Nebraska football’s sour taste from their trip to Bloomington will continue to worsen after seeing the opening betting lines for their Saturday matchup.
The Huskers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) fell to No. 13 Indiana 56-7 on the road, giving bettors little faith in the Big Red’s next trip into Big Ten Country. Nebraska is listed as a 20 1/2 point underdog across most sports books to open this week’s college football betting lines.
The No. 4 Buckeyes (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) are coming off a bye week and their lone loss to now No. 1 Oregon 32-31 in Eugene. Ohio State’s three-score betting advantage peaks as high as 23 1/2 by the FanDuel sportsbook, while the Vegas Insider has the Buckeyes as 20 1/2 point favorites at home. The preseason betting line had Ohio State as 25 1/2 point favorites.
The over/under total points is set at 46 1/2 points, while other sports books have the Huskers and Buckeyes total as high as 48 1/2 points. Nebraska is averaging 23.5 points per game while Ohio State scores 43.5 points per contest, good for firth in the country.
It is the second time that Nebraska has been listed as an underdog this season, beginning last week as 6 1/2 point underdogs to Indiana prior to falling by 49 points on the road. The Huskers have covered the spread in five of their seven games by early lines, with the exceptions being the Indiana and Illinois losses.
Ohio State has been listed as double-digit favorites in all of their games except their loss to Oregon. The Buckeyes have also covered the spread in all of their contest except their loss in Eugene.
Nebraska football and its opponents have failed to cover their contests twice this season, including their wins at Purdue and against Rutgers. The Huskers have covered all the over totals previously, including the Indiana loss.
The Huskers and Buckeyes await another Big Noon Kickoff matchup with kickoff at 11 a.m. CDT on Saturday and television coverage on FOX.