2017 Week 2 College Football Picks & Predictions – Ohio St @ Indiana Odds & Free Pick 8/31/17

2017 Week 2 College Football Picks & Predictions – Ohio St @ Indiana Odds & Free Pick 8/31/17: The 2017 College Football week 2 schedule begins Thursday, August 31st and Ohio State travels to Indiana for a Big Ten Conference matchup. The odds makers at Bovada Sportsbook have the line for this game posted with Ohio State a -20.5 point favorite and the total is listed at over/under 52 points at 5Dimes Sportsbook. Read our game preview for this season opener matchup for both Ohio State and Indiana below along with our free pick to bet on. If you are looking for our premium picks this season, check out our 2017 College Football picks page for the best plays we offer and also check out our top USA betting sites page for the best sportsbooks to play with this season. Good luck!

2017 Week 2 College Football Picks & Predictions – Ohio St @ Indiana Odds & Free Pick 8/31/17

Game: Ohio St @ Indiana
Line: Oho St -20.5 at Bovada Sportsbook
Total: Over/Under 52 at 5Dimes Sportsbook
Where: Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana
Time: 8 PM EST
Date: Thursday, August 31st, 2017

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer has another talented roster in Columbus for the 2017 College Football season. Meyer welcomes back 15 starters from last season’s 11-2 team that went 8-1 in Big Ten play and ended up losing 31-0 to Clemson in the semifinals of last season’s College Football Playoff. That lost stung bad and it served as extra motivation all offseason for Meyer and a hungry group of Buckeyes players that are determined to make up for it this season.

The Buckeyes had no problem scoring points last season as they put up 39.4 points per game to finish 13th nationally. However, the offense wasn’t as efficient as Meyer would like as they only averaged 459.2 yards per game to finish 31st nationally. Last year’s offensive coordinator Tim Beck is now at Texas working for new Longhorns head coach Tom Herman and Meyer hired former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson as his new play caller.

Wilson inherits 8 returning starters including senior quarterback J.T. Barrett who is much better than last season’s stats indicate. Barrett threw for just 2555 yards and 24 touchdowns last season but should be much more explosive this season in Wilson’s offense. Barrett was a victim of some shoddy offensive line play last season and inexperienced wide receivers but those two groups should be more consistent this season with more experience and in a better structured offensive system.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ohio State has 7 starters back from a unit that allowed just 15.5 points per game to finish 3rd in the country last year. The defense also allowed just 296.8 yards per game to finish 6th nationally. The defense will be stout again and should have three starters in the front seven that make 1st team All-Big Ten with junior lineman Sam Hubbard, senior lineman Tyquan Lewis and junior linebacker Jerome Baker leading the defense.

The Indiana Hoosiers went 6-7 last season and 4-5 in Big Ten play as they made a bowl game for the 2nd straight season under former head coach Kevin Wilson. However, Wilson was let go before the bowl game as he didn’t get along with athletic director Fred Glass and the Hoosiers hired Tom Allen to be the new head coach. Allen lost the Foster Farms Bowl game 26-24 to Utah and the pressure is already on him heading into this season as boosters and alumni aren’t happy with Wilson being dismissed.

The Hoosiers offense struggled last season to score as they only put up 25.8 points per game to wind up 88th in the nation. The unit welcomes back 5 starters this season including senior quarterback Richard Lagow. Lagow is not terrible but he’s far from great too. He’s an average quarterback that plays well at times and he tossed for 3362 yards and 19 touchdowns last season in an up and down year. Lagow could struggle again this season as there’s not much talent at the skill positions to throw to and the offensive line is shaky at best.

Defensively, the Hoosiers were solid last season giving up 27.2 points per game to finish 57th nationally. The unit allowed 380.1 yards per game to end up 45th in the country and should be better this season with 9 starters returning. The defense shouldn’t skip a beat with the new head coach as Allen was the team’s defensive coordinator last year. The system will remain the same and the unit should be improved with all of the returning experience.

Ohio St @ Indiana Free Pick and Score Prediction: Bet on Ohio State to cover the -20.5 point spread and go OVER 52 points. Ohio State wins 41-13.

Bet on the Ohio State @ Indiana game at Bovada Sportsbook