Rose Bowl – Washington vs Ohio St
The Game
Yes, guy. ROSE BOWL time.
The Buckeyes came within a HAIR of reaching the college football playoff after MUTILATING your pals from Michigan, but ultimately, their blowout loss at the hands of Purdue sealed their fate. They did OHIO ST THINGS for most of the season and come into this game as Big Ten Champs with a record of 12-1. The Huskies are PAC 12 KINGS but did lose three games along the way. They were very good, but not dominant. Will Urban Meyer end his Ohio St coaching career with a win or will Washington spoil the party?
The Details
Ohio St -6.5 Washington (57.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Ohio St -6
Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Ohio St 32 Washington 25.5
The Match-Up:
Ohio St offense vs Washington defense
QB Dwayne Haskins had a Heisman-worthy season for the Buckeyes and put up remarkable numbers (4,580, 70%, 47-8 TD to INT). It’s too bad that there were THREE incredibly talented QBs to choose between this year when it came to the major HARDWARE. The Buckeyes rank #2 in the FBS in total offense and #2 in passing offense. They are also #3 in passing efficiency but will face a stern test vs a Huskies secondary that has only allowed 9 (!) TD passes all season. Washington does a good job of preventing TDs through the air BUT they do allow 64% (!) completions and are not exactly masters of PENETRATION (21 sacks – #10 PAC 12). Haskins should be able to find one of his FOUR wideouts that have 600+ receiving yards on a regular basis and it will be interesting to see if he takes what the defense gives him and doesn’t throw into traffic. The running game also boasts a 1,000-yard RB in JK Dobbins and a TD machine in Mike Weber (14). We feel that the implied team total of 32 for Ohio St looks about right. Washington plays solid D but the Buckeyes are REALLY explosive. <grabs popcorn>
Washington offense vs Ohio St defense
Senior signal-caller Jake Browning gets one more chance to lead his team to a victory on the big stage. Browning only tossed 16 TD passes this season to go along with 10 INTs (65%). The weapons at WR are not elite but good enough to do some damage vs the Ohio St secondary. Aaron Fuller and Ty Jones can both smoke you with a big play (15.6, 16.8 YPC respectively) although Fuller has not had a game with over 63 yards receiving since October 6th (UCLA). The Huskies DO NOT want to get into a shootout and will have to get the ground attack going if they are to have any shot in this one. RB Myles Gaskin is a reliable workhorse that can get things done (1,147, 10 TD) but he only averages 4.9 YPC. Salvon Ahmed has rushed for 604 yards and 7 TDs (6.1 YPC) and may be able to provide some pop. Ohio St is ranked #60 vs the run and #43 in pass efficiency defense so it’s not like Washington will be facing a brick wall. Two things to be concerned about. The Buckeyes pass rush (12 sacks in their last three games after totaling five in the previous four contests) and their proven ability to handle vanilla offenses (Michigan, Northwestern).
Trends, Intangibles and More!
It’s hard to believe that this is Urban Meyer’s first Rose Bowl but that is indeed the case…..Meyer is 11-3 SU in bowl games (!)…..Washington HC Chris Petersen is just 1-3 SU in bowl games with the Huskies (beat Southern Miss in the 2015 Heart of Dallas Bowl)….Special teams may help out the Buckeyes as they are #5 in net punting whilst the Huskies are #120.
Summary
Ohio St should be focused and ready to send out their HALL OF FAME head coach with a victory. The story of this game might actually be an Ohio St DEFENSE (?) that has not been great by any stretch of the imagination BUT should be able to hold the Huskies’ offense in check.
We think the best play might be to take a stab at the Huskies team total under.
Conclusion
Official play: None yet.
Side: Lean to Washington team total under 25.5.
Total: No leanage.
As always:
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game. Nothing more. < but always stay tuned for updates >
‘Slight lean’ implies we are almost certain to avoid the game and/or total from a betting standpoint even for ‘small potatoes’. We give an opinion for those who need to get down and want advice.