Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis 10/9/2018

by Chris Vasile - 10/9/2018

While the Top 4 teams in the AP Top 25 Poll remain unchanged heading into Week 7 of the college football season, we do have some notable jumps and drops to speak about. Firstly, hats off to Texas for circling the wagons and pushing their record to 5-1 after downing Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown. With that win, the Longhorns shot up the rankings and jumped to No. 9 from their previous spot of No. 19. With the loss, the Sooners fell four spots to just outside the Top 10 at No. 11. Another big mover this week was Florida. The Gators rode their defense to a solid win over LSU, and with that they jumped from No. 22 to No. 14, while the Tigers fell from No. 5 to No. 13. And, finally, among the biggest drops to speak about, the Auburn Tigers fell from No. 8 to No. 21 after they were upset by Mississippi State. College football never fails to amaze me.

In terms of the Big Ten contingent amongst the AP Top 25, Ohio State remains at No. 3 while Penn State gets back into the Top 10 at No. 8. Michigan checks in at No. 12 while Wisconsin checks in at No. 15.

Big Ten Recap: Week 6

If you are a fan of points and poor defensive performances, the Big Ten was the conference for you this past weekend. Eight of the 10 teams in action scored more than 20 points, with five of them scoring more than 30 and four of them scoring at least 40 points. Naturally, Ohio State scored the most points this week as they cruised to a 49-26 victory over Indiana. What's shocking is that Iowa, yes Iowa, posted the second-highest total with 48 points. I'm not sure if that's a result of the Hawkeyes offense finally playing up to its ability or if the Minnesota defense is just that bad. The Hawkeyes ended up winning the game 48-31. Elsewhere, No. 15 Michigan got the best of Maryland by a score of 42-21, while Illinois beat up on Rutgers 38-17 and No. 15 Wisconsin took care of Nebraska 41-24. And, lastly, Michigan State was upset at home by unranked Northwestern 29-19. If it wasn't for a late-game meltdown two weeks ago, Northwestern would have beat both Michigan teams in a two-week span.

Big Ten Rundown: Week 7

Week 6 of the college football season features seven games on the slate, which means all 14 teams are in action. The biggest game of the week takes place at Michigan Stadium, where the No. 12 Michigan is set to host the No. 15 Wisconsin. As of writing this, the Wolverines are 7.5-point favorites. This game could play a huge factor in which team gets into the Big Ten title game. The rest of the schedule looks like this; Iowa (-5) at Indiana, Rutgers at Maryland (-24), Nebraska at Northwestern (-5.5), Minnesota at No. 3 Ohio State (29.5), Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State (-13.5), and Purdue (-10.5) at Illinois.

Big Ten Teams Trending Up

No. 12 Michigan Wolverines: The Wolverines are trending in the right direction at the right time. After a dismal performance in the season opener against Notre Dame, the Wolverines have reeled of five straight victories to get their record to 5-1, including 3-0 in conference play. Aside from the hiccup against Northwestern where they narrowly escaped with a victory (20-17), the Wolverines have been beating their opponents by an average of 34 points. Their defense hasn't given up more than 21 points, and the offense finally looks alive and like what we were expecting from it all season long. Michigan now has a trio of games that will ultimately decide its fate, with a home game on Wisconsin on deck followed by a trip to East Lansing to play Michigan State and then back home against Penn State. Buckle up, Wolverines fans.

Purdue Boilermakers: The Boilermakers were supposed to be one of the upstart teams this season in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, Purdue started 0-3, and all the expectations went out the window. However, the Boilermakers have won two straight, however, and one of those wins came against Boston College - which is impressive. They now have a very winnable game against Illinois this week before running into the buzz saw that is Ohio State. Beyond the top teams in the Big Ten (Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan), it's the Boilermakers with the longest win streak in the conference at two games.

Ohio State Buckeyes: This is going to be quick. Ohio State is trending up because it is 6-0 and firmly entrenched in a position to reach the College Football Playoff. OSU won't face another worthy opponent until Nov. 24 when they travel to Michigan for "The Game".

Trending Down

Nebraska Cornhuskers: The Scott Frost era in Nebraska could not have gotten off to a worse start. The team is 0-5 and have lost at home to Colorado (not the worst loss in the world), Troy (embarrassing) and Purdue (brutal). The offense has yet to score 30 points, while the defense has yet to keep an opponent under 24. If the Cornhuskers don't beat Minnesota on Oct. 20, the only win I see them getting is the following week against Bethune-Cook - and even then, that'll be a difficult game. Nebraska is so bad right now, they are making Rutgers look good.

Rutgers Scarlett Knights: Speaking of Rutgers, the Scarlett Knights have one win on the season but have lost five straight ball games to drop their record to 1-5. In those losses, they have yet to pass the 20-point mark for points scored and are losing by an average score of 28 points per game. Based on their remaining schedule - at Maryland, home vs Northwestern, at Wisconsin, home vs Michigan and Penn State and then at Michigan State, Rutgers may very well finish 1-11.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: The season started off so promising with wins against New Mexico State, Fresno State and Miami-Ohio. What has followed is two consecutive losses to Maryland and Iowa. The problem is not with the teams they've lost to, but how they've lost. They were completely underprepared against Maryland and fell 42-13. In their most recent loss, the defense was atrocious, giving up 420 total yards and 48 points to Iowa. Last time I checked, the Hawkeyes weren't the college version of the LA Rams. Up next for Minnesota is a date with Ohio State where they will probably lose by 40 and then they get Nebraska, which is a very winnable game.

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Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis

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