College Football

College football odds: How to Bet Northwestern vs. Michigan, point spread, more

Published Oct. 21, 2021 2:34 p.m. ET

Don't look now, but the Michigan Wolverines are 6-0 midway through the football season and are ranked No. 6 in the country. Will it all come tumbling down Saturday afternoon when the Northwestern Wildcats travel to the Big House to face this menacing pack?

Here's everything you need to know about the college football odds on Saturday's matchup between the Wildcats and the Wolverines — the point spread, moneyline, total over/under and pick from our betting expert (with all college football odds via FOX Bet).

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS @ MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (12:00 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX)

Point spread: Wolverines -23.5 (favored to win by more than 23.5 points, otherwise, Wildcats cover)\
Moneyline: Wolverines -2000 favorite to win (bet $10 to win $10.50 total); Wildcats +1000 underdog to win (bet $10 to win $110.00 total)
Total scoring over/under: 50.5 points scored by both teams combined

Currently, Michigan's defense is No. 9 in the country allowing only 15.5 points per game. Northwestern might be in trouble because their offense is No. 99 in the nation averaging only 21.4 points per game.

Not helping the case for the Wildcats' offense is that they have had a revolving door at quarterback. They've started three different players at the position this year. Sophomore Ryan Hilinski, a transfer from South Carolina, started the past three games and was 18-for-33 passing for a season-high 267 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in last week's 21-7 win over Rutgers.

In Ann Arbor, pound the ground is the name of the game as Jim Harbaugh's team has the sixth-best rushing offense in college football and has in its arsenal two of the nation's best running backs in Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum.

Despite the odds, it might not be all bad news for NU. The young 3-3 Cats in their win against Rutgers only allowed the Scarlet Knights 222 offensive yards. Perhaps they'll bring this grit to the all-important Big 10 matchup Saturday against their cross-conference foes.

The Wolverines, though, do have history on their side; they hold a 58-15-2 edge in the all-time series, winning the past six contests and 11 of the past 12.

The winner in Saturday's showdown will receive the inaugural George Jewett Trophy, named in honor of the first Black player for both schools. Jewett played for Michigan in 1892 and for Northwestern in 1893.

Pick via FOX Sports' Joel Klatt:

Klatt explained on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that Michigan is likely already looking ahead to its matchup with Michigan State and that this weekend against Northwestern will be gritty.

While discussing LSU's head coach search and naming his Top 10 teams, Joel Klatt previews Northwestern - Michigan, explaining why the Wolverines might be in for a rude awakening against the Wildcats.

"Michigan doesn't have the explosiveness on offense to really blow teams out, or they haven't displayed that really," Klatt said. "They will grind you into potentially a two-possession win like they did against Washington early in the season as they did against Wisconsin, but it's not like they're just going to overwhelm you and blow you away with explosiveness on the offensive side.

"When they lost Ronnie Bell, their best wide receiver early in the season, the first game of the season, they lost that ability to overwhelm you, or overwhelm you with explosive plays."

PICK: Michigan (-23.5 at FOX Bet) to win by more than 23.5 points

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