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A spread can tell the story of a game, and really a season.
Nebraska, for example, was a 24-point home underdog against Ohio State last week. The Huskers hadn’t been bigger underdogs in 60 years. Sixty! And that was a week removed from Nebraska losing its first home game at night in nine years.
So the idea of Ohio State, which had yet to really play any legitimate contenders on the road, going into Lincoln and winning by more than 24 points might’ve seemed crazy. Yes, the Buckeyes smoked them in Columbus last year, but that was after Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. went down.
Of COURSE I took the points. And of COURSE I watched Ohio State cover that spread in the first 20 minutes of the game. That told Nebraska fans everything they needed to know about the Mike Riley era, which is on its final legs.
It was perhaps, as revealing as any game in the B1G this year. There are no traditional powers getting 24 points at home this week.
That was just my way of justifying how my stupid brain works when I make these picks and post a 2-4 mark.
LAST WEEK
- Dustin Schutte: 5-1
- Garrett Kroeger: 3-3
- Connor O’Gara: 2-4
SEASON
- Schutte: 37-24
- O’Gara: 33-28
- Kroeger: 32-29
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.