The Northwestern Wildcats and the Ohio State Buckeyes are on a collision course, as they are set to meet each other head-on this coming weekend for the Big Ten title. Check out our breakdown for each of these teams along with the odds and our prediction of the score, and of course, the winner.
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Betting Preview for the Northwestern Wildcats vs Ohio State Buckeyes NCAA Week 16 College Football Game on December 19, 2020
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
When: Saturday, December 19, 2020, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Northwestern Wildcats (+20.5) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (-20.5) – view all 2020 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Northwestern Wildcats (+20.5)
Record: 6-1 Overall / 6-1 Conference
Northwestern arrives in the Big Ten title game after a 28-10 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini last Saturday at home. It was a great recovery game for the Wildcats, who lost to the Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 28 in East Lansing before their scheduled game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers the following week got cancelled. The Wildcats are going to rely on their stingy defense to keep up with Ohio State. They know how good the Buckeyes are in generating points, but the Wildcats take pride in their defense that is third-best in the nation with just 14.6 points allowed per game. Northwestern is also 11th nationally in total defense with just 313.9 total yards surrendered per contest. On offense, look for Northwestern to try to break the Buckeyes’ run defense, as the Wildcats have six players with at least 100 rushing yards, so far this season.
Northwestern is 6-1-3 against the spread in their last 10 games overall.
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes (-20.5)
Record: 5-0 Overall / 5-0 Conference
Ohio State hasn’t played a lot of games this season, but in five games, the Buckeyes still managed to show why they are a team to be feared of. In their last game, they blew the Michigan State Spartans out of the water in a merciless 52-12 win in East Lansing on Dec. 12. The Buckeyes could have victimized the Michigan Wolverines last Saturday, but Jim Harbaugh’s team was sort of spared by Ohio State’s wrath as their matchup was cancelled. That leaves a well-rested Ohio State team that is oozing with so much potential on offense, with quarterback Justin Fields leading the attack. Fields has 1,407 passing yards and 15 touchdowns on the season against just three interceptions. He is second only to Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones in terms of QB rating, as he enters the conference title game with a 94.8 clip. Northwestern boasts of a stout defense, but Fields has plenty of talented pieces around him to help break that stop unit. With running backs Master Teague III and Trey Sermon providing excellent rushing options and the likes of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave – each with at least 528 receiving yards – downfield, Fields should be able to make things happen on offense.
The over is 3-0 in Ohio State’s last three games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Ohio State wins, 44-23.
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