The Buckeyes will play in prime time for the first time in the 2024 season, welcoming a Western Michigan team to Ohio Stadium after devastating the Akron Zips 52-6 in their season opener in Week 1.

7:30 Kick in the shoe pic.twitter.com/3DSlu4vd4C

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) 7 September 2024

The Broncos gave Wisconsin quite a scare in Week 1 at Camp Randall Stadium, holding a one-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Badgers scored 15 unanswered points and escaped with a win.

With the Buckeyes facing their second opponent in the Mid-American Conference in a matter of weeks, the Eleven Warriors staff is expecting another dominant performance from Ohio State on Saturday.

RESULT PREDICTIONS

Andy Anders – Ohio State 48, Western Michigan 3: The Buckeyes offense will make some improvements from Week 1 to Week 2, but Western Michigan’s defense proved to be a bit stingy against Wisconsin and I don’t expect Ohio State to score two touchdowns on defense every game.

Chase Brown – Ohio State 48, Western Michigan 9: Last week I was bold and predicted a shutout for Ohio State. That was a bad call. This week I’m playing it safe and picking the Buckeyes to win. They’ll still win by a wide margin, but not 66-0.

George Eisner – Ohio State 42, Western Michigan 7: The Broncos played Luke Fickell’s team hard last week in Badger Country and probably would have won if not for an unfortunate rebound that betrayed their punt return unit at the end. The Buckeyes needed two defensive touchdowns in the opening game to break the 40-point mark. While you can expect a better performance from the offense a week later, don’t expect a point total as high as the last win.

Jack Emerson – Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 10: Ohio State benefits from another early-season recovery, with the offense showing progress against an improved Western Michigan defense. The Buckeyes give up their first touchdown of the season, but that comes as the substitutes are called into action in the closing stages of the game.

Johnny Ginter – Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 13: The offense seems a little more coherent, but the defense looks a little worse until the second half, and in the end, depth makes the difference.

Matt Gutridge – Ohio State 52, Western Michigan 10: Since 2011, Ohio State has played 12 MAC opponents and has a 7-5 record against the spread in those games. In this scenario, the Buckeyes have an average lead of 42 points. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Garrick Hodge – Ohio State 48, Western Michigan 3: Ohio State will build on last week’s win and look a little more composed this week, but will ultimately finish with a lower score after the Buckeyes dominated the Mustangs in the second half.

Dan Hope – Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 7: Western Michigan had a fourth quarter lead over Wisconsin last week as it held the Badgers to just 13 points early in the fourth quarter, so this will be a step up in the contest for the Buckeyes, at least for Ohio State’s offense. I still expect a convincing win for the Buckeyes as I think they will be better offensively than Wisconsin and I don’t think WMU will have much success against Ohio State’s defense, but the 38-point lead seems about right for the win.

Kyle Jones – Ohio State 41, Western Michigan 7: The physicality of Western’s defense initially slows down the Buckeyes’ offense, but the Broncos’ offense cannot accomplish much in a game that Ohio State clearly wins.

Chris Lauderback – Ohio State 42, Western Michigan 6: Jeremiah Smith and the Silver Bullets both find the end zone again as Ohio State wins in prime time.

Ramzy Nasrallah – Ohio State 56, Western Michigan 3: The Broncos will try to shut down the opponent, and that won’t go well unless Joe Moorhead changes MAC schedules during the week.

Josh Poloha – Ohio State 52, Western Michigan 6: The Broncos are most likely better than Akron this season, but they are still a MAC team that the Buckeyes should beat. I expect OSU to win the game much earlier than they did against the Zips so that the substitutes get enough playing time in the second half. At the very least, Ohio State will have a 30+ point lead at halftime.

Jason Priestas – Ohio State 47, Western Michigan 6: The problems continue to be fixed and Jeremiah Smith continues to show why he is not only one of the best freshmen in the country, but one of the best players in college football as the Buckeyes win 47-6.

Jordan Raines – Ohio State 45, Western Michigan 7: Ryan Day and Co. find a remedy for their slow start problems. The defense once again seems dominant, but can’t get a shutout against a determined school from that terrible northern state.

WILL THE STATE OF OHIO COVER THIS?

The Buckeyes enter Saturday’s primetime game as favorites with a 37.5-point lead over their inferior opponents, and the majority of 11W staffers believe Ohio State will close that large lead.

Five members of the Eleven Warriors staff predicted the Buckeyes would not reach that mark, with George Eisner, Jack Emerson, Johnny Ginter, Kyle Jones and Chris Lauderback all giving the “under” prediction.

WHAT ABOUT OVER/UNDER?

Like the spread, the over/under has also dropped since Ohio State’s season opener, with bookmakers predicting the Buckeyes and Broncos to combine for 54.5 points on Saturday.

The 11W staff is split on whether the point total will surpass that high mark, with six members predicting the point total will be higher. Ramzy Nasrallah even believes the Buckeyes will surpass that point total on their own, predicting Ohio State will score 56 points against the Bronco defense.

ELEVEN WARRIORS PROP BETS

Looking for more lines to evaluate? Check out our internal prop betting lines for this matchup to get a better sense of what the bookies expect each to perform. Leave us your predictions in the comments and compete for bragging rights!

How many yards of offense will Western Michigan finish with?

• Over 200 meters (-110)
• Under 200 meters (+100)

Who gets more transmissions?

• TreVeyon Henderson (-110)
• Quinshon Judkins (-110)

Will Ohio State score a defensive touchdown?