Ohio State Buckeyes vs. TCU Horned Frogs NCAA betting odds & tips

Ohio State vs. TCU – 8:00PM EST, Saturday, September 15 at AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX

Betting Line: Ohio State -12.5
Over/Under: 58 points at Bovada

In one of the few games on the NCAA Football schedule this week between two ranked teams, the 15th-ranked TCU faces off with fourth-ranked Ohio State in a key non-conference matchup.

This game is being held at a “neutral site”, but being in Arlington not far from the TCU campus, the Horned Frogs may have some home field advantage.

Early on in the season both teams are 2-0 with Ohio State at 2-0 ATS with an O/U record of 1-1 and TCU is 1-1 ATS with an O/U record of 1-1.

This is the first ever meetings between these teams.

In a couple of interesting betting trends TCU is 7-1 ATS in their last eight games under head coach Gary Patterson where they are 10.5 to 21 point underdogs, but the Horned Frogs have also failed to cover the spread (0-8 ATS) in the first half of the last two seasons at home. This is not technically a home game for TCU, but not far from their campus let’s call it that.

This will be the last game for Ohio State without the suspended Urban Meyer.

The Buckeyes have crushed their first two opponents by a combined score of 129-34. In their last game they smoked Rutgers beating them 52-3 where they racked up 579 total yards while holding the Scarlet Knights to only 134 yards.

In the blowout win over Rutgers Heisman candidate quarterback Dwayne Haskins was awesome going 20 for 23 for 233 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He plays behind a solid offensive line, has nine touchdowns and only one interception, and has a talented set of wide receivers. Running backs Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins have combined to rush for 364 yards with four touchdowns this season.

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The Buckeyes’ defense is led by star DE Nick Bosa and the team may have the best defensive line in college football. However, while the pass defense has been solid and Ohio State stuffed the run in the win over Rutgers they did give up nearly 200 rushing yards in their season opening 77-31 win over Oregon State.

TCU has two blowout wins in their first two games where they outscored their opponents 97-19. In their last game they were on the road beating SMU 42-12 where they rushed for 239 yards. Quarterback Shawn Robinson was 16 for 29 in the game with 154 yards with a touchdown and an interception and he was also the teams second leading rusher. Robinson leads the team on the season in rushing yards with the running back duo of Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua each having at least 102 rushing yards. On the offensive side of the ball TCU must run the ball and their offensive line has to protect Robinson.

TCU ranks tied for 13th in the nation in points against, but this is the first real test for their defense. The Horned Frogs have only allowed 212 passing yards in their two games, but can they hold Haskins in check? That is a big question heading into this HUGE game.

Ohio State betting trends

• Ohio State is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games
• Ohio State is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 neutral site games
• Ohio State is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games facing teams from the Big 12
• Over record of 9-4 in their last 13 games

TCU betting trends

• TCU is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games
• TCU is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games facing teams from the Big 10
• TCU is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games facing a team with a winning record
• Under record of 9-3 in their last 12 games

Ohio State vs. TCU betting prediction

TCU is a talented team on both sides of the ball, but Ohio State is better and they have a legitimate chance at a National Championship.

The Buckeyes will run the ball well, Hoskins will have another solid effort, and the run defense will keep the Horned Frogs from racking up the rushing yards.

Add those things up and you get Ohio State getting the win and also covering the double-digit spread.