Bowling Green vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Odds, College Football Pick

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Bowling Green Falcons meet in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday at noon to kick off the season, and both of them are looking to replace some important pieces from last year when they enjoyed successful campaigns. The Buckeyes are listed as large home favorites and have reloaded more easily than in-state opponent Bowling Green.

Point spread: The Buckeyes opened as 27-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 43.0-31.4 Buckeyes

Why the Bowling Green Falcons can cover the spread

The Falcons are coming off a MAC championship under former head coach Dino Babers, who has since left for the Syracuse Orange. They also lost quarterback Matt Johnson, who won the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award. Taking over for Babers is Mike Jinks, who previously served as associate head coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Jinks helped run a high-powered offense at Texas Tech and should add some new wrinkles for a Bowling Green team that finished last season on a 10-3 run against the spread and was 10-4 straight up overall.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes can cover the spread

Ohio State may have lost running back Ezekiel Elliott and defensive end Joey Bosa to the NFL, but head coach Urban Meyer gets paid the big bucks to replace players of their caliber on an annual basis. Both were drafted among the first four overall picks, although Meyer has the talent to fill their voids. It also helps that he has a leading Heisman Trophy contender under center in quarterback J.T. Barrett.

The Buckeyes closed out last year by going 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a 1-5 start, so they should be primed to start this season differently with eyes on making the College Football Playoff.

Smart pick

The Falcons have lost the past three meetings with Ohio State, but they are 3-0 ATS in those games. Ohio State has also not fared well at home recently with a 1-8 mark in its last nine games in Columbus versus the line, according to the Odds Shark College Football Database.

While Bowling Green has gone through more changes since last season, this team appears to be undervalued and will get the cover.

Betting trends

Bowling Green is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games.

Bowling Green is 0-3 SU and 3-0 ATS in its last three games against Ohio State.

Ohio State is 1-8 ATS in its last nine games at home.

All point spread and betting lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Odds Shark on Twitter and YouTube for injury information, line movement updates and more game analysis and get the free odds tracker app.