Odds released for Michigan’s tilt with Northwestern

Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines come off the bye week to face the Northwestern Wildcats in the Big House. Northwestern will be attempting to follow up a stunning 21-7 victory over Rutgers on Saturday that not many saw coming. For Michigan, this will be their first game at home in Ann Arbor since Sept. 25 against Rutgers as well.

DraftKings Sportsbook set the opening line at Michigan -21. This would be one of the largest spreads of the season for Michigan if it holds throughout the week. I expected this line to be even larger prior to Northwestern’s win on Saturday — the Wildcats’ victory over Rutgers likely won’t cause many to take them moneyline against Michigan, but it undoubtedly affected the opening spread.

The over/under has opened at 49 on DraftKings as well. If math stands to reason, this would suggest that Vegas is projecting a 35-14 victory for the Wolverines which seems about appropriate to me.

Around the Big Ten, here’s how the lines have opened on DraftKings:

• Penn State is favored by 23.5 points over Illinois at home
• Minnesota is favored by 4.5 points over Maryland at home
• Ohio State is favored by 18.5 points over Indiana on the road
• No lines have been released yet for Wisconsin vs. Purdue
• Michigan State, Rutgers, Iowa, and Nebraska are on bye this week.

As always, please bet responsibly and enjoy every college football Saturday to the fullest!