College football odds: Northwestern clear underdogs against Michigan
The Northwestern Wildcats are 7-2 straight up and against the spread in their last nine games overall. The Wildcats take their elite defense on the road to face another elite defensive team this Saturday in the Michigan Wolverines.
Northwestern is an 8-point road underdog on Saturday according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Wildcats are 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four games as the betting underdog.
Many were writing Northwestern's 16-6 win as a 10-point home underdog against the Stanford Cardinal off as a fluke. But since that win, the Wildcats have continued to shine on defense, shutting out Eastern Illinois and Minnesota and allowing only seven points per game overall on the season.
The Wildcats have proven their naysayers wrong so far this season with a 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS record, and will look to make a statement on the road this week at Michigan.
Clemson up, Ohio St. down in college football Power Rankings after Week 5
The Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan started off with a 24-17 road loss at Utah, but in hindsight that loss is much more forgivable given Utah's emergence as a Pac-12 power since then. In the meantime, Michigan has gone 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS while allowing only two touchdowns in total over that stretch.
The Wolverines have shut out BYU and Maryland in back-to-back games, and have been getting the job done on offense too with 27.8 points per game.
Harbaugh's impact on the Wolverines is undeniable, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Michigan is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games against Northwestern but just 2-5 ATS over its last seven per the OddsShark College Football Database.
The total for this Saturday's Wildcats vs. Wolverines betting matchup is at a low 35 points. This should come as no surprise as the nation's top two teams in scoring defense clash in a game in which points will almost certainly be extremely tough to come by.
The UNDER is 4-1 in Northwestern's last five October games, 5-0 in Michigan's last five games overall and 6-0 in Michigan's last six home games. Both of these teams figure to be tough outs in the Big Ten conference schedule for the rest of the season.
