B1G Action: Betting lines for the B1G Championship

It’s only fitting that the gambling season, one marked with a sub-500 record and the maddening inconsistencies of identifying what version of Ohio State shows up, will culminate in another opportunity for the Buckeyes to bilk me out of financial security. It’s time to engage in full-throttle assault on the number.

Ohio State underwhelmed the entire season save for last Saturday at home. The Buckeyes picked the right time to peak as evidenced by the bludgeoning and borderline war crime perpetrated on Michigan. Had that sort of offensive balance, big play on special teams, and competent defense appeared through the regular season I’d feel much more comfortable laying a number against Northwestern.

Ah yes, the Wildcats, residents of the B1G West. A place where Scott Frost decided to come and Jeff Brohm decided to stay thanks to the fingertips’ reach of the brass ring. Northwestern and that glistening 8-4 record, because the dangers of Akron are much more than LeBron James leading the charge on a fast break, represent the other side of the conference.

(All lines taken from mybookie.ag)

Author’s note: Lines may have shifted from when I pulled the number for the column. Lighten up gang.

Big Ten Championship: Northwestern +14 vs. Ohio State o/u 61

The play: Northwestern and the Over

Illogical reasoning: My logic, skewed as it is and fostered from an unhealthy adulation for Larry David (anyone who tells you they’re Larry David is not only too egocentric to compare themselves to the greatest comedic mind the north side of the ground from Harold Ramis but so unlike Larry David because he would never compare himself to anyone out of too much self-loathing) regarding this game is Seinfeldian.

I’m taking Northwestern not from what Ohio State may do to them, but from what other teams will do earlier in the day. The idea stems from David’s ability to weave a shred of shared storyline through the duration of an episode, only for all the shreds to mesh into a shared outcome,

Thanks to the college football playoff committee, a group I imagine to be high on formality and self-praise, Oklahoma ranks ahead of Ohio State in the rankings going into Championship Saturday. I’ll rain hell on the committee for the sheer existence of it, but at least they want to be entertained and gave us the possibility of an Alabama Oklahoma semi-final. If Oklahoma takes the horns to Texas, Ohio State goes without a shot at the national championship regardless of how many points they score. The team is enough of a humdrum operation to know that and play to the level of “just good enough to win, baby.” Someone change the Ghost of Al Davis’ tracksuit, the old one is soaked in tears and Hai Karate.

Play the revenge card theory if you’d like but the Buckeyes slept-walked through a majority of the season, and in reality own two solid wins, the calcified win against Michigan and the one against Penn State in Beaver Stadium.

The game will mean more for Northwestern. It’s an old habit for Ohio State as the team enters its fourth B1G championship since it came into existence in 2011. That sort of routine gets taken for granted when your play will matter little to who gets in the college football playoff.

Northwestern will hang around with the Buckeyes for the better part of three quarters. Look for the Wildcat offense to grind out scoring drives against an at times indifferent Ohio State defense. Ohio State can score with anyone, the offense operating as the sole consistent facet of the program. Welcome to the Over.

Ohio State wins the game, but it comes after a good amount of sweating it out. Take Northwestern and expect the Buckeyes to score once on special teams to push the number over 61.

Overall record: 15-22-2

Main event status: No status. No status whatsoever. End on a high note and Costanza the hell out of the season with a win.