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College Football

Big Ten championship betting preview: Sharps pounce on total for Wisconsin-Ohio State clash

Big Ten championship betting preview: Sharps pounce on total for Wisconsin-Ohio State clash

The point spread is on the move for Saturday's Big Ten championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin, but the total has seen the bigger adjustment.

Joe Rodgers
Senior Staff Writer
BetChicago
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@RodgersBC
Joe Rodgers is a sports analyst specializing in betting odds and fantasy. He has spent time with Perform Group Media, earned a master's degree, and is even a certified pace car driver.
The point spread is on the move for Saturday's Big Ten championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin, but the total has seen the bigger adjustment. Circa Sports in Las Vegas took several respected bets on the OVER for Saturday night's game (8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, FOX), oddsmaker Matt Lindeman told BetChicago in a direct message. The sharp play prompted an adjustment from an opening total of 52 to 53.5 within the first hour of trading on Sunday afternoon. By Wednesday, the total was up to 56 at Circa, with other books dealing even higher numbers. At CG Technology, the point spread opened at Ohio State -18, but sharp action on the Badgers (10-2 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) at +18 and +17 dropped the line to 16.5 by Sunday afternoon, risk analyst Will Bernanke told BetChicago in an email. The consensus spread sits at 16.5 as of Wednesday's writing. __MORE:__ [Big 12 championship betting preview](http://betindiananews.com/baylor-vs-oklahoma-betting-lines-big-12-title-game/) Ohio State (12-0, 9-3 ATS) easily covered the -14.5 closing line against the [Badgers on Oct. 26](https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=401112254), winning at home, 38-7 (UNDER 48) and holding Wisconsin's once-Heisman Trophy hopeful Jonathan Taylor to 52 rushing yards. Instead it was Ohio State RB J.K Dobbins who looked like a Heisman favorite, as he recorded 163 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 carries. Ohio State outgained Wisconsin 431 to 191 yards in the win, but the Badgers sacked QB Justin Fields five times. Fields' mobility has been brought into question after he took a hit to his left knee in the third quarter of last week's demolition of Michigan and went to the turf in pain. Fields walked off the field on his own and after missing few plays, hit Garrett Wilson for a 30-yard TD pass on his first play back. Fields told reporters he aggravated an MCL sprain suffered on the final play of Ohio State's win over Penn State the week before. Not only is Ohio State No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but the Buckeyes are also the best team in several advanced metric sets, including SP+, FEI and Sagrin. Ryan Day's 2019 squad enters the Big Ten championship as the highest power-rated team the program has had since at least 1970, when the SP+ database begins. This year's Buckeyes are also Sagrin's third-best team in the [BCS/playoff era](https://twitter.com/BradPowers7/status/1201535951920484352), behind only 2005 Texas and 2001 Miami, two schools that went on to win the national championship. The 2019 [Buckeyes are favored](https://www.betchicago.com/odds-college-football-national-championship-ohio-state-clemson-2020) to follow suit. Ohio State is coming off a [56-27 win over Michigan](https://www.betchicago.com/college-football-upsets-betting-results-scores-week-14), piling up 577 total yards and going OVER the 53-point total by itself. It wasn't a complete game defensively, however, as Michigan QB Shea Patterson completed 14-of-19 passing in the first half for 250 yards. Ohio State capitalized on turnovers and penalties, but still allowed a season-high 396 yards. This was a secondary that finished last season ranked 62nd nationally in SP+ passing and 115th in IsoPPP, an explosiveness metric. Michigan proved a dynamic passing attack can still have success, but luckily for Ohio State, Wisconsin doesn't have that kind of firepower with Jack Coan, who completed just 10 passes against Ohio State earlier this season. Nope, instead Wisconsin continues to be a predictable and methodical run-first offense behind a strong offensive line. Wisconsin must take advantage on play-action with WR Quintez Cephus and find beatable matchups against linebackers in coverage if they are to keep pace offensively. It's a tough ask, but if the Badgers' No. 14 SP+ defense can force turnovers like Penn State did two week ago, they have a chance to pull off the upset as +550 money-line underdogs. SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency, [projects](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/28201778/sp+-rankings-week-14-why-alabama-drop-iron-bowl-loss) the Badgers to stay within the number with an estimated 14.1-point loss. However, based on recent history, a win by Wisconsin or any other underdog in a conference championship game is improbable. According to ESPN, favorites have dominated the Power-5 championship games, going 10-0 SU and 8-2 ATS the last two seasons and 17-1 SU, 13-5 ATS since 2015. __MORE:__ [College football betting news and insight](https://www.betchicago.com/college-football-betting)
2019-12-04T19:56:57.018Z2019-12-04T14:56-04:00
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