The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) have moved up to No. 3 in the national polls thanks to a dramatic comeback win over the Penn State Nittany Lions last week, but they cannot afford to look past the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3) this Saturday.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The Buckeyes are listed as 17-point road favorites on the betting lines after opening at -16.5 and briefly dropping down to -16.
The Hawkeyes have lost 12 of the past 13 meetings but have gone 6-2 against the spread in their last eight games against Big Ten opponents. The schools have not met since 2013 though, and the previous three matchups have all been decided by 10 points or less. Sportsbooks will likely need Iowa to come through as a home dog in this spot.
The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions (7-1) will have a more challenging opponent off their 39-38 loss at Ohio State, visiting the 24th-ranked Michigan State Spartans (6-2) as 8-point road chalk. Penn State opened at -7.5 and has dropped three of the past four meetings with Michigan State both straight up and ATS.
Again, the books will probably be counting on the Spartans to cover the spread this weekend, something they did not do last week in a 39-31 triple-overtime road loss to the Northwestern Wildcats as 1.5-point road favorites.
The top two SEC teams – and top two teams in the country – are also monster home favorites this week.
The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) return from a bye week to host the LSU Tigers (6-2) as 21-point chalk, down slightly from the opener of -21.5. The Tigers are 0-3-1 ATS in the past four meetings and have lost six straight in the series.
The second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (8-0) are coming off a 42-7 rout of the Florida Gators and remain on a collision course to meet Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. This week, the Bulldogs are set as 24.5-point favorites versus the South Carolina Gamecocks (6-2), also down from the opener of -25.
Georgia is riding a seven-game SEC winning streak (6-1 ATS) and has won three of four both SU and ATS in the series.
