Indiana Hoosiers vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 10/05/2024

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 5, 2024

Venue:  Martin Stadium, Evanston, IL

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Indiana -13.5, Northwestern +13.5; Over/Under:  42 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Indiana -13.5, Northwestern +13.5; Over/Under:  42 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Indiana -13.5, Northwestern +13.5; Over/Under:  41.5 points

Indiana Hoosiers:  5-0 (2-0) (1st place, Big Ten)

Northwestern Wildcats:  2-2 (0-1) (15th place, Big Ten)

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Indiana Hoosiers:  won their last game at home against the Maryland Terrapins 42-28.

Northwestern Wildcats:  lost their last game on the road against the Washington Huskies 24-5.

Indiana is entering this game with a 5-0 record overall and they have a 2-0 record in their conference games too. They are 4-0 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Maryland 42-28. Kurtis Rourke was the starting QB and he completed 22/33 passes for 359 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Ty Son Lawton led the team in rushing yards with 93 and 1 TD. Elijah Sarratt led the receivers with 128 receiving yards on 7 receptions and 1 TD. D'Angelo Ponds led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while James Carpenter led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Northwestern is entering this game with a 2-2 record overall and they have a 0-1 record in their conference games too. They are 2-1 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Washington 24-5. Jack Lausch was the starting QB and he completed 8/27 passes for 53 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Jack Lausch led the team in rushing yards with 21. A. J. Henning led the receivers with 41 receiving yards on 5 receptions. Xander Mueller led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Xander Mueller, Anto Saka, and Aidan Hubbard each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Indiana listed as a 13.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Indiana has looked really good in their games this season with their 5-0 record overall. They are having their best start to the season in decades and they have a ton of momentum on their side right now. They are coming off another conference win by double digits in their last game and their offense has been rolling this season. Meanwhile, Northwestern hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 2-2 record overall and their 0-1 conference record. They are coming out of their bye week, but they lost their only conference game going into the bye week, losing 24-5 to Washington. That was a bit of a travel for them and now they have had extra time to prepare for this game at home, but their offense really hasn't been good in any of their games this season. They have struggled to score more than 20 points in their games this season, scoring 31 against a team from the FCS but scoring no more than 20 in any of their games against FBS opponents. Their defense hasn't been terrible, but their offense can't stay on the field and that is going to be a factor in this game since Indiana has been rolling on offense and will tire this Northwestern defense out. Northwestern won't be able to put up the points needed to keep this game close and eventually Indiana will pull away where there is no way back in the game. The best way to place a bet here is on Indiana to cover the spread in this game. 

Indiana Northwestern Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 5, 2024 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Indiana 42 Northwestern 13.

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Indiana Hoosiers: 0-5 ATS after a game with a turnover margin of -2 or worse. 2-5 ATS versus good defensive teams - allowing 310 yards/game or less. 18-10 OVER in all lined games. 9-2 OVER in road lined games. 7-1 OVER off a home win. 12-2 OVER after playing a game at home.

Northwestern Wildcats: 12-7 ATS against conference opponents. 8-4 ATS after scoring 14 points or less last game. 9-4 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record. 5-1 OVER as a home underdog. 6-2 OVER off a road loss. 5-2 OVER off a road loss against a conference rival. 

Indiana Hoosiers:  D. McCormick (K) Out - Undisclosed. J. Bomba (TE) Out - Undisclosed. T. Collins (DL) Out - Undisclosed. J. Philostin (DB) Out - Undisclosed. A. Depaepe (DL) Out - Undisclosed. V. Fiacable (OL) Out - Undisclosed. N. Kidwell (OL) Out - Undisclosed.

Northwestern Wildcats:  J. Cameron (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Grove (WR) Out - Undisclosed. A. Saka (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Walters (DB) Out - Undisclosed. T. Williams (DB) Out - Undisclosed. N. Glover (LB) Out - Undisclosed. J. Tabibian (K) Out - Undisclosed. J. Knox (OL) Out - Undisclosed. H. Fioriglio (DL) Out - Undisclosed. M. Keeler (OL) Out - Undisclosed. Q. Johnson (LB) Out - Undisclosed. D. Gray (WR) Out - Undisclosed. T. Crane (WR) Out - Undisclosed. C. Bastone (DL) Out - Undisclosed. O. Adeyi (DB) Out - Undisclosed. R. Ahumaraeze (WR) Out - Undisclosed. R. Hagarty (DL) Out - Undisclosed.

“We haven’t been 5-0, evidently, for 57 years. That’s a pretty long time isn’t it? This is a step in the right direction, but we have to keep improving as a team.” - Curt Cignetti after his team’s win against Maryland in their last game. 

“Regardless of the outcome in those two goal line situations, I don’t think we played well, played our brand of football. But we certainly had opportunities to make this a closer football game than it was.” - David Braun after his team’s loss against Washington in their last game. 

WR Sarratt, Elijah

WR Cross, Miles 

WR Price, Myles 

TE Horton, Zach 

QB Rourke, Kurtis 

RB Lawton, Ty Son

WR Kirtz, Bryce

WR Covey IV, Frank

WR Henning, A.J.

TE Gordon, Thomas 

QB Lausch, Jack 

RB Porter, Cam

Passing: K. Rourke (1372)

Rushing: J. Ellison (341)

Receiving: E. Sarratt (378)

Touchdowns: T. Lawton (6)

Passing: M. Wright (354)

Rushing: C. Porter (234)

Receiving: A. Henning (229)

Touchdowns: C. Porter (3)

Coaches:

Indiana Hoosiers: Curt Cignetti (1st season)

Northwestern Wildcats: David Braun (2nd season)