The No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats (5-0) look to continue their perfect record as they travel to meet the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines (4-1). The Big 10’s third-leading rusher, Justin Jackson (636 yards, 1 TD), will be key to the outcome of this contest. It starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct 10 and will air on BTN and BTN2.
Michigan won easily over Maryland 28-0 last week. Jehu Chesson had a big game, 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 blew out Minnesota 27-0. Clayton Thorson had a solid outing 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 Wildcats could have a difficult time throwing the ball against the third-best pass defense in the nation. The Wolverines give up 112.2 yards per game through the air.
Across the field, the Wildcats have a record of 4-1 ATS and 5-0 SU. The Wildcats rely heavily on their run game, averaging 57 rushing attempts per game. Shifting to the other side of the ball, the Northwestern defense can dominate if it takes advantage of some favorable matchups. Northwestern’s seventh-ranked pass defense has given its competition difficulty. Opponents have only thrown for 130 yards per game against this terrorizing unit. 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. Don’t expect many calls against the Wildcats on game day. They average only 34 penalty yards per game, the fourth-fewest in the nation.
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.
The Michigan passing attack is ranked only 96th in the nation, while the Northwestern pass defense is ranked seventh. The Wildcats passing game is ranked just 119th, compared to the third-ranked pass defense of the Wolverines.
