Western Michigan Broncos vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction & Picks - NCAA

Prediction published on 9/5/24, 7:30 PM  by Travis Pulver | Modified on 9/6/24 at 5:43 AM in NCAA Picks

The Western Michigan Broncos will take to the road this weekend as they travel to Columbus, OH, to face the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. This game will be just the second between the two schools. The first came during the 2015 season (Sept. 26) and at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes got out to a quick 14-0 lead in the game and never looked back, winning 38-12. Ohio State cruised to an easy win in its season opener last week, beating Akron 52-6. Western Michigan had a tougher outing against another Big Ten school, Wisconsin, and lost 28-14.

As usual, Ohio State has to reload at several positions after losing several key players to the NFL. Transfer quarterback Will Howard looked the part last weekend,  going 17-28 for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith emerged as his favorite target, catching six balls for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  TreVeyon Henderson led a run game that totaled 170 yards and two touchdowns with 65 yards. The defense picked up where it left off last season, shutting down the Akron run game (47 total yards) and holding the Zips to two field goals.

Western Michigan had a tougher day last week vs. Wisconsin. They struggled to get the offense on track all day, as quarterback Hayden Wolff had just 141 yards against the Badgers. The run game didn't have much luck either, with 120 total yards and both scores. Defensively, they had no answer for the balanced Wisconsin offense, giving up 192 yards via the passing game and 196 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.