The Ohio Bobcats (5-6) travel to Northeast Ohio to take on the Akron Zips (0-11). The Buckeye State MAC foes kick off at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday at InfoCision Stadium. We analyze the Ohio-Akron odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
Ohio at Akron: Three things you need to know
- Most computer rankings peg Akron in the nation’s bottom-five overall. In two of the play-by-play and drive-based rankings I follow, UA is ranked 130th (of 130) in offense and only slightly better on the other side of the ball. When using analytics “luck” and outliers as the basis of a system, it often becomes untenable to fade the very top teams and play the very bottom. Especially after a shallow win against the spread (one in which UA was out-statted, and the beneficiary of a plus-2 turnover margin and a pick-6) against an unmotivated Miami team a week ago, Akron is in that never-play territory for me this week.
- Ohio is fighting for bowl eligibility. Four of the Bobcats’ six losses – including each of the last three – have been one-score games. Since Oct. 12, the Bobcats have averaged an impressive 5.9 yards per carry. The Akron defense has yielded 2,300 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns in 2019.
- The home-field “advantage” for Akron breaks down thusly: the Zips have averaged 8.8 points per game while allowing 31.0. The Bobcats are 3-2 on the road. They’ve averaged 32.4 PPG against 23.6 PPG for their opponents.
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Ohio at Akron: Odds, betting lines and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Ohio 42, Akron 14
Moneyline (ML)
Ohio will be looking to avenge a loss to UA a year ago. The OU running game has been strong, and it has helped senior QB Nathan Rourke post some fine numbers of late (63%, 226 YPG, 10 TD, 1 INT in his last six games). We will PASS on the Ohio side here with odds of just -3334.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Ohio returns a profit of $0.30.
Against the Spread (ATS)
The Bobcats are the more talented team playing better football of late. The price to cover is high here OHIO (-27.5, -115) but that’s the lean.
Over/Under (O/U)
The OVER 53.5 (-115) is a decent play.
Decent Northeast Ohio weather for late November is in the forecast. That helps the skill players do what they do best. There is some pressure on OU to come away with a robust, convincing victory.
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