Arkansas at Ohio State

Most that watched the Bowl games on New Year's Day would come away with the take that the SEC is light years ahead of the Big-10. Florida, Alabama and Mississippi State took on Big-10 teams and took them behind the wood shed for a combined 138-45 beatdown. It's obvious that top to bottom, the SEC is clearly the better conference. But now we have the top of the Big-10 in Ohio State going against perhaps the third or even fourth best SEC team in Arkansas. The Buckeyes are the best defense in the Big-10, and third best in the country. What we have seen is the second best defense in the Big-10, Iowa at #18 record the upset win in their Bowl game. We also saw the third best Wisconsin at #24 cover their Bowl game. The Buckeyes’ defensive strength is in their back seven, allowing just 156 passing yards per game. They have enough to give Ryan Mallet some problems. The Buckeyes defense has been good the last five games, allowing just 48 points (less than 10 per game) while the offense has gone for 30+ in nine contests. This game should come down to getting stops and the Buckeyes are simply more talented on the defensive end to do exactly that. The Razorbacks are just 1-4 ATS in their last five Bowl games, while Ohio State is 34-16-1 ATS in their last 51 vs. a winning team and 8-0 ATS in their last eight out-of-conference tilts. Under Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes are 75-48 ATS including 63-41 as a favorite. In the Tressel era, they are also 24-10 ATS vs. great offensive teams (those scoring 31+ ppg) and 24-14 ATS vs. elite teams (those a .750 or better). Ohio State gets the call.