Big Ten football win total predictions: Can you take the Ohio State over?
Ohio State football win total prediction: Over 10.5 (-240)
You could give me this line at 11.5 (in fact, given the juice, I would prefer that) and I’d be taking the over. The Big Ten is undoubtedly a gauntlet that is strong basically throughout most of the league this season, but no team in the conference has what Ohio State does. C.J. Stroud and this offense helped by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, TreVeyon Henderson, a host of highly recruited receivers and a great line should be elite.
But what makes me even higher on this team is the defense now that Jim Knowles has arrived. The Buckeyes have never been short on talent on this side of the ball, but the execution has been erratic. That won’t be the case under Knowles and OSU will go perfect through the regular season.
Penn State football win total prediction: Over 8.0 (-150)
In all likelihood, I think this will end up being a push at 8-4 on the season for Penn State, but I think that the over is a far more likely outcome than the under, hence why I lean to that side, even with the juice.
The Nittany Lions offense, though I’m not the biggest Sean Clifford fan, is hard not to like with Parker Washington and Nick Singleton as big-time weapons and a rushing attack that should see a huge boon from where they’ve been over the past two lackluster seasons. Moreover, Penn State’s defense is rich with talent, even if some of it is unproven, that should put them in a good spot to at least give us the push with eight wins.
Purdue football win total prediction: Under 7.0 (+120)
There’s a lot of faith to be had in Aidan O’Connell and what Jeff Brohm has shown over his time with the Boilermakers. They’re good for a big-time upset at least once per season and will play hard on both sides of the ball. What worries me is the talent lost.
David Bell and Milton Wright aren’t on the offense and George Karlaftis, among others, is gone from the defense. Throw in the fact that the Purdue offensive line returns only two starters while the running game was bad in its own right last year, I don’t see how this team wins more than seven games, so I’m riding with the under, especially with the push protection.
Rutgers football win total prediction: Under 3.5 (+130)
Not quite sure what I’m missing with Rutgers to be getting plus money on the under but I’m going to take it and run with it. This is a team that I have pegged to win either two or three games, but it’s hard to see where more than that is possible for the Scarlet Knights.
We know that Greg Schiano knows how to make this a respectable program but I think we’re still a couple of years away. With turnover at the skill positions and on the offensive line, I just don’t see this team scoring enough to compete in what I believe is a deep, deep Big Ten.
Wisconsin football win total prediction: Over 8.5 (-140)
While a bit juicy, I’m all the way in on this. After seeing the relative struggles of Graham Mertz last season in addition to the breakout performance of running back Braelon Allen, I expect the Badgers to get back to their brand of football, namely pounding the rock and playing good defense. And as for the defense, that’s a unit that should be young but the returners are absolute studs.
Having cross-division matchups with Ohio State and Michigan State is tough, but this is the best team in the west by my estimation and I have them beating Sparty as well. Getting to just nine wins should be a pretty tame task for Wisconsin.
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