Will Michigan Beat Notre Dame Again? Who Wins Ohio St. vs. Virginia Tech? What About Michigan St. vs. Oregon? Here are our Vegas Big Ten Predictions for Week 2
Vegas Big Ten Predictions
Northern Illinois at Northwestern
Line: Northwestern by 7.5
Last week’s loss to California had to be a kick in the gut for Wildcats fans as they thought their team was primed and ready to get back to a bowl game this year. Now there are a lot of questions about this team, starting with Trevor Siemian at quarterback, who threw 2 picks. I know one thing, despite their lawsuit, none of the Wildcats players deserve pay after last week’s debacle. The defense gave up more than 400 yards at home and will have to get better in a hurry if the Wildcats want to still have any shot at postseason play. This week will not be easy en route to that.
Northern Illinois may not have Jordan Lynch, but this program has proven to be more about the system than the quarterback in recent years. Consider that they’re still in a three-horse race for the quarterback job, and two looked good last week, albeit against Presbyterian. The running game is also very strong, so this is a unit that can put up a lot of points and will look to exploit a not-so-great Northwestern defense.
Prediction
The snowball started last week with Northwestern and continues this week. The team’s confidence is shot now and has to face a very good offense with a mediocre defense, so Northern Illinois will take advantage of that.
Northern Illinois: 38 Northwestern: 27