Illinois at Northwestern
- Northwestern -17, Over / Under 46
Based on their last two weeks, the Ilini look like a team quitting on the year. NU must win to make a bowl and based on their performance against Iowa (38-31), Michigan State (54-40), Indiana (24-14), Purdue (45-17) they are clearly more than capable of putting up points and playing defense against mid range and lower league foes. Cats dominate. In fact, I think they can put up 35-42 points, putting the over at risk, too. Let’s roll, Fitzy!
Indiana vs Purdue
- Indiana -21, O/U 64
I’ve been bullish on the Hoosiers all year and the Boilermakers have given up 40+ six times this year. Make it number seven in a 49-21 drubbing. Taking that over then too, clearly.
Iowa vs Nebraska
- Iowa -3, O/U 45
Call me optimistic or nostalgic but I think this Iowa team will come out on fire on senior day to complete the three game winning streak to wrap up an up-and-down 2016. On the flip side, I don’t want to spend too much money gambling on these Hawkeyes so I’ll avoid the over like the plague.
Maryland vs Rutgers
- Maryland -14, O/U 52
Much like Northwestern above, Maryland has to win to make a bowl. Also like NU, the Terps have done well against mid range to bad teams and Rutgers is clearly a bad team. UM rolls but not by enough to clear that over. 28-7 or 28-10 were the scores that popped in the ol noggin.
Michigan at Ohio State
- Ohio State -6, O/U 45
Well with all the issues for Michigan under center, I’m taking the Bucks…but by how much? The score that popped into my head was 28-17. Irritatingly that is the exact over score, so I’ll hedge my bets and say that one of these teams can get an extra field goal for the over.
Michigan State at Penn State
- Penn State -11, O/U 54
Last year Michigan State was playing for Indy and Penn State had next to nothing to play for. MSU rolled ’em. The situations are flipped this year. While there is a trophy on the line in this game, and an ugly one at that, these teams are not rivals. MSU despises Michigan and considers themselves in the same class as OSU with Dantonio. Penn State won’t elicit that same response. Therefore Penn State covers the sub two TD spread.
Minnesota at Wisconsin
- Wisconsin -14, O/U 43
These rivals tend to have tight games but Wisconsin has just so much on the line and such a great defense that I think they stifle to Gophers pretty well. Even with the Axe and all that, I’ll give up 14 points.
Western Michigan vs Toledo
- Western Michigan -7, O/U 71
I really like this Broncos team, that should be obvious I’ve thrown them on the blog all year, so I was surprised to see Vegas only having a touchdown spread on this game. I’ll gladly give those points to the Rockets. Avoiding that HUGE over though. Western’s defense has been playing really well lately and as much as WMU can put up points, putting up enough to help cover that over seems silly but in case this thing turns into a shootout, I’ll pocket that money and stay away.
Lightning Round for Non Readers:
Illinois/Northwestern – NU, Over
Indiana/Purdue – IU, Over
Iowa/Nebraska – UI
Maryland/Rutgers – UM, Under
Michigan/Ohio State – OSU, Over
Michigan State/Penn State – PSU
Minnesota/Wisconsin – UW
Western Michigan/Toledo – WMU
Big Ten and Counting 