NCAA Football Odds: Marshall at Ohio State

Terrelle Pryor begins his Heisman candidacy tonight. (AP Images)

The Ohio State Buckeyes are big 28-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA odds for tonight’s season opener against Marshall, but a few factors might point to the Thundering Herd being able to cover the spread. This game will be shown on the Big Ten Network.

First off, OSU has struggled in season openers against fellow Division I teams in recent years. For example, in last year's opener, the Buckeyes struggled with Navy's option in a win that went down to the final minutes. In 2008, OSU beat MAC team Ohio by only a score of 26-14. And in 2007 the Buckeyes won an ugly 20-2 affair against Akron. Still, OSU is 9-0 in season openers under Coach Jim Tressel. OSU has not lost a home opener in 32 years.

Secondly, Ohio State plans to be a bit vanilla tonight because the Buckeyes have a huge date with Miami (Fla.) next weekend. Still, the Buckeyes are the preseason favorites to win the Big Ten, are ranked No. 2 in the major polls and feature one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Terrell Pryor, who remains the Bodog betting favorite to win the 2010 Heisman.

The second-ranked are the second-highest ranked team Marshall has ever played at the FBS level. Marshall has faced 14 Top 25 opponents since moving to the FBS level in 1997 and has an overall record of 2-12 in those games. Marshall is 0-13 against BCS opponents since 2005. Tonight’s game marks the debut of new coach Doc Holliday. Returning starting QB Brian Anderson struggled with inconsistency last season. He threw for 2,646 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, but he also threw 13 interceptions. And he’ll face a Buckeye defense that was one of the best in the nation in 2009.

Ohio State and Marshall have met just once before on Sept. 11, 2004, with the Buckeyes prevailing, 24-21, on a last-second field goal. OSU has lost just once in its history to current Conference USA teams.

Do you dare be a player and bet on Marshall to cover the spread tonight? Bet on college football at Bodog