It's June, which means it's college football odds season, and Sportsbook CG Technology released its 2014 win totals this week, via Betting Talk. Below is the entire Big Ten.
Ohio State — 10.5
Michigan State — 9.5
Wisconsin — 9.5
Iowa — 8.5
Nebraska — 8
Michigan — 8
Penn State — 8
Maryland — 6.5
Minnesota — 6.5
Northwestern — 6
Illinois — 5
Indiana — 5
Rutgers — 4.5
Purdue — 3.5
Before making any quick judgements about Northwestern, let's take a look at the schedule:
vs. Cal
vs. Northern Illinois
vs. Western Illinois
at Penn State
vs. Wisconsin
at Minnesota
vs. Nebraska
at Iowa
vs. Michigan
at Notre Dame
at Purdue
vs. Illinois
Just glancing at the schedule, with initial reactions that will undoubtedly change before the season, I think there are probably more than six wins on there. Cal, Northern Illinois, Western Illinois, Purdue and Illinois are all probably wins. I think it's fair to call Wisconsin, Iowa and Notre Dame probable losses, though NU could certainly win any of them. That leaves Penn State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan as toss-ups.
It seems unlikely that NU will fail to win two of those seven. Yeah, yeah, I know last year happened, but that's not a reason to pick this year's team to lose games.
So I'll take the over on NU. And on Iowa, Maryland and Ohio State. And the under on Wisconsin and Michigan State. What are your thoughts?