It's June 7, meaning we're at the time of the year where we all want to talk about college football even though the season is still a ways off. But thanks to the Golden Nugget, we have something completely meaningless, but also a lot of fun to talk about! They released 250 college football point spreads for the upcoming season today, including 9 lines of Northwestern games. Point spreads are pretty meaningless in the first place — NU went 11-1 against the spread last year, so it doesn't matter all that much what Vegas thinks — and these lines are especially meaningless, because things will certainly change by the time the Wildcats face off against Michigan in November. Nevertheless, they're a fun way to see what NU's perception is around the country. Here's the full list, courtesy of the Kegs N Eggs blog, with the NU selections below.
Northwestern (-10.5) at Cal
Syracuse at Northwestern (-13)
Ohio State (-8) at Northwestern
Northwestern at Wisconsin (-6)
Minnesota at Northwestern (-15)
Northwestern (-12) at Iowa
Michigan at Northwestern (-3)
Michigan State at Northwestern (-3)
Northwestern (-13) at Illinois
Overall, that makes NU the favorite in 7 of the 9 games and the underdog against Ohio State and Wisconsin. None of these spreads are too surprising, though it's a bit of a surprise that NU is favored against Michigan considering the preseason hype the Wolverines are getting [note: I did not say Michigan SHOULD be favored, just that I'm surprised at the respect for NU]. Also, it's very odd that the Nebraska game isn't listed on here, considering that figures to be one of the biggest Legends Division games of the season. But when you add in that game and the two gimmes against Western Michigan and Maine, Vegas will likely peg the Wildcats at 9-3 this season. Just remember: none of this matters at kickoff. Last year's team certainly proved that.