College football betting: Take the UNDER in this Week 8 Big Ten matchup

We are halfway into the college football season. By now, we certainly know the identity of teams and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Early in the week, I like to look for possible betting favorites to bite on early. However, with none catching my attention, I'm turning to game totals for the second straight week.

Here is one game to bet the total on in Week 8 of college football.

Bet the UNDER 47.5 in Indiana at Rutgers

Last week I liked the OVER in Indiana at home against Maryland, citing that Hoosiers quarterback Connor Bazelak was a better QB than his stats would indicate based on the level of competition faced. That proved to be accurate as Bazelak had his best showing against the Terrapins, completing a season-high 69% of his passes with three touchdowns for his second-best QBR of the season.

That was against a secondary ranked bottom 30 in the FBS, however. The Rutgers defense is a much bigger test. The Scarlet Knights are top 35 in passing yards allowed, top 25 in opponent yards per play, and top 10 in limiting third-down conversions. In fact, Heisman favorite C.J. Stroud of Ohio State had his worst production of the season at home against Rutgers. The Buckeyes may have routed the Scarlet Knights, 49-10, but the production came via the run.

Stroud threw for only 154 yards, completed just 59% of his passes, with two passing touchdowns (he averages four per game) and one interception. Eliminate Ohio State from the equation and the Rutgers defense is holding opponents to an average of 19 points per game. Stroud had the rushing attack to make up for his lack of production but the Hoosiers are a pass-only offense (129th in rushing yards).

What helps with UNDERs? Pace. The run-first Rutgers offense, led by RB Samuel Brown, is bottom 30 in plays per game and bottom 20 in yards per play. The defense is the strength of this team and will be once again this week against the Hoosiers.