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Northwestern vs Ohio State Football Predictions & Odds

At the beginning of the 2008 college football season, who would have thought that the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats would have identical records when they were to meet in the 11th week of the season.  Most people didn’t expect Ohio State to have two losses at this point, and even fewer thought that Northwestern would have 7 wins.  It’s still hard to think of this game in  terms of a class between two college football powerhouses, but Northwestern’s success should be enough to bring some excitement to this match up for the first time in years.  Ohio State is an 11 point over Northwestern with the total set at 42.5.

Their last time out, Ohio State fell victim to Penn State on their home turf, this week they travel to hostile waters and a Northwestern team that is chomping at the bit to hand Ohio State their biggest upset to date.  It won’t be easy to knock off the Buckeyes.  Ohio State’s offensive numbers may seem modest as they are averaging just 24.6 points per game and a mere 318 yards per game, but, when you couple that with their dominating defense, it makes the Buckeyes a scary team for any opponent.  This week much of the burden of production for the offense will again rest on the shoulders of quarterback Terrell Pryor, who, despite a difficult week against Penn State in his last appearance, is an explosive player who is still developing into a quality QB.  Chris Wells should also get plenty of carries this week, especially if the Buckeyes can open up an early lead.

Defensively not many teams can match Ohio State’s numbers.  Everyone remembers their blowout loss against USC, but they’ve still managed to keep their points per game at just 13.3 and have only yielded 267.1 yards of total offense per game.  There’s no question that this is the strength of the team.  Their role will be key in a difficult road game in conference play this week.  The defense is probably the biggest reason why the best line you can find for the game is Ohio State -11.

Northwestern hasn’t been overy impressive on offense this year, but 26 points per game and nearly 380 yards of total offense is nothing to sneeze at.  With leading rusher, Tyrell Sutton out for the rest of the season, quarterback C.J. Bacher is will be utilized both through the air and on the ground as the Wildcat’s major offensive weapon.

Granted, Northwestern’s schedule has not been nearly as difficult as Ohio State’s, but you can’t look past the fact that their defense has only yielded 18 points per game.  They’d like to improve on their pass defense, but their rushing defense is holding opponents to 109 yards per game and only 3.3 yards per carry.  Regardless of their defensive success, the best odds for the Wildcats are Northwestern +11.

The Buckeyes are certainly ready to get back on the field and knock out a win to wash the bad taste of the Penn State loss out of their mouths, but this game is far from decided.  Expect Northwestern to come out with a lot of passion in this game and give the old Buckeyes a solid showing.

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