-14. Akron scored the first 14 points of the game and led 14-7 at the half. The Zips then allowed the Bulldogs to tie the score at 14-14 midway through the third quarter but then scored the last 21 points of the game for the victory and the cover as 13-point favorites.

Akron out-gained Bryant 514-146 and out-rushed the Bulldogs 218-29. Also, sophomore quarterback DJ Irons, playing in place of injured starter Kato Nelson, connected on 19/23 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 136 yards and another score.

As of this writing, it was uncertain as to who would start behind center for the Zips Saturday night.

Akron opened this season with a 60-10 loss at Auburn, whiffing ATS as a 37-point dog. The Zips then lost at home to Temple 45-24, missing ATS at +6.5, but that game played a little closer than that final score might indicate. Akron led the Owls 17-7 well into the second quarter but gave up a fumble return for a score and a pick-6 within 12 seconds of each other to fall behind, and things just got away from there.

The Zips returned 17 starters this season, nine on offense and eight on defense, from a team that played 1-5 last season. So while Akron will have its hands full Saturday, we can see four or five winnable MAC games on its slate after winning just once over the last two seasons.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are 2-1 on the season after topping Tulsa last week 41-20. Ohio State trailed the Hurricane 6-3 midway into the second quarter and only led 27-20 well into the fourth. OSU tacked on a pair of insurance touchdowns to secure the victory but came up short against the spread as a 24-point favorite.

Ohio State produced 508 yards of offense last week but gave up 501 yards of Tulsa offense. The Buckeyes also out-rushed the Hurricane 323-73, thanks to a huge day from freshman RB Treveyon Henderson, but turned the ball over twice, leading to seven Tulsa points.

OSU opened its season with a 45-31 win at Minnesota, but it trailed that game in the third quarter and only ended up with a push of the spread at -14. The Buckeyes then lost at home to Oregon 35-28 as 15-point favorites. So Ohio State hasn’t covered a spread yet this season.

The Buckeyes only returned nine starters this season, six on offense and five on defense, and that defense is a big question mark at the moment.

Akron-Ohio State History

The Buckeyes are 7-1 all-time against the Zips, with that one loss coming back in 1894. Most recently, Ohio State beat Akron 42-0 back in 2011, covering at -31.

More Picks: Free PAC-12 Pick: Arizona vs. Oregon

College Football Betting Trends

So far, this college football betting season teams ranked in the Coaches’ Top 25 are 45-7 SU but only 23-27 ATS vs. un-ranked teams.

Ohio State is 2-0 both SU and ATS vs. MAC members over the last five seasons, winning those two games by an average score of 77-8.

Akron is 1-3, both SU and ATS vs. the Big Ten over the last five seasons.

Ohio State is 1-3 ATS in its last four games when favored by 40 points or more.

Totals Report

Overs are 2-0-1 in Zips games this season, which are averaging 63 total points.

Overs are 2-1 in Buckeyes games this season, which are averaging 67 points.

Free College Football Betting Pick

This is one of those games where we know who will win; it’s just a matter of the final margin. Playing at home means the spread on this game is probably inflated by a touchdown or so toward Ohio State, and the Buckeyes will probably empty their bench once this game is in hand. Akron, meanwhile, has enough on offense to put up 20 points on this OSU defense, which would go a long way toward covering the spread. We’ll take the points with the Zips here. Question: Have you seen the live betting platform at Bovada Sportsbook? It blows away the rest! So easy to use and FAST! They’ll give you a 50% bonus too for trying them out!