The No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats (5-0) look to extend their perfect record as they travel to play the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines (4-1). This game will feature the Big 10’s third-leading rusher, Justin Jackson (636 yards, 1 TD). It will begin Saturday, Oct 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Michigan won easily over Maryland 28-0 last week. Jehu Chesson had an outstanding performance, racking up 107 total yards and a TD. He got most of his yards running the ball, registering 66 yards and a TD. Jake Butt added 61 receiving yards on four receptions. Not to be outdone, Northwestern routed Minnesota 27-0. Clayton Thorson had a solid game throwing the ball for the Wildcats, completing 14 of 19 passes for 128 yards.
The Wolverines, a 10-point favorite, will be looking to defend their home field when Northwestern visits. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is presently unavailable.
Heading into Week 6 of the college football season, the Wolverines are 4-1 Straight Up (SU) and 3-2 Against The Spread (ATS). The Wolverines have the third-best pass defense in the nation and give up 112.2 yards per game through the air.
On the other side, the Wildcats have a record of 4-1 ATS and 5-0 SU. The Wildcats like to keep the ball on the ground. On average, they run 57 times per game. Switching gears to the Northwestern defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Wolverines. Opponents have had difficulty with Northwestern’s seventh-ranked pass defense, which gives up just 130 passing yards per game. If the Wolverines aren’t careful with ball security against Northwestern’s defense, they are going to be in some trouble. That defense has recovered the 18th-most fumbles on the season with one per game. Yellow flags are typically a rare sight when the Wildcats are playing. They average the fourth-fewest penalty yards in the nation with 34 per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Michigan, ATS Winner – Northwestern
Notes
Michigan is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Michigan’s last 5 games.
Michigan is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Michigan’s last 5 games at home.
Michigan is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Northwestern.
Michigan is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Northwestern.
Michigan is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Northwestern.
Northwestern is 3-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Michigan is 4-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Dating back to last year, both teams are .500 in Big 10 games. Michigan is 3-3 SU against in-conference opponents, while Northwestern is 4-4 SU against Big 10 foes.
When analyzing just in-conference ranks, Michigan appears to have the overall advantage in the passing game. Its offensive passing attack (ranked 12th in the Big 10) will face the 14th-ranked pass defense of Northwestern, while its 12th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 14th-ranked passing game of the Wildcats.
When looking into conference ranks, Northwestern seems to have the overall advantage in the running game. Its first-ranked rushing attack will face the fifth-ranked run defense of Michigan, while its first-ranked run defense will look to contain the fifth-ranked rushing game of the Wolverines.
