At 8:00 PM ET on Saturday, we will be playing the Ohio State Buckeyes (120) minus the points versus the Indiana Hoosiers (119) in the Big Ten championship game. THE SITUATION: Ohio State (12-0) overcame their white whale last Saturday in their 27-9 victory on the road against Michigan as a 9-point favorite. Indiana (12-0) continued their unbeaten season in their 56-3 win against Purdue as a 28-point favorite on Saturday. This game is being played on a neutral field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

REASONS TO TAKE THE BUCKEYES MINUS THE POINTS: I have never been more impressed with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day last Saturday, both with his game management against the Wolverines and with his post-game comments. OK, admittedly, I wish he would stop using the word toughness when it was obvious — and the final step when embracing “humility” is simply being humble rather than wearing Dan Campbell’s “Grit” t-shirt or the frat boys wearing “Big Johnson” t-shirts on spring break. But Day has come a long way from strutting about “toughness” in calling out octogenarian Lou Holtz as he did just last season. I think the existential crisis Day encountered after losing to Michigan last season triggered the soul-searching he and his club needed to fully define who they wanted to be moving forward. They handled all four of their opponents in the college football playoff pretty easily en route to their national championship last season (+70 against the spread). His decision not to take back the play-calling on offense after Chip Kelly called the plays last year, but instead let Brian Hartline return to offensive coordinator with the added responsibility of calling the plays, was mature and best for the team. Day needs to run the team, not the offense. And the Buckeyes are now 14-1-1 ATS in their last 16 games since that upset loss to the Wolverines last season. They began this season with a 14-7 victory against Texas in that opening game showdown in redshirt freshman Julian Sayin’s first collegiate start —  but, whatever, the assignment for Day in that game was to secure the win rather than worry about style points. Now the Longhorns are sweating out making the college football playoff, while Day was able to gradually build Sayin’s confidence while knowing they could lose twice and still make the playoff. And Sayin has been great while leading the Buckeyes to another 11 straight wins, all decided by at least 18 points. Ohio State experienced the worst start imaginable against their arch rivals last week. Michigan scored a field goal on their first drive and then picked off Sayin on his first pass. The snow was falling in Ann Arbor. The circumstances were in place for yet another Buckeyes choke job. Instead, the outstanding Ohio State defense held the Wolverines to a field goal — and then the Buckeyes proceeded to outscore Michigan by a decisive 27-3 margin the rest of the way. Sayin was not fazed as he completed 19 of his 26 passes for 244 yards with three touchdowns. He can win the Heisman Trophy with a big game, as he currently leads the FBS in on-target pass rate. In his 348 dropbacks, he has a turnover-worthy play rate of just 1.4% —  and that mark only increases to 2.2% when under pressure. This dude is special — and he has two NFL-ready wide receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Sayin leads the nation in QBR and completion percentage — and he possesses a 66% success rate in the passing game against Cover-2 pass coverages, which is the Hoosiers’ preferred look. The Buckeyes have also found their answer at running back with freshman Bo Jackson emerging in the second half of the season. Indiana is only giving up 251.8 total Yards-Per-Game — but Ohio State has covered the point spread in 12 of their last 14 games against teams who are not giving up more than 310 YPG. They have covered the point spread in 14 of their last 19 games after a win by 17 or more points — and they have covered the point spread in 6 straight games on the road. What is even more remarkable about this team is that they are probably more dominant on the defensive side of the ball. The Buckeyes have not allowed more than 16 points in any game all season — and they lead the nation by surrendering only 3.77 Yards-Per-Play. I’m not ready to say that first-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is the best defensive mind in the world — but he has coordinated defenses that won Super Bowls. It’s just a big edge over the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who was coordinating the James Madison offense only two years ago. Middle linebacker Arvell Reese may be the first defensive player drafted next April in the NFL draft — and free safety Caleb Downs will soon be a back-to-back All-American. Ohio State has not surrendered more than 10 points in four straight contests — and they have covered the point spread in 15 of their last 19 games after not giving up more than 14 points in their last game as well as having covered the point spread in 16 of their last 18 games after not giving up more than 14 points in three or more games in a row. Furthermore, they have covered the point spread in 5 straight games when favored by 3.5 to 10 points. Regarding Indiana, one has to be impressed by what head coach Curt Cignetti has done in his two seasons in Bloomington. But I’m not ready to buy that the Hoosiers are on the elite level of teams like the Buckeyes. They only beat Iowa on the road by a 20-15 score. They survived a 27-24 scare at Penn State, playing without quarterback Drew Allar — and Ohio State beat the Nittany Lions by 24 points. Indiana’s signature win was against Oregon — but, frankly, I’m not sure about the Ducks at this point either. Cignetti has thrived off the portal — but the Buckeyes' high school recruiting is elite before they poach players to fill specific roster needs in the portal. Former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have shorter odds to win the Heisman right now versus Sayin — but six of his nine turnover-worthy plays have taken place in his last four games. Nine of the 15 sacks he has taken have also taken place in his last four contests. Against Oregon, he only passed 215 yards after completing 20 of 31 passes. The NFL scouts I pay attention to are not gushing over his prospects at the next level. The Buckeyes are scoring 37.0 PPG — and the Hoosiers have failed to cover the point spread in 4 of their 5 games against teams scoring 31 or more PPG since Cignetti took over last year. Indiana is just 1-2 ATS in their three games as an underdog under Cignetti and they did not cover the point spread in their playoff last year in their 27-17 loss at Notre Dame. Weather was an issue in their 38-15 loss at Ohio State last year — but they did get outgained by -165 net yards. I’m just not buying that beating this season’s Origin team proves the Hoosiers have arrived to keep things close with Ohio State, finally.

FINAL TAKE: Indiana has failed to cover the point spread in 3 of their 4 games against teams with a win percentage of 75% or higher since Cignetti took over. The Buckeyes have covered the point spread in 24 of their 37 games against teams winning 75% or more of their games since Day took over, including 12 of those last 13 contests. And while the Hoosiers are outscoring their opponents by +33.4 net PPG this season, Ohio State has covered the point spread in 13 of their last 14 games against teams outscoring their opponents by +10.0 or more PPG. 25* CFB Conference Championship Game of the Year with the Ohio State Buckeyes (120) minus the points versus the Indiana Hoosiers (119). Best of luck for us — Frank.