Can Michigan State cover the huge spread against Ohio State? | College Football Enquirer
Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde discuss the huge top 10 clash between Michigan State and Ohio State, and make their picks for which team will cover the huge 18.5-point spread.
Video Transcript
DAN WETZEL: Michigan State is at Ohio State, noon on ABC. Boy, Vegas loves those Buckeyes, giving 18 and 1/2, the over/under, 66.5. 80% of the bets but just 60% of the money is on Ohio State. Pat, who you got?
PAT FORDE: Man, you had to go to me first, huh? This is a tough one. I mean, I really do think Ohio State's gonna win. I think they are demonstrably the better team.
I like the pluck of the Spartans. I really do. I mean, they are a tough team. They've just-- they've got to not get strafed in the secondary. And they've got to have Kenneth Walker run the ball 30 times or more for 150 and try to control the clock, shrink the game.
Payton Thorne, step up, play well, which he's capable of. Jayden Reed, make some plays. Naylor, make some plays on the receiving end there. Get some pressure on Stroud. Try to make him uncomfortable.
I'm gonna take the Spartans to cover and hope this goes better than last week, when I took the Boilermakers to cover and they really never came close.
PETE THAMEL: I'm gonna take Ohio State, mostly because I've listened to the logic of Pat's argument and not the result of Pat's argument. And Ohio State has, I think, the 12th or 13th-ranked rush defense.
I don't trust Michigan State's pass offense. I certainly don't trust Michigan State's pass defense. And most importantly, what I learned watching the remnants of Ohio State-Purdue, is that Ryan Day does not take his foot off the gas in the fourth quarter of a game. He was not gonna let those Boilermakers do a backdoor cover.
CJ Stroud was out there with, like, six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. I could practically hear Mrs. Stroud yelling, what are you doing? But that was more-- I was like, oh, they're gonna have to [? Stroud ?] out the second-- nope, nope. So all signs, including tap, point to the Buckeyes rolling.
DAN WETZEL: Love you, Spartans, but yeah. I watched Cade McNamara torch you with that. They cannot throw the ball at Michigan, and they torched Michigan State. Yeah, I'm taking Ohio State in this one. I don't-- the dream season ends here.
Look, you won nine games already. You beat Michigan. You got our attorney general trashed in your parking lot. Call it a win-win and move on. Buckeyes are gonna roll.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
PETE THAMEL: When can I announce--
PAT FORDE: Can I have a fact--
DAN WETZEL: Wait, wait.
PAT FORDE: I want fact checks in here, a couple fact checks for the boys here.
DAN WETZEL: If you let him, he may get homicidal and try to kill us or something.
PAT FORDE: No, but let's fact check this, OK? [? Sully, ?] last in passing yards allowed, 56th in efficiency, which, to me, matters more, OK?
DAN WETZEL: Oh, he's going advanced stats, huh, Mr. Big Brains.
PAT FORDE: Pete, you don't trust the Michigan State passing attack, second in the Big Ten in passing efficiency.
PETE THAMEL: That doesn't mean anything in the Big Ten. They all run the ball.
PAT FORDE: No, they don't. I mean, OK, well, then neither does Ohio State ranking first in pass efficiency. I guess that doesn't matter either?
DAN WETZEL: They're playing them.
PAT FORDE: OK. I'm just saying let's-- I mean, I'm not saying Michigan State's gonna win. But picking them to cover a pretty large spread doesn't seem that outrageous to me.
