Who are the experts picking for Miami vs. Ohio State?

Well, we’re just a few days away from kickoff between the Hurricanes and the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, and there’s been no lack of hype and talk leading up to this game. Well, there has been on Miami’s side, because they don’t talk, but Ohio State certainly has been talking.

But who do the supposed experts see walking the walk come Wednesday night in Arlington? More accurately, is ANYONE picking the Hurricanes to pull off the upset as 9.5-point favorites? Well, no, not really, or at least not thus far in the predictions that are out there.

ESPN.com (Adam Rittenberg): Ohio State 27, Miami 20

CBSSports.com (Chris Hummer): Ohio State 27, Miami 20

CBSSports.com (Brad Crawford): Ohio State 20, Miami 14

On3 Sports (Ari Wasserman): Ohio State 31, Miami 20 (ish)

On3 Sports (Andy Staples): didn’t give a game pick, but would only call Miami covering 10 points

We did have at least one taker on Miami winning outright – former FSU QB and current CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell, of all people! Kanell didn’t give a score, but he did call for Miami to pull off the upset and advance all the way to the championship game against the Oregon Ducks, so hey, kudos there to Kanell.

I will say that Kanell has been a pretty staunch defender of the ACC publicly and backed Miami pretty hard to get into the playoff earlier this month, so if I was to find one person to pick Miami to win, it probably would be him.

I imagine more picks will roll in this week, but for now, the pulse of the supposed experts out there is for Ohio State to win around a seven-point game.

Fortunately, the only thing expert predictions do is serve as motivation for the team not picked to win. The anti-rat poison, if you will. So, Rueben, Bain, Jr., get to writing in that notebook, sir.