The No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes are 6-0 straight up and 5-1 against the spread in their last six games against the No. 21 Northwestern Wildcats. The Buckeyes will try to extend that winning streak and convince the College Football Playoff committee that they deserve a playoff spot with another win over the Wildcats this Saturday night.
Ohio State is a 14-point betting favorite in the Big Ten Championship Game at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last eight games against Big Ten opponents, the Buckeyes are only 2-6 ATS.
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
When: Saturday, December 1, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Betting Line / Total: Ohio State -14 / 61 Points
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes put together their best performance of 2018 last season in a thrilling 62-39 win over the then No. 4 Michigan Wolverines, blowing up the best defense in the nation as 4.5-point home underdogs.
Dwayne Haskins threw for 396 yards and six touchdowns in the win, bringing his season totals to 4,003 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns. If No. 4 Georgia loses to No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, the committee could have a tough choice between Ohio State and No. 5 Oklahoma if both teams win their conference titles.
In their last six games played in the month of December, the Buckeyes are 4-2 SU and ATS per the OddsShark College Football Database.
Northwestern Wildcats
Northwestern capped off a solid 7-1 SU and 4-3-1 ATS run to end the regular season with a 24-16 win over Illinois last Saturday. The only loss in that stretch was to the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the Wildcats are a perfect 7-0 SU in their last seven games against Big Ten foes.
The Wildcats are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games against conference opponents and are 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four games as a betting underdog against other Big Ten teams.
Saturday night’s total is set at 61 points. The OVER is 4-1 in the last five games between these two teams.
Ohio State enters this game ranked behind Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff rankings, and Oklahoma’s opponent in No. 14 Texas is ranked higher than Northwestern. The Buckeyes need all the style points they can get in this one which should mean going all out on every offensive drive.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.