There’s nothing better than Ohio State football under the lights at the Shoe.
Playing in primetime for the first time in the 2024 season, the Buckeyes welcome a Western Michigan squad to Ohio Stadium after thumping the Akron Zips 52-6 in their season-opener in Week 1.
7:30 Kick in the shoe pic.twitter.com/3DSlu4vd4C
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 7, 2024
The Broncos gave Wisconsin quite the scare at Camp Randall Stadium in Week 1, holding a one-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Badgers ripped off 15 unanswered points to escape with a win.
As the Buckeyes take on their second Mid-American Conference opponent in as many weeks, the Eleven Warriors staff expects another dominant showing from Ohio State on Saturday.
SCORE PREDICTIONS
Andy Anders - Ohio State 48, Western Michigan 3: The Buckeyes’ offense will take strides in some facets from Week 1 to Week 2, but Western Michigan’s defense proved somewhat stingy against Wisconsin and I’m not expecting Ohio State to score two touchdowns on defense every game.
Chase Brown - Ohio State 48, Western Michigan 9: I was bold last week and predicted a shutout for Ohio State. That was a bad call. This week, I'll play it a little safer for the Buckeyes' margin of victory. They still win big, but not 66-0 big.
George Eisner - Ohio State 42, Western Michigan 7: The Broncos played Luke Fickell's crew tough in Badger country last week, and probably would have won if not for an unfortunate bounce betraying their punt return unit late. The Buckeyes needed two defensive touchdowns to break 40 points in the opener. While it seems fair to expect sharper execution from the offense a week later, don't count on seeing a lofty total similar to the previous victory.
Jack Emerson - Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 10: Ohio State takes advantage of another early-season tune-up with the offense showing strides against an improved Western Michigan defense. The Buckeyes give up their first touchdown of the season, but it comes with the backups in during the late stages of the game.
Johnny Ginter - Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 13: The offense looks a little more coherent but the defense looks a little worse until the second half, and depth ends up making a difference.
Matt Gutridge - Ohio State 52, Western Michigan 10: Since 2011, Ohio State has faced 12 MAC opponents and is 7-5 against the spread in those games. In this scenario, the Buckeyes are averaging a 42-point margin of victory. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Garrick Hodge - Ohio State 48, Western Michigan 3: Ohio State will build on last week's win and look a little more composed this week around, but ultimately will end up with a lower scoring total after the Buckeyes cruise in the second half against the Mustangs.
Dan Hope - Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 7: Western Michigan had a fourth-quarter lead over Wisconsin last week as it held the Badgers to just 13 points through their opening possession of the fourth quarter, so this will be a step up in competition for the Buckeyes, at least for Ohio State’s offense. I still expect a convincing win for the Buckeyes, as I think they’ll execute better offensively than Wisconsin and I don’t see WMU having much success against Ohio State’s defense, but the 38-point spread feels about right for the margin of victory.
Kyle Jones - Ohio State 41, Western Michigan 7: Western’s physicality on defense initially slows the Buckeye offense, but the Bronco offense can’t muster much of anything in a game Ohio State runs away with.
Chris Lauderback - Ohio State 42, Western Michigan 6: Jeremiah Smith and the Silver Bullets both find the end zone again as Ohio State cruises in primetime.
Ramzy Nasrallah - Ohio State 56, Western Michigan 3: The Broncos will try to play keep-away and that will not go well unless Joe Moorhead switches MAC programs during the week.
Josh Poloha - Ohio State 52, Western Michigan 6: The Broncos are very likely better than Akron this season, but they are still a MAC team that the Buckeyes should blow out. I expect OSU to put away the game much earlier than it did against the Zips to allow the backups to receive plenty of snaps in the second half. At the very least, Ohio State will hold more than a 30-point lead by halftime.
Jason Priestas - Ohio State 47, Western Michigan 6: The kinks continue to get ironed out and Jeremiah Smith continues to show why he’s not just one of the best freshmen in the country, but one of college football’s best players as the Buckeyes roll 47-6.
Jordan Raines - Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 7: Ryan Day and Co. find a remedy for their slow start woes. Defense looks dominant once again, but is unable to get the shutout against a directional school from that terrible state up north.
WILL OHIO STATE COVER?
The Buckeyes enter Saturday’s primetime tilt as 37.5-point favorites over their overmatched counterparts, and the majority of the 11W staff believes Ohio State will cover that lofty spread.
Five members of the Eleven Warriors staff predicted the Buckeyes would fall short of that mark, with George Eisner, Jack Emerson, Johnny Ginter, Kyle Jones and Chris Lauderback all taking the under.
WHAT ABOUT THE OVER/UNDER?
Like the spread, the over/under dipped from Ohio State’s season-opening bout as oddsmakers predicted the Buckeyes and Broncos will combine for 54.5 points on Saturday.
The 11W staff is split on if the total will clear that high mark, with six members predicting the total to go over. In fact, Ramzy Nasrallah believes the Buckeyes will clear that total mark by themselves, predicting Ohio State will score 56 points against the Bronco defense.
ELEVEN WARRIORS PROP BETS
Looking for more lines to evaluate? Take a peek at our in-house prop betting lines for this matchup to get a greater sense of what oddsmakers are expecting from individual performances. Leave your predictions for us in the comments and compete for bragging rights!
How many yards of total offense will Western Michigan finish with?
- Over 220 yards (-110)
- Under 220 yards (+100)
Who will receive more carries?
- TreVeyon Henderson (-110)
- Quinshon Judkins (-110)
Will Ohio State score a defensive touchdown?
- Yes (+220)
- No (-220)
