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Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis


by Chris Vasile - 10/17/2018

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Dwayne Haskins

By now I'm sure we are all aware that NCAA players don't get paid to play and that any acceptance of benefits such as cars, money, meals, or anything else could result in that player being suspended. So, when college players who are NFL Draft quality decided to forgo any remaining eligibility they have in the NCAA to declare for the draft and turn pro, why is it that we always question their decisions? We did so when Christian McCaffrey decided to forgo his team's bowl game in order to focus on the upcoming NFL Draft. And from what I've been seeing lately, we are now up in arms about Nick Bosa and his decision to not rush back from a core muscle injury to help Ohio State but instead to withdraw from school completely to focus on rehab and the upcoming draft.

Bosa is a potential No.1 pick in the upcoming draft. So, with the shelf life of an NFL player becoming shorter and shorter, let's not hate on a kid for deciding to chase his dream and do so with 100 percent health. Would Bosa help Ohio State win a national title? Yes. Does Ohio State need Bosa to win a national title? Considering how stacked they are he wouldn't hurt, but they can make do without him. Let Bosa choose his own path to the NFL and let him do whatever he needs to do to secure his money and be healthy once OTAs start early next year.

Big Ten Recap: Week 7

Week 7 in the Big Ten was a very different week than Week 6. Week 6 saw tons of points on the board, while Week 7 saw just five teams crack the 30-point mark. The best game of the week took place at Beaver Stadium, as Michigan State went into Penn State and upset the then-No. 8 Nittany Lions by a score of 21-17. The most exciting game happened in Evanston, Illinois, where the hometown Northwestern Wildcats needed overtime to take care of the Nebraska Cornhuskers 34-31. The rest of the results look like this; Iowa beat Indiana 42-16, Maryland handled Rutgers 34-7, No. 3 Ohio State got by Minnesota by a score of 30-14, Purdue put up 46 on route to a 39-point victory over Illinois and No. 12 Michigan easily beat No. 15 Wisconsin by a score of 38-13.

Big Ten Rundown: Week 8

When I look at the Big Ten schedule for this week, I see the potential for there to be a lot of points put up by almost every team involved. The biggest and most important game takes place in East Lansing as No. 24 Michigan State hosts No. 6 Michigan. As of writing this, the Wolverines are six-point favorites with the total set at 41.5. Over the course of the last 11 games, the Wolverines have covered the spread just one time and are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Spartan Stadium. This is a game Michigan needs to win in order to keep pace with Ohio State and keep their Big Ten Title hopes alive. The rest of the schedule looks like this; Maryland at No. 19 Iowa (-9), Northwestern at Rutgers (+20.5), Illinois at No. 23 Wisconsin (-25), No. 18 Penn State at Indiana (+15.5), Minnesota at Nebraska (-3.5), and No. 2 Ohio State at Purdue (-13.5).

Favorite of the Week

Ohio State -13.5 at Purdue

A lot has been made over the last few days of Bosa's decision to forgo the rest of his NCAA career and focus on the upcoming NFL Draft. Let's be real for a second, while Bosa is a high-quality player and a potential No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, Ohio State is a program that is littered with talent on both sides of the ball. His absence won't be missed as sorely as people think. This week, Ohio State looks to keep their undefeated record intact when they travel to Purdue. As long as Ohio State has Dwayne Haskins healthy and behind center, the Buckeyes' offense will not be stopped. They are averaging 46.6 points per game, better than every team in the conference, including their opponent, who is averaging 33.5 points per game. The reason why I have listed the Buckeyes' as the favorite of the week is because Purdue has played well above their talent level during their three-game winning streak, beating Nebraska and Illinois (who are terrible) and Boston College, who have seemingly fallen from grace. This will be a true litmus test for the Boilermakers, and I don't believe they are ready to hang with the elite. The Buckeyes will continue to dominate the Big Ten and win this game going away.

Underdog of the Week

Maryland +9 at No. 19 Iowa

I really wanted to put the Michigan State Spartans in this spot, but I will leave the marquee games up to the expert handicappers for that game. Instead, we landed on an attractive live dog in Maryland that is coming off a solid and convincing win against Rutgers and is a team that has won two of their last three games. This trip to Iowa will be an all-around test for them. However, with the way they can put up points, I believe they will be able to keep the game close and force Iowa to push the ball downfield to keep up, ultimately leading to a few mistakes. The Hawkeyes have a sneaky-good home-field advantage and should be pumped to play in front of their home crowd for the first time in a month (last home game was Sept. 22 against Wisconsin). Iowa has scored 42 and 48 points in their last two games, respectively, but are coming up against a Maryland defense that figured it out last week, holding Rutgers to just seven points and getting five interceptions. Take the points in this spot and enjoy one of the higher-scoring games of the week.

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