Indiana Hoosiers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Odds, College Football Pick

Ohio State owns Indiana, footballwise, winning the last 21 meetings in a row. But the Hoosiers, in giving the Buckeyes some surprisingly good games recently, are 5-0 against the spread over the last five meetings. Coming off its biggest victory in about a decade Indiana shoots to pull another shocker Saturday afternoon at the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Point spread: The Buckeyes opened as 32-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 52.8-25.2 Buckeyes (College football picks on every game)

Why the Indiana Hoosiers can cover the spread

Indiana is off to a 3-1 start to the season, and 1-0 in Big Ten play, after coming from behind to upset Michigan State last week in Bloomington 24-21 in overtime.

The Hoosiers spotted the Spartans an early 7-0 lead, fell down 14-0 late in the third quarter, but awoke to score 21 straight points to take the lead. Indiana allowed Michigan State to tie the game with just 11 seconds left, but made a big defensive stop in the top of the first overtime, then took advantage of a bad Spartans penalty to kick the game-winning field goal.

On the night, the Hoosiers were outgained 438-437 and outrushed 175-156, but held Michigan State to just 4-for-15 on third-down conversions while going 9-for-16 themselves.

Two weeks ago, in losing to Wake Forest 33-28, Indiana actually outgained the Demon Deacons 611-352. Unfortunately, they also committed five turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown, providing the losing margin.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes can cover the spread

The Buckeyes are not only 4-0 straight up this season, they're also 4-0 ATS, and that's tough to do when playing against large and often inflated spreads so often.

Last week, OSU left no doubt as to the cash, routing Rutgers 58-0, covering as 39-point chalk. The Buckeyes didn't score on the Knights until late in the first quarter and still led 30-0 at the half. They then surpassed the spread midway through the third quarter and finished off the shutout from there.

For the day, Ohio State outgained Rutgers 669-116, ran the ball for 410 yards and won time of possession by a 39-21 margin. Then again, it was Rutgers.

Three weeks ago, against somewhat stiffer competition, the Buckeyes ran for 291 yards in their 45-24 victory at Oklahoma. So Ohio State remains right on track for its preferred destination: the College Football Playoff.

Smart pick

OSU looks like a machine, coldly dispatching opponents, snatching cash against spreads of 27, 28 and 39 points already this season. Indiana, meanwhile, is coming off a huge emotional victory last week and might be ripe for a letdown. The Hoosiers have given Ohio State scares the last couple of seasons, but the smart money here still bets the Buckeyes.

Betting trends

Indiana is 0-17 SU in its last 17 games against Ohio State.

Indiana is 5-0 ATS in its last five games against Ohio State.

Ohio State is 17-1 SU in its last 18 games against its conference.

All college football betting lines and point spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.