Sugar Bowl Betting – Sugar Bowl Puts Big Ten And SEC To The Test
The Ohio State Buckeyes have appeared in eight BCS bowl games. The Arkansas Razorbacks have never appeared in a BCS bowl until now. The two teams now meet on the big stage.
NCAA football betting: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Online Betting Odds: Ohio State -3.5
Why To Bet On Ohio State
Ohio State’s defense proved to be as reliable and flinty as it’s ever been in 2010. The Buckeyes were hard to push around or intimidate this season; opposing offensive lines didn’t fare very well against the Scarlet and Gray. Ohio State’s defense wasn’t quite airtight, but it was largely impenetrable from mid-September through November; the Wisconsin Badgers ran wild and briefly exposed OSU in the Buckeyes’ big setback during their 11-1 season.
However, that game came at night in Camp Randall Stadium, a particularly hostile environment that enabled Wisconsin to flourish. In the Sugar Bowl, tens of thousands of Ohio State fans will make the trip from the Upper Midwest down to New Orleans to watch their team play. Arkansas will also bring a big contingent, but this will feel like a neutral-site contest, a fair fight for the Buckeyes (even if the game is being played in the Deep South).
One thing that also has to be noted about Ohio State is that coach Jim Tressel’s club didn’t allow any other Big Ten foe to register more than 17 points this season. That’s how imposing OSU’s defensive front turned out to be this season. Arkansas’ offensive line is not going to have a very easy assignment inside the Louisiana Superdome.
Why To Bet On Arkansas
For one thing, the Hogs have a world-class gunslinger on their roster. Quarterback Ryan Mallett – who will stare down Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor in a matchup of much-publicized signal callers – managed to thrive in 2010 even without his top pass catcher, Greg Childs, who suffered a season-ending injury in October, just before the home stretch of the Razorbacks’ 12-game slate. Arkansas distributed the pigskin to several receivers and utilized the straightforward north-south running of Knile Davis to keep other SEC defenses off balance. The end result was a 10-2 record and the school’s first-ever BCS bowl bid. Arkansas turned back SEC East champion South Carolina Gamecocks by a decisive margin on the road.
The Hogs roughed up an LSU team that was 10-1 entering its final regular-season game. The Razorbacks also beat a very good Texas A&M Aggies team that finished 9-3. There are a lot of quality wins on Arkansas’ schedule, more than what can be said for an Ohio State team that didn’t even play the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten. Arkansas’ superiority in the passing game will give the Hogs a big advantage in the climate-controlled conditions of a domed stadium. Bobby Petrino will be in position to succeed against Jim Tressel. If this game were taking place in the Orange Bowl, it would be much easier to take Ohio State.
How The Game Will Play Out
Arkansas has more talent on the edges, but Ohio State can and will take control of this game in the trenches. The Buckeyes are a more seasoned team in the BCS bowl spotlight; Arkansas’ nerves will hijack the Razorbacks’ ability to deliver a first-rate performance. Take Ohio State in New Orleans.
Ohio State Arkansas Betting Pick: Ohio State
