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Week 3 of the 2018 NCAA Football season continues as the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs on 9/15/18 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 4th ranked Buckeyes will be without their head coach Urban Meyer for the third but final time. Meyer is currently serving a three game suspension after the school investigated his handling of a domestic violence complaint against one of his former assistant coaches. Without Meyer, the Buckeyes won their first two games of the season. But Ryan Day has his work cut for him as Ohio State will face its toughest test to date in TCU.
The 15th ranked Horned Frogs also enter this contest with a 2-0 record. But this is the first time since 2008 that Texas Christian will be facing a Top 10 ranked opponent in a regular season non-conference game. The last time out, the Horned Frogs suffered a 35-10 loss at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners on September 27, 2008.
This is the first meeting between these two schools since 1973.
With Or Without Meyer
The Ohio State Buckeyes showed no ill-effects of playing without head coach Urban Meyer. The team coasted to victory in their first two games of the season and proved that they can get the job done, with or without Meyer.
Ohio State heads to Jerry’s World averaging 64.5 points per game on 650 total yards per game(350 yards passing and 300 yards rushing). Terry McLaurin leads TCU with 2.5 receptions per game and 86 receiving yards per contest with three touchdowns. On the ground, Mike Weber has ran for 108.5 yards per game on an average of 14.0 carries per outing. Weber has also ran for three touchdowns this season.
Ryan Day has got to be happy after the Buckeyes limited the Scarlet Kings to 134 yards of total offense. In their season opener, Ohio State gave up a total 392 yards to the Oregon State Beavers, including a whopping 196 yards on the ground. In week 2, the Buckeyes defense grounded Rutgers’ sophomore running back Raheem Blackshear to only 31 yards rushing.
Ohio State Buckeyes vs TCU Horned Frogs 9/15/18
Odds: Ohio State -525, TCU +430
Odds from Betonline.ag as of 9/12/18
Dual Threat Quarterback
Perhaps the biggest test to the Ohio State defense is TCU’s dual threat quarterback Shawn Robinson. The sophomore play caller has already dashed for 112 yards and scored already 3 rushing touchdowns on just 10 carries this season. Robinson has thrown four touchdowns with one interception in two games. The second year man completed 61.5% of his passes for an average of 164 passing yards per game. Look for Robinson to take advantage of Ohio State’s front seven if they leave the lanes open for him.
Through two games, the Horned Frogs are averaging 48.5 points per game on 205.0 passing yards per game and 241.0 rushing yards per contest or a total offense of 446.0 yards per game.
The TCU defense has held its opponents to 213.5 yards of total offense per game but have produced just two picks and forced one fumble so far in their first two games of the season. Look for Corey Bethley who averages 3.0 sacks per game and Ty Summers who averages 2.0 sacks per outing to lead the Frogs against the Ohio State offensive line.
Who Wins?
Both of these teams have displayed awesome firepower in their first two games. They have also shown that they have great defense. TCU certainly has a shot in this one, especially with a versatile quarterback like Robinson who is going to test the Ohio State defense for sure.
TCU has got to be excited with their second year QB and he’s going to be something special in a couple of years. But good as Robinson is, Ohio State has more weapons at its disposal. Dwayne Haskins has done a good job getting everybody involved early but it’s not just about him but it’s because everybody else around him is just as good too. I think this will go down as to who has more offensive firepower and I think it’s the Buckeyes.
We’re picking Ohio State to beat TCU on 9/15/18..
Any Other Interesting Bet’s To Make?
Ohio State is the 4th ranked team in the nation but sometimes, these big school programs are often overrated. On the other hand, TCU is TCU and isn’t as hyped as Ohio State. I think that’s the case with the spread because + 13.5 seems too gracious to give to an offensive machine like TCU.
Ohio State Buckeyes vs TCU Horned Frogs 9/15/18
Spread Odds: Ohio State -13.5 (-115), TCU +13.5 (-105)
Odds from Betlonine.ag as of 9/12/18
No question that TCU can cover the spread here. The Horned Frogs have covered the spread as underdog in 9 of its last 12 games and those include games against Oklahoma (twice), Texas and West Virginia, schools whose programs are “hyped” like Ohio State’s is. They are also 4-0 ATS in their last four games where they were underdogs by at least 10.5 points. Ohio State will win this game but I don’t think they can cover.
Prediction: TCU +13.5.
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