Ohio St Buckeyes 2017 NCAA Football Preview

College Football Predictions – Ohio St Buckeyes 2017 NCAA Football Preview

2016 Recap

2016 Record – 11-2

2016 ATS – 6-7

The Buckeyes did their usual damage during the regular season finishing up at 11-1 with their only loss coming to the JUGGERNAUT Penn St Nittany Lions. The Fiesta Bowl was a bit of a downer, but on the bright side, it was a MEGALOCKS 90,001 STAR GOLD SUPER LOCK WINNER. An 11-2 final record is nothing to be ashamed of, and love ’em or hate ’em, you absolutely have to respect the fact that Ohio St is always a threat to win the whole enchilada.

2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating

Big 10 – TBD

East Division – TBD

OFFENSE

Ohio St was #1 in the Big 10 in total offense last season and lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 39 points per game. QB JT Barrett is back for his seemingly 16th season and is one of the top-two QBs in the conference. All he did last season was throw for 24 TD passes and rush for over 800 yards. If there is a question mark on offense it is the WR group as they return nobody who had more than 20 catches in 2016. TE Marcus Baugh grabbed 24 balls.

The rushing attack should help the Buckeyes move like a TREMENDOUS MACHINE. RB Mike Weber should follow up his 1,096-yard season with a monster campaign in 2017. The offensive line will miss excellent C Pat Elfein but brings back 4/5 starters from the 2016 unit. Despite the lack of experience at WR we expect the Buckeyes to put up close to 40 points per game.

DEFENSE

The Buckeyes have allowed around 15 points per game in both of the past two campaigns. This year they bring back 7 starters to the stop unit including almost the entire DL and LB groups. They lose last year’s leading tackler LB R McMillan (2nd Team AA) but do feature a fantastic DL that includes Tyquan Lewis (8 sacks, 10 TFL, 5 QBH, Big 10 DLPOY). We cannot remember the last time a team lost THREE #1 NFL draft choices in the secondary but that is precisely what the Buckeyes have to deal with in 2017. Maybe we will get our SNEAKY HOT INTERNS on the case to conduct a bit of research. The defense might be down just a bit but we still feel they are a top-shelf unit.

SPECIAL TEAMS

This will be a test for the recruiting machine that is THE Ohio St University. The Buckeyes will need to break in a new PK and P this season (both freshmen) and that always gives us a bit of the HEEBIE JEEBIES.

Potential ATS Trouble Spot

November 18 – ILLINOIS. Welcome to the Michigan St / Michigan sandwich whilst laying a ton of points.

MEGAmazing Tidbits

The Buckeyes have never had a negative turnover margin in the Urban Meyer era (+33 over 5 years).

MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 5.0

MEGALOCKS says:

Overall, we give the BUCKEYES a 5.0 ATS Value Rating (Average) this season.

Five seasons with Urban Meyer as HC. Five seasons with 11+ wins. Sick. They look loaded yet again although they still need to deal with Penn St and Michigan. We still like their chances.

When it comes to adding them to your betting cards you have to appreciate that they are 36-29 (55%) ATS in the Meyer era despite getting the worst of the number on most occasions. We maintain our neutral view and will patiently wait for value on whatever side of their games offer value.

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