UNLV Rebels (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS)
College Football Week 4
Date/Time: Saturday, September 23rd, 2017 12:00 PM ET
Where: Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio
TV: Big Ten Network
by KEITH, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: BUCKS -40.5
Over/Under Total: 63.5
The University of Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels will head across the country to Columbus, Ohio as they will enter The Horseshoe to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1). The two teams have no recent meetings. The contest is scheduled for kick off on Saturday, September 23rd, 2017 at 12:00 PM ET where the Big Ten meets the Mountain West. The fixture will be broadcasted for national audiences on the Big Ten Network.
After losing an abysmal defeat to the Oklahoma Sooners in a Saturday night featurette, the Buckeyes rebounded beautifully when they ousted the visiting Army Black Knights by a score of 38-7 in their follow-up on September 16th. The Buckeyes post-season hopes are still alive and well if they can navigate an arduous Big Ten schedule. But first, they must handle the Rebels. A team that lost in the greatest paper upset in college football history on Labor Day Weekend. UNLV entered as a 45-point home choice to visiting Howard University. The Rebels would fall by a score of 43-40 when NFL quarterback Cam Newtons brother exposed the UNLV defense. Since the historic defeat, the Rebels would return with a 44-16 thrashing of an Idaho team that won nine games in 2016. So far, the season has been a tale of two seasons.
The question for UNLV is which Rebels team shows up? Obviously, this is a unit that is capable of winning games in impressive fashion but also losing games in a deplorable manner. The two results that UNLV has fostered this season were expected to be reversed. The Rebs were supposed to lose to Idaho but win against Howard. The opposite happened and UNLV has produced a 1-0 SU record as an underdog and a contrasting 0-1 record as a favorite. Despite the amount of points they have been afforded here they are a very questionable play. With respect to this, the Bucks have bigger fish to fry as they are ready to kick off their Big Ten campaign after hosting UNLV. However, the Buckeyes have a chance to hit the ground running as they will be up against bottom feeders Rutgers and Maryland to start off their conference schedule. There is little possibility that the Buckeyes are caught looking ahead here because there is no distinct test on the horizon for the Scarlet and Gray until the middle of the season.
Last week, we took Army against the spread and laid the chalk when the Buckeyes were spotting a huge number to the Black Knights. Ohio State closed as a 32.5-point choice and failed to cover the line by a point. In light of this, the Buckeyes are giving away an extra-touchdown plus two-point conversion in their follow-up against a UNLV team coming in off an impressive win. This in itself should raise some red flags. The revelation of this market suggests that there is a lack of faith in UNLV and thus the Buckeyes are in a position to annihilate the visitors. Nevertheless, the public and consensus have followed suit and action on the Buckeyes has raised this market by a point. While it is very likely that Ohio State will take the Rebels to the woodshed, a backdoor cover is very possible given the sheer quantity of points offered on the table. It is feasible for the Buckeyes to jump out to a 52-0 lead and then call off the dogs. A couple junk-time scores can bring the Rebels under the number and result in many tickets being ripped up as a result.
Ohio State is positioned to be a very popular choice given the disparaging differences between the two sides. UNLVs reputation is forever tarnished by the fact that they were victims of a catastrophic loss of apocalyptic proportions. This tidbit is what is driving this market and it sets up the Rebels takers for a great fade opportunity. There is a strong possibility that the Buckeyes close spotting even more points than what is already out there and that makes them even more perilous as a play in this situation.
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