The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes begin what they hope is another season that ends in the College Football Playoff when they kick off the 2021 college football season on Thursday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. The Buckeyes are 13.5-point favorites in the latest Ohio State vs. Minnesota odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Over-Under for total points scored is 62.5. (See the latest college football lines for all of this week's games on our college football odds page.)

Before you make any Minnesota vs. Ohio State picks and college football predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of more than $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Week 1 of the 2021 season on a 57-37 run on all top-rated college football picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

The Buckeyes are coming off a season in which they won the Big Ten title, upset Clemson in the Sugar Bowl and reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, where they lost to Alabama. But the team enters the 2021 season without a quarterback who has attempted a college pass; redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud, who was a five-star recruit, has been named the team's starter. He has an elite receiving corps, led by first-team AP preseason All-America receiver Chris Olave.

Ohio State will face an experienced Minnesota team. The Gophers return 20 of 22 starters from last season, including 100 percent of their offensive line starts, 99.5 percent of their rushing yards, 98.6 percent of their passing yards and 92.4 percent of their tackles on defense. Running back Mohamed Ibrahim led the Big Ten last year in rushing attempts (201), rushing yards (1,076), rushing yards per game (153.7), rushing touchdowns (15), scoring (90), points per game (12.9) and all-purpose yards per game (168.4).

Now the model has simulated Ohio State vs. Minnesota 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under on the total, and it has generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. You absolutely need to see it before locking in your own picks.

Who wins the Big Ten battle between Ohio State and Minnesota? And which side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Minnesota vs. Ohio State spread you need to jump on Thursday, all from the computer model that has crushed its college football picks!