Ohio State vs Northwestern 11/16/24 Game Info

Ohio State vs Northwestern Preview

What better way to kick off Saturday’s slate than with this Week 12 game between No. 2 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1 in Big Ten) and Northwestern (4-5, 2-4 in Big Ten) from Wrigley Field in Chicago. So the home of the Chicago Cubs will see the Purple Cats up against it vs an Ohio State team who is the No. 2 seeded team in the inaugural College Football Playoffs (CFP) which will kick off on December 20. This has been a one-sided Big Ten Conference series with the Buckeyes owning a 65-14-1 overall record vs Northwestern and having won 34 of the last 35 meetings. The Wildcats come off of an OT win vs Purdue while Ohio State has won three straight since losing to No. 1 Oregon, beating Nebraska, Penn State, and Purdue by a combined 96-30 tally. 

Ohio State to Neuter Purple Cats at Wrigley

Ohio State (5-4-0 ATS, 4-5-0 O/U) is the big Favorite here, and justifiably so with the Buckeyes dominating the series and one of the beat teams in FBS with QB Will Howard (2,237 passing yards), RB Quinshon Judkins (647 rushing yards), WR Jeremiah Smith (765 receiving yards, 9 TD, 17.0 ypc), WR Emeka Egbuka (587 receiving yards, 8 TD, 12.5 ypc) and WR Carnell Tate (405 receiving yards, 2 TD, 15.0 ypc). The Buckeyes have allowed more than 17 points just once—in that 32-21 loss to Oregon in the best game of the NCAA Football season to date—shut out Western Michigan and Purdue and allowed only 7 points to both Michigan State and Iowa. The defense has always been good in Columbus and this season is no exception with the Buckeyes allowing jus 10.7 ppg (#2). Northwestern will have trouble making double-digits in historic Wrigley Field.

Ohio State Betting Trends:

• Ohio State has beaten Northwestern 32 straight times
• The Under is 5-1 in the last 6 Buckeyes games
• The Buckeyes are 6-3-0 ATS in the last 9 meetings
• The Over is also 6-3-0 in the last 9 meetings
• The Buckeyes have outscored NU 361-121 the last 9 meetings

Northwestern on 32-game Losing Streak to Buckeyes

Northwestern (3-6-0 ATS, 5-4-0 O/U) will try in vain to slow this game down, but it won’t matter with the Buckeyes superior on both sides of the ball and knowing if they keep doing what they have been doing, they will get a Bye in the opening round of the CFP and be in great shape to make a run at a national championship which their heated rivals Michigan won last time around. Never underestimate how much Ohio State is fueled by that psychological reality and this team can hang with Oregon—as it proved already in Eugene—Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, BYU, and would make a soup out of overrated Miami (Florida). With the Wildcats 5-5 SU their last 10 and 5-5 their last 10 in the Totals market, the Trends don’t add much here. But the eyeball test says OSU should score 37-43 and the Point Spread seems off by a TD.

Northwestern Betting Trends:

• Northwestern’s last win vs Ohio State came in 1971
• The First Quarter Under is 9-3 in the last 10 Wildcats games 
• The First Half Over at Home is 1-6 in the last 7 NU games
• Northwestern was 9-4 ATS in the 2023-24 season
• The Wildcats average just 18.6 ppg (#126)

Ohio State vs Northwestern Pick and Prediction

This Ohio State vs Northwestern prediction and free NCAAF pick comes down to expectations from both teams and the expectations are that the Buckeyes will score 37-43 with the Purple Cats ending with 0, 3, or 10, So a worst-case scenario from this prediction is a 37-10 Buckeyes win, which would mean Northwestern would get the money. A best-case scenario sees a 43-0 shutout and the visitors covering the number by 14.5 points. It will be cloudy and around 55° at Wrigley Field on Saturday, so backing powerhouse Ohio State (38.6 ppg, #11), who could be up 28-0 at some point, is the pick.

Kevin’s Pick: Ohio State -28.5