The Ohio State Buckeyes lost to the Oregon Ducks, but all of their goals are in front of them. They get the Indiana Hoosiers next week, so it’s a potential look-ahead game, but are the Northwestern Wildcats talented enough to push the Buckeyes?
In a neutral-site game, the Wildcats will look to pull off the ultimate upset. Find out if they have a chance in this Ohio State vs. Northwestern prediction.
Ohio State vs. Northwestern Betting Preview
All Ohio State vs. Northwestern odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. The CFN Spread comes from College Football Network’s Football Playoff Meter.
- CFN FPM Spread
Ohio State -24 - Spread
Ohio State -28.5 - Moneyline
N/A - Over/Under
44 points - Game Time
Noon ET - Location
Wrigley Field | Chicago, IL - Predicted Weather at Kick
53 degrees, cloudy, 7 mph winds - How To Watch
Big Ten Network
The only two questions on Saturday are whether the Buckeyes treat this as a look-ahead game and what percentage of fans will be able to see the football game from their Wrigley Field seats.
MORE: Simulate the College Football Season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
With an over/under set at 44 and a 28.5-point spread, Vegas has no faith in Northwestern’s offense, projecting a final score around 36-8 in Ohio State’s favor.
Ohio State’s Winning Probability
CFN’s Football Playoff Meter thinks this game is just standard procedure before Ohio State’s real game next week, making the Buckeyes 24-point favorites against the Wildcats.
Their winning probability in this game is 95.6%, the Buckeyes’ highest remaining winning probability of the season. Per the metric, they’re heavy favorites in all three games.
- at Northwestern: 95.6%
- vs. Indiana: 71.6%
- at Michigan: 91.3%
Northwestern’s Winning Probability
Conversely, Northwestern has a 4.4% chance of beating the Buckeyes at Wrigley Field. The Wildcats are stuck at four wins, and finding a fifth or sixth will be extremely difficult, given their remaining schedule.
- vs. Ohio State: 4.4%
- at Michigan: 16.7%
- vs. Illinois: 24.7%
Prediction for Ohio State vs. Northwestern
Ohio State controls its own destiny in the Big Ten and perhaps to a No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. To get there, the Buckeyes would need to win out in the regular season (including a home win over undefeated Indiana) and then get revenge on Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game.
This could be considered a potential trap game against a better team, as the Buckeyes host the Hoosiers next week. But as I’ve discussed before, when looking at Ohio State in potential blowout situations, the Buckeyes are the exception to the rule that teams in this era of college football typically aren’t deep.
The Buckeyes have plenty of backups who could start at other Big Ten schools. Accordingly, the Buckeyes are just too talented.
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The Wildcats have returned to Earth. David Braun is still a fine coach, but it’s clear that they overachieved last season by taking advantage of weaker Big Ten competition. Sure, the Wildcats can still overperform and catch another team by surprise as they did to Maryland, but Ohio State is too talented.
The Buckeyes will win to set up a huge clash against the Hoosiers, but can they cover?
This, again, goes back to the Buckeyes’ extraordinary depth. Even if Ryan Day decides to sit some of his stars after opening up a big lead (which he hasn’t done often this year), he’s bringing five-star players off the bench.
I still don’t think the Buckeyes have come close to reaching their potential this season, but we won’t see it against Northwestern. The Wildcat offense has struggled, and I don’t think this unit scares a stout Ohio State defense.
The half-point beyond the four-touchdown spread scares me a bit, but I still like the Buckeyes to cover. Northwestern’s offense has really struggled this season, but I think Jack Lausch can hit a few throws late to move the ball at least a bit. The Buckeyes sat on the ball after getting up big on Purdue, but I think both teams will probably score in the fourth quarter to push this over.
There are certainly better bets to be made this weekend, but I think Ohio State will cover and push the total over.
Prediction: Ohio State 41, Northwestern 9
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