Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0 SU, 1-1 ATS) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0 SU, 1-1 ATS)
College Football Week 3
Date/Time: Saturday September 19, 2015 3:30pm ET
Where: Ohio Stadium
TV: ABC ESPN
by Tim Bs, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: NOR. +34/OHI -34
Over/Under Total: 62
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Northern Illinois takes their show on the road Saturday readying themselves for 100,000+ in the Horseshoe with dreams of touchdowns dancing in their heads. Ohio State will most certainly try not to accommodate the Huskies and their invasion by pulling out the wood and the whipping stick beating the Huskies back to their doghouse; but not a Mike Vick beat-down! The stage is set, summer has ended, and cupcake opponents have been tucked away in their beds. Its the Buckeyes and Huskies in the Shoe with a National Championship (for OSU)and possible Ronco Home Rotisserie BLAST Energy Drink Poison Ivy Bowl Sponsored By Clairol For Men (for NI)this Saturday! Lets take a look at these two teams.
Northern Illinois has put up impressive passing numbers against non-combatant Murray State and partially legit UNLV. The Huskies parked the Racers and covered in Week 2 after flying a little too close to the sun coming back to earth in their 2015 debut against UNLV. Northern Illinois sits 9th in the NCAA in Team Passing being led by quarterback Drew Hare. Hare sits 6th individually among all NCAA QBs throwing for 718 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Junior QB is 50 for 64 through 2 games producing a whopping 78.1 completion percentage and devouring those two cupcakes (I mean, one
cupcake and one semi legit) like 4th Graders at a slumber party! But Hare can play a little bit. Last year, Hare threw for 2322 yards and 18 touchdowns as a first year starter for the Huskies. The MOST impressive stat Drew boasts is: Hare only threw 2as in one, twointerceptions in 2014! Thats amazing! Thats amazing even against a mostly-all MAC schedule! Northern Illinois really hasnt come to appreciate playing good defense. In fact, the Huskies defense pretty much sucks. The Huskies languish lethargically at 96th in Total Team Defense giving up 373 yards of total offense against Murray State. Murray State led the Huskies in Time of Possession by 6 minutes. So, to say Northern Illinois defense is suspect is like saying Bakersfield CA smells different. Noooooooo, Bakersfield CA smells like cowsh**!! UNLV had almost 500 total yards of offense against the Huskies and the Rebels led Northern Illinois in DeKalb Illinois 17-3 at the half! Defensive Coordinator Jay Niemann seems to be pulling bacon from the Won Five MAC West Titles Since Ive Been Here frying pan instead of reloading and coming up with a workable defensive scheme. If Niemann believes giving up the back forty against the Huskies first two Clowns means the Husky Defense will play up to standard against the Buckeyeshe and the Huskies are in deep Bakersfield this Saturday in Columbus! The Huskies can score and thats no joke. The Huskies wont play D and a sign dangles from the visiting locker room for the Huskies at the ShoeLesciate Ogne Speranza Voi ChIntrate. >> commonly known as Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here. Lets put the Bucks through a self-examination.
Ohio State has beaten their first two opponents by decent margins. Week 1 saw the Bucks step on the gas in the second half against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg cruising to a 42-24 victory against the piss poor Hokies. Most spectators of the Va Tech game were smitten by the Bucks and their fluff and flash second half Extravaganza! LeBrons little Tweet I see ya lil bro. Hit em with the Silencer after Braxton Miller made a spin move to escape 2 Va Tech would be tacklers and go on to score on the play is kinda making the Buckeyes a little too Sickening Sweet for my taste! Thats putting it nicely; The Buckeyes, the LeBron connection, the Majesty of Urban Meyer all make me want to puke! Head Coach Urban Meyer seems to be believing headlines of Meyers own personal greatness around the country suggesting Meyer may in fact crown himself Emperor after the 2015 season venturing to Waterloo to right the wrong of former Buckeye Head Coach Napoleon BonaparteI mean former Emperor of France Napoleon Blah Blah Blah. What I mean to say is: Tummys are filled and chests are bulging around Columbus, Ohio just like in Tuscaloosa, Alabama the previous few years and before thatin the late 80s and through the 90s—Miami FloridaAND the entire SEC Football Conference for about the last 50 years! Pride comes before the fall and right now in Columbus, Ohio, pride is a tsunami ready to pounce!
Ohio State did not look all that good in Week 1 against a crappy Va Tech team so it wasnt surprising the Buckeyes STRUGGLED in their home opener against Hawaii. Ohio State led 14-0 at the half thanks to a few mistakes by the Warriors or this game could have been a nail biter! QB Cardale Jones threw a very pedestrian 12 of 18 for 111 yards while 2nd seat and Captain J.T. Barrett came in and tossed a cold rag over the stadium tossing 8-15 for a grand total of 70 yards! WooHoo! RB Zeke Elliot rushed 27 for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Bucks and the entire offense looked like they were playing tonsil hockey with their guests from the West. The defense showed up big boring the crap out of the crowd but offering a few flashes of brilliance including OSUs Safety Vonn Bell picking up a fumble and rumbling 14 yards for a so-so previously mentioned brilliant flash. Ohio State is 41st Nationally in Total Offense, 88th in Passing For, 68th in Passing Efficiency, 35th in Scoring Offense, tied for 43rd in First Downs, 86th in Completion Percentage and 18th in Rushing Offense. In other words, Ohio State is the University of Washington or any other middle of the road team. Does Ohio State have explosive players? Yes, definitely, from the 2014 team and i9n the 2014 season. In 2015, we must rely on our own eyes and not what we WANT to see even if the super aanalyst LeBron James lives and dies two steps behind his Buckeyes. In 2015, Ohio State is under-whelming against marginal opponents; a common flaw of an over-hyped, self-absorbed team. Fortunately the Buckeyes do not playing ANYBODY in 2015 (perhaps Michigan State?) so the cut marks from the Bucks facelift and breast enhancements probably wont be seen untilthe Playoffs. Unfortunately the Number 1 ranked Buckeyes believe theyve hit a triple when they were born on 3rd base. Thats a recipe for an upset and Guess what?It is coming!! Will the upset happen against this Northern Illinois Husky team? Lets take a look.
In just about every single Major College Football upset, Quarterback play by the underdog led to the unexpected result. James Madison beating number 13 Virginia Tech with the Dukes QB Drew Duzik leading the way, Boise State beating Adrian Peterson led Oklahoma with Boises Jared Zabrabsky in charge (remember the Hook and Ladder?), Stanford and backup QB Tavita Pritchard beating #2 USC as a 41 point dogg, and the Grand Daddy of them all >>> Number 5 and National Champ contender Michigan losing to Appy State led by QB Armanti Edwards. In all these games the underdog quarterbacks came up huge and all 4 of these games I saw. The QBs were fearless, well-polished, and exceptionally good. Husky QB Drew Hare has the experience, talent, polish, and coolness under pressure to pull off an upset in Columbus. The Huskies are also a surprising FBS team since 2010 tying with Alabama and Stanford in second place for most wins among FBS schools with 47. Since 2009 the Huskies have won half their games against Big Ten opponents beating, most recently, Northwestern in 2014. The Huskies are not afraid and their QB has played outstanding in 2015just like he did in 2014. Am I really going to pick an upset here? Yes I believe I am. The table is set and the Buckeyes look fat, happy, with an apple in their jowls! If the Bucks dont lose—they wont cover. This will be a high scoring game
Tim Bs Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Northern Illinois Huskies +34
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