Indiana vs. Ohio State Same Game Parlay Picks, Odds & Predictions

One of the more intriguing matchups of the 2024 college football betting season takes place in Columbus early Saturday afternoon when the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers invade the “Shoe” for a litmus test battle against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes. Curt Cignetti’s troops enter this tilt undefeated at 10-0 and 7-0 in B1G play after winning but grossly failing to cover the 14.5-point spread in a 20-15 home win over the Michigan Wolverines. Ryan Day’s squad improved to 9-1 and 6-1 in conference play after going into Northwestern and coming out with a 31-7 win and non-cover in tow. BetMGM Sportsbook opened the NCAAF odds up for this one with Ohio State installed 11.5-point favorites and the total lined 52. The Buckeyes have been bet up to 13.5-point home chalk regardless of the Hoosiers taking in a heavier percentage of the money, while total bettors expect points to be tougher to come by with the O/U down a half-point to 51.5 and 67 percent of the booked handle in favor of the line move.

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Indiana Hoosiers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes CFB Same Game Parlay:

On paper, the Hoosiers look fantastic. They’ll enter hostile territory Saturday afternoon owners of the nation’s No. 2 ranked scoring offense that’s lit it up through the air (#23) and No. 7 ranked scoring defense that’s given up next to nothing on the ground (#1). But who were those gaudy outputs attained against? That my friend is the question seemingly every talking head has an opinion about, and for the most part, nobody has anything good to say about the opposition Indiana has run up against to this point. UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, Nebraska, Washington, Michigan State, and Michigan—not a single one of those teams currently sports a winning record in B1G play, and Washington is the only team that currently sports a +.500 overall record. But save for the single score decision against the Wolverines before going on bye, Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers ran roughshod outscoring those teams by the aggregate score of 279-114. You got another thing coming if you equate Indy’s resume with a mirage and think they’ll enter this huge tilt the least bit intimidated.

Since cruising to a pair of wins and covers against Michigan State and Iowa, the Buckeyes have surprisingly had their hands full since the middle of October. They cost us some of our bankroll in that tough 32-31 loss in Eugene, and was then forced to fight tooth and nail just to get by the Nebraska Cornhuskers coming out of their bye as lofty 25-point favorites. If not for a tremendous goal line stand in Happy Valley, it would’ve fallen at Penn State a week later. Then came the lay-ups against Purdue and Northwestern over the last two weeks. OSU has shown an inability to cover inflated CFB betting lines all season with it entering this crucial tilt 5-5 ATS. Still, Ohio State ranks out as one of the more dominant teams in the nation with Will Howard commandeering one of the country’s more balanced offenses (#18) that’s been backed up by a stone wall of a defense that ranks amongst the top-10 against the pass (#6) and run (#1) equating to the fewest amount of points allowed per game (10.3).

On paper, Ohio State wins this matchup and does so going away! If picking point spread winners was that easy, BetMGM wouldn’t be open for business. The key question to consider when handicapping this game is whether Indiana’s run defense truly lives up to its impressive ranking. Based on their resume, the answer seems to be a resounding no. Cignetti’s run D is yet to run up against a rushing attack comprised of specimens like TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins. That being said, OSU’s rushing attack has gone missing a number of times over the course of the regular season, and will hit their home turf after suffering a huge loss in practice this week when C Seth McLaughlin succumbed to a season-ending Achilles injury. I haven’t been impressed with OSU’s depth along the O-Line and truly believe the absence of the unit’s captain will play a huge role in how this one ultimately plays out. With that, I expect Indiana to be up to the task and expect both sides to feel each other out early on before the fireworks start erupting over the game’s final 30. With that, I’m hitting the Hoosiers plus the points and also adding the first half under as two legs to my same-game parlay. 

• INDIANA HOOSIERS +13.5
• INDIANA/OHIO STATE FIRST HALF UNDER 26.5

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