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The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes are riding high following their epic comeback victory against No. 11 Penn State last week, 27-26. Now, they are coming home for the 2018 Homecoming game against the Indiana Hoosiers.
Now, universally considered a favorite to make the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes have to avoid the proverbial letdown game. I likely don’t need to remind you— but I will anyway— that after last year’s one-point, epic comeback against Penn State, the Buckeyes got destroyed against Iowa. They will look to avoid a similar fate against IU today.
Over the course of this season, we here at Land-Grant Holy Land are competing to see who the best prognosticator is on staff.
How this is working is that every week our writers and editors will predict what think the final score of the Ohio State game will be. If a forecaster foresees the game’s correct winner, he or she will receive 75 points. If the expert gets the score exactly right, they will receive a bonus 25 points. However, for every point that a prediction is off, one point will be subtracted—with a max total of 25 points getting subtracted. Get it? Got it? Good.
With every new week of predictions, we will update the standings, so that you can follow along and see who the best handicapper on the LGHL staff is. Current standings are below this week’s predictions.
Matt Brown
Ohio State 31, Indiana 17
Season Point Total: 293
This is an Indiana game, therefore, it will be stupid.
Alexis Chassen
Ohio State 43, Indiana 17
Season Point Total: 256
I’m sick of picking the Buckeyes to score 60+ points and then watching them struggle, so I’m going to be a little more realistic this week and pick Ohio State to put up a good number, but still allow a couple big plays from Indiana.
Colton Denning
Ohio State 52, Indiana 10
Season Point Total: 306
J.K. Dobbins has 150 rushing and 2 TDs. SHAUN WADE INTERCEPTION FOR TOUCHDOWN.
Geoff Hammersley
Ohio State 44, Indiana 20
Season Point Total: 243
Hoosiers hang in the first half before OSU pulls away with Dwayne Haskins making big throws.
Dan Hassler
Ohio State 41, Indiana 14
Season Point Total: 275
I think Indiana keeps it close in the first half but Dwayne Haskins and J.K. Dobbins will take over the game on offense in the second half while Chase Young and Dre’Mont Jones dominate on the defensive front.
Meredith Hein
Ohio State 45, Indiana 21
Season Point Total: 301
Dwayne Haskins will bounce back from a tough test against Penn State with a solid performance versus the Hoosiers.
Caleb Houser
Ohio State 45, Indiana 17
Season Point Total: 303
Dwayne Haskins throws for 4 TDs. J.K. Dobbins scores one, and Tate Martell rushes for a touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Max Littman
Ohio State 34, Indiana 7
Season Point Total: 292
The offense struggles a bit on the rebound from a big game and against Indiana’s stout defense. The game stays close until halftime when the Buckeyes’ speed breaks the game open, and the linebackers play a solid game for once.
Brett Ludwiczak
Ohio State 41, Indiana 20
Season Point Total: 297
With Ohio State spending so much energy in last week’s comeback win over Penn State, we could see the Buckeyes take a little time to get going. The Buckeyemobile won’t hit top speed against the Hoosiers, but they’ll still win by 2-3 touchdowns on Saturday afternoon in Columbus.
Patrick Mayhorn
Ohio State 45, Indiana 24
Season Point Total: 269
Ohio State is much more talented than Indiana, but that hasn’t stopped the Hoosiers from playing the Buckeyes close before. I think Indiana’s defense keeps it close for a half, but Ohio State finds its stride on offense in the second half and pulls away for a pretty easy win.
Chad Peltier
Ohio State 49, Indiana 17
Season Point Total: 282
A lot of people are pointing to Indiana playing Ohio State close in recent years and picking the Hoosiers to at least beat the spread. I can see how their defense might make it interesting for a while, but I don’t see how the Hoosiers offense gets much going on the Ohio State defense. I’m also not expecting the Buckeyes to come out flat.
Matt Tamanini
Ohio State 46, Indiana 13
Season Point Total: 299
Nothing is ever easy against Indiana, but despite the win last week, I think that multiple units on both sides of the ball have something to prove, and the coaching staff is going to look to work on those. So, I think that we will see a dominant performance on both sides, and the starters out by mid-third quarter.
Dan Vest
Ohio State 41, Indiana 17
Season Point Total: 296
Oh, man. This one has a chance to be ugly early. It just feels like slow start is written all over this game. It may take until the third quarter, but the Buckeyes will pull eventually and win comfortably.
Ok, after five weeks, let’s take a look as to how are staff’s picks are looking.
LGHL Predictions Scoreboard
| LGHL Staff | Total Points | Week 5 Points | Week 4 Points | Week 3 Points | Week 2 Points | Week 1 Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGHL Staff | Total Points | Week 5 Points | Week 4 Points | Week 3 Points | Week 2 Points | Week 1 Points |
| Colton Denning | 306 | 56 | 68 | 68 | 64 | 50 |
| Caleb Houser | 303 | 66 | 65 | 55 | 67 | 50 |
| Meredith Hein | 301 | 61 | 54 | 62 | 74 | 50 |
| Matt Tamanini | 299 | 61 | 59 | 72 | 57 | 50 |
| Brett Ludwiczak | 297 | 59 | 61 | 62 | 65 | 50 |
| Dan Vest | 296 | 63 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 50 |
| Matt Brown | 293 | 58 | 64 | 61 | 60 | 50 |
| Max Littman | 292 | 62 | 57 | 56 | 67 | 50 |
| Chad Peltier | 282 | 55 | 54 | 73 | 50 | 50 |
| Dan Hassler | 275 | 57 | 51 | 65 | 52 | 50 |
| Patrick Mayhorn | 269 | 50 | 44 | 64 | 61 | 50 |
| Alexis Chassen | 256 | 50 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 50 |
| Geoff Hammersley | 243 | 0 | 64 | 74 | 55 | 50 |
So, to recap our oddly overly complicated scoring system:
Correct Winner Prediction: 75 points
Perfect Prediction Bonus: 25 points
Point Total Deductions: Subtract 1 point for every point off total score (cap 25 points)