JIMMY THE GREEK SAYS

jimmythegreek

jimmythegreek

The opening odds start here
(5) Ohio St -26 over Nebraska:
After a month and a half following the official open of the 2020 season, the Big Ten finally gets underway this week with Nebraska(5-73-6) taking on 5th ranked Ohio St.(13-1 9-0) Junior QB, Heisman hopeful, and potential top NFL draft pick Justin Fields (238/354 3273 41 TD 3 INT) returns for some unfinished business after last season’s 29-23 semifinal championship loss to Clemson. Unfortunately, Fields will no longer be able to turn around and hand the ball off to J.K. Dobbins or watch Chase Young singlehandedly destroy opposing game plans due to graduation to the NFL. However, under head coach Ryan Day’s tutelege and immediate return to conference play there’s no question Fields will well be up to the challenge in 2020. Master Teague III, who had 789 yards and 5.8 per carry last season, was the likely replacement for Dobbins until he suffered a setback in the spring, reportedly a torn Achilles. The likely top setback in the back field will be transfer Trey Sermon, whom despite an injury in 2019 racked up over 2,000 rushing yards and 25 TD in 3 seasons. Fields also has the beneficiary of a stacked receiving core led by junior wideout Chris Olave (46-80 12 TD), who led the Buckeyes in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2019. Olave’s efforts earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten third team in 2019, and he comes into the 2020 season as a member of the Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list. Garrett Wilson (30-452 5 TD) will make the move to the slot for the 2020 campaign, a change that Day said would give him more opportunity in the offense. The Buckeyes averaged 57 ppg last season and won by an average of better than 33 points per game including 8 games by better than 30. None of this bodes well for Nebraska’ defense which allowed 28 points per game last season though they did hang in some of their tough conference losses. Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander will look to bring even more heat this upcoming season but that could be a challenge due to the laste season start. The Davis twins were the top sack artists last year, with Khalil recording 8 and Carlos 4. With them gone, Ben Stille, a senior defensive end, becomes the one that the coaching staff will lean on to create pressure. Stille, who might be the only defensive lineman who can confidently be penciled in as a starter, had 3 sacks last year and 6.5 tackles for loss, which was 3rd on the team behind Khalil Davis and JoJo Domann, Nebraska’s athletic hybrid OLB/safety.

One issue surrounding Nebraska in 2019 that has a tendency to carry over is the health of QB Adrian Martinez, who was coming off an outstanding freshman season. He missed two games because of a knee injury and then had offseason surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. Of course things don’t get any easier with news of the transfer of JD Spielman, who amassed nearly 900 receiving yards last season. Now at TCU, depth in the passing game will be a question mark. Wandale Robinson, a dual threat back, may have to pick up the slack as the primary target for the aerial attack with Jack Stoll as the secondary option. One thing that Nebraska has acclaimed is more depth in the running game given a balanced roster featuring Brenden Jaimes, Matt Farnoik, Jurgens, Boe Wilson, Trent Hixson, and talented 6-9, 295-pound redshirt freshman Bryce Benhart returning. The challenge of course will be prevalent this season given that the Buckeyes allowed just a shade under 14 points per contest. Even after losing Young and his single-season school record 16.5 sacks, the Buckeyes are well-stocked at defensive end. Zack Harrison is projected to near duplicate Young as their top defender as he brings the pressure outside against opposing QB’s dominating the d line. Jonathan Cooper, who missed 4 games last season due to ankle surgery and Tyreke Smith are also expected to make plays in which Ohio St could take advantage.

With Nebraska losing 5 key starters on defense from last season, they will struggle against Fields and a high octane hurry up potent Ohio St offense that will feature plenty of speed and experience. While I do expect some early season rust on both sides, the Cornhuskers need to create some stops early to stay within striking distance. Martinez is under the spotlight after an uneven sophomore campaign and a rebuilt Ohio State defense is a tough place to start 2020. Daye, Fields and company will look to give the championship aspirations another shot making a statement early in the season.

I’ll have a second Saturday play coming up later.
 
jimmythegreek

jimmythegreek

The opening odds start here
Michigan St -13 over Rutgers:
We stay in the Big Ten with a Spartan squad (7-6 4-5)who needed to win their final 2 games to be eligible for a Pinstripe Bowl Berth in which they eventually took advantage by beating Wake Forest27-21 at Yankee Stadium. Last season during the regular campaign, MSU pitched a 27-0 shutout behind a defense that received mixed reviews. Sparty allowed 22.5 points per contest last season, seemingly dominating against weaker league competition while not posing much of a challenge against national foes. After losing Brian Lewerke to graduation, the Phoenix native did compile nearly 9550 yards in total offense including 3100 last season with 17 TD and 13 INT, the focus of the starting job now turns to a battle between Rocky Lombardi and Theo Day. Whoever wins the job will be flanked in the backfield by redshirt sophomore Elijah Collins, an All-Big-Ten-caliber running back, and throw to a promising cast of receivers including Western Michigan transfer Jayden Reed, sophomore Tre Mosley and redshirt sophomore Jalen Nailor. Mel Tucker is not one to put his pedal to the metal when it comes to an up tempo offense, but he is aiming for better results in 2020. An identical scoring average to their defense last season, Tucker would like to see some more consistency, primarily in the run game which isn’t as suspect. It might be a bit difficult to emerge with a thousand yard rushing game from just a single setback, however, if there’s one back where you couldn’t put it past, the name Elijah Collins certainly comes to mind. The sophomore last season fell just 12 yards short of the milestone last season with a 4,4 rushing average and 5 TD. Western Michigan transfer Jayden Reed, sophomore Tre Mosley and redshirt sophomore Jalen Nailor will provide plenty of targets for Lombardi. TO say that Rutgers’ defense was a mess last season was an understatement, allowing 37 ppg and dropping 6 of their 10 losses by better than 30 points. No team in the B1G had more trouble reaching the quarterback than Rutgers last season. The Scarlet Knights ended the year with 18 total sacks in 12 games and five of those came in the team’s only two wins. Rutgers does return Julius Turner, who registered 2.0 sacks and 4 quarterback hurries a year ago. There are a few other names also back in 2020, Mike Tverdov, Jaohne Duggan, Brendan Bordner and Tijaun Mason. However, that group wasn’t very productive. Taken advantage by opposing passing games all season, the secondary will take quite sometime to develop into a productive group that generates positive results.

Rutgers (2-10 0-9) was shut out a 1-A record 4 times in 2019, and averaged just 12.5 overall. The tandem of Johnny Langan (80/159 840 4 TD 9 INT) Artur Sitkowski (44/68 4291 TD 2 INT), and Mclane Carter (27/47 368 2 TD 4 INT) proved to be an understated abysmal. If there was any bright spot out of this fray, Isaih Pacheco (169-729 4.3 7 TD) proved to be productive despite one of the most vulnerable offensive lines in the country. Sitkowski or Noah Vedral are listed as potential starters under center. Aron Cruickshank, a transfer from Wisconsin who had a 95-yard kick return in the Rose Bowl, is listed as a starter at wide receiver. The offensive line hasn’t been a strength for Rutgers over the last few years and it remains a major question mark this season as well. Greg Schiano is going to have plenty of questions that will need to be answered for this bunch on offense as the season progresses. While Pacheco will return, depth runs rather thin behind him. Aaron Young will be his backup. Young rushed for 171 yards on 43 attempts last season. Bo Melton (30-427 2 TD) along with Cruickshank will be the primary targets in the receiving core. The Spartans are better equipped at the end position with Jacub Panasiuk returning for his third year as a starter. Panasiuk finished with 34 tackles, 8.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks as a junior and finally has the opportunity to emerge from the large Willekes’ shadow as the team’s premier pass rusher. The Spartans will come close to rivaling their run defense from a year ago, but look for an incremental step back until the inexperienced linemen have a little more playing time under their belts.

Both teams are in a state of transition with new coaches and potentially new quarterbacks in the mix. It’s hard to have faith in Rutgers until you actually see them prove that they’ve improved on the field as opposed to on paper. Look for Michigan State to run the ball against a Rutgers’ defense that was 107th in the country last season. With Lombardi having experience under center and facing an undermanned, outclassed defense, expect the mix of both the depth at receiver to dominate Rutgers o a convincing victory.


Best of luck however you play!
YTD 2-8 .200 -7.20
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
Wow State a disaster so far. A buddy of mine was convinced Rutgers was going to lay a serious egg, he had "heard" their practices were a mess. He bet -13, then added some at -10 and then he told me live he added some -2.5. I'm guessing he might even be taking them +4.5 or whatever price now. Can't take too strong a position on college teams early in the season.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top