NCAA Football
2025-09-27 - Ohio State Buckeyes at Washington Huskies
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : College Football Week 5
Saturday 27th September 2025 - Scheduled 3:30pm
8:30pm (British Time)
Preview
They may have lost two games last season, but the Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) ran through the Playoff without being pushed and they ended the year as National Champions.
Once again they are amongst the favourites to win the National Championship and the win over the Texas Longhorns in Week 1 has only strengthened the claims.
Head Coach Ryan Day is preparing his team for the opening Big Ten Conference game and it looks a real test for the Buckeyes in a true road setting.
The Washington Huskies (3-0) have also made a perfect start to the 2025 season and Head Coach Jedd Fisch is looking for much better having guided the Huskies to a 6-7 record in 2024. He was in a tough spot when taking over from Kalen DeBoer who had taken the Huskies to the National Championship Game in 2023 and had helped the team win twenty-five games across two years.
It was also a season in which Jedd Fisch was taking a team that was moving into the tough Big Ten Conference and the Huskies finished 4-5 in those games, which makes this home opener something of a statement game for the underdog as much as the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Offensive Line let the Washington Huskies down last season, but that has been a unit that they have actively looked to improve. The early signs are better, but the Huskies are going to be tested up front by this Ohio State pass rush and especially if the home team are not able to establish the run.
It will be the Line of Scrimmage that is massively important on this side of the ball and the Buckeyes Defensive Line have to be confident having had at least one really difficult match up with the Texas Longhorns. The overall performances have been very good when it comes to playing the run and the Buckeyes will feel they can shift the pressure onto Demond Williams Jr at Quarter Back, although they will have to be wary of his ability to move the ball with his legs as much as his arm.
Demond Williams Jr is going to be up against a top Ohio State Secondary and care will have to be taken that he is not pushing the envelope so far to end up making costly mistakes.
The Huskies have won their last twenty-two games at home, but the Buckeyes represent as tough a visiting team that they will have hosted in that time.
We will also learn a lot more about the Washington Defensive unit, which has started the season very well, when they go up against this Buckeyes team.
Once again the Line of Scrimmage is going to be hugely important and the Buckeyes Offensive Line will look to impose themselves on the Washington Defensive Line. This is where the early scheduling can make a difference and the Huskies have simply not faced any team with the power of the Buckeyes, while the latter have already earned that win over Texas which has been mentioned above.
The strength to open up running lanes has also been backed up by very good pass protection and that should give Quarter Back Julian Sayin an opportunity to keep the chains moving. There have been one or two holes in the Washington Secondary that will excite the talented Receivers that the Buckeyes have and they will feel they can win their battles and give Sayin places to throw the ball.
Interceptions have been something of an issue for Julian Sayin, but he has plenty of talent around him to make up for any mistakes and the Ohio State Buckeyes can really display their superiority, even on the road.
The Huskies just feel like a team that have more to prove, and this is a significant step up in class compared with the three teams beaten.
Ohio State are also playing after a Bye Week and they are 10-7 against the spread with rest under Head Coach Ryan Day- he should have the Buckeyes really well prepared and they were also 5-2 against the spread as the road favourite in 2024, a number that they can improve in Week 5.
Prediction
Lay the points with the road team in this tough Big Ten Conference game.
The Pick :
Washington Huskies 20-30 Ohio State Buckeyes
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Ohio State Buckeyes - 7.5 Points at -114 with Bookmaker.EU
