Western Michigan Broncos vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/07/2024

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 7, 2024

Venue:  Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  WMU +38, OSU -38; Over/Under:  54 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  WMU +38, OSU -38; Over/Under:  54 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  WMU +38.5, OSU -38.5; Over/Under:  54.5 points

Western Michigan Broncos:  0-1 (0-0) (9th place, MAC)

Ohio State Buckeyes:  1-0 (0-0) (1st place, Big Ten)

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Western Michigan Broncos:  lost their last game on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers 28-14.

Ohio State Buckeyes:  won their last game at home against the Akron Zips 52-6.

Western Michigan is entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They lost their last game against Wisconsin 28-14. Hayden Wolff was the starting QB and he completed 12/18 passes for 141 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Jalen Buckley led the team in rushing yards with 64 and 2 TDs. Malique Dieudonne led the receivers with 45 receiving yards on 2 receptions. Donald Willis led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while Isaiah Green led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Ohio State is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Akron 52-6. Will Howard was the starting QB and he completed 17/28 passes for 228 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. TreVeyon Henderson led the team in rushing yards with 65. Jeremiah Smith led the receivers with 92 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 2 TDs. Lathan Ransom led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while J.T. Tuimoloau led the defense in sacks with 1.5. Denzel Burke and Gabe Powers each came away with 1 interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Ohio State listed as a 38 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Ohio State opened the season with a big win over Akron and it took them some time to get going in that one. They came out slow in the first half, but this is a team that has started the season slow over the last few years. They picked it up in the 2nd half though and their offense began to roll. Ohio State has a ton of talent in their roster this season, so much so that this is one of the best teams put together in CFB over the last decade. Their defense always plays at an elite level, but they also made a point to upgrade their offense with Will Howard who was great for Kansas State last season. Meanwhile, Western Michigan wasn't terrible in their season opener. They lost 28-14 to Wisconsin on the road but they put up a good fight and were in that game for the first half. They covered the spread in that one too while Ohio State actually missed covering the spread in their first game by just a few points. The spread is much lower here since they are playing a stronger team than they had in week 1, but Western Michigan still plays in the MAC like Akron and they aren't a great team in their conference. The talent difference between these teams will be too much for Western Michigan to handle here. WMU is going to struggle to move the ball against a much better Big Ten defense and Ohio State will be ready to go after their offense got rolling in the 2nd half of week 1. The best way to place a bet here is on Ohio State to cover the spread in this game. 

Western Michigan Ohio State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 7, 2024 (7:30 pm ET start time) is OSU 49 WMU 7.

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Western Michigan Broncos: 5-3 ATS in their last 8 road games. 6-2 ATS in the first half of their last 8 road games. 8-4 to the first quarter under in their last 12 games. 

Ohio State Buckeyes: 4-8 ATS in the first quarter of their last 12 games. 9-4 to the under in their last 13 games. 9-3 to the first quarter under in their last 12 games. 

Western Michigan Broncos:  K. Womack (WR) Out - Hand.

Ohio State Buckeyes:  J. Bonsu (SAF) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Casto (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Jackson (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Stocksdale (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Simon (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Armstrong (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Caffey (RB) Out - Knee.

“I was really proud of our team tonight and how they fought for 60 minutes. We’ve got to learn how to finish, but I think you learn more in defeat than sometimes you do in victory, and it’s only failure if you don’t learn from it. I’m proud of the men in that locker room. There’s some things that we can clean up to get better and we will.” - Lance Taylor after his team’s loss against Wisconsin in their last game. 

“We expect to go out there and score every time we touch the ball and run the ball well. We’re not in the excuse-making business, so those guys have got to go out and play really, really well. That’s what we expect. We’re at Ohio State, so let’s go. But I’m predicting that this week they have a really good week of practice and they keep growing from it and they build from it, and they have a point of reference moving forward.” - Ryan Day after his team’s win against Akron in their last game. 

WR Sambucci, Anthony 

WR Dieudonne, Malique

WR Womack, Kenneth 

TE Bosma, Blake 

QB Wolff, Hayden 

RB Buckley, Jalen

WR Smith, Jeremiah

WR Tate, Carnell 

WR Egbuka, Emeka 

TE Scott Jr., Gee 

QB Howard, Will 

RB Judkins, Quinshon

Passing: H. Wolff (141)

Rushing: J. Buckley (64)

Receiving: M. Dieudonne (45)

Touchdowns: J. Buckley (2)

Passing: Will Howard (228)

Rushing: TreVeyon Henderson (65)

Receiving: Jeremiah Smith (92)

Touchdowns: Jeremiah Smith (2)

Coaches:

Western Michigan Broncos: Lance Taylor (2nd season)

Ohio State Buckeyes: Ryan Day (7th season)