No. 6 Michigan vs. Northwestern picks and best bets for Week 8

Fox’s Big Noon Saturday brings us to Ann Arbor this week as the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines will welcome the Northwestern Wildcats to Michigan Stadium. The game will kick off at noon ET.

Michigan (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) is fresh off a bye week after winning back-to-back conference road games against Rutgers and Wisconsin. Even as a Top 10 team, the Wolverines have mostly flown under the radar and would like to notch one more victory before entering the meat of their schedule.

Northwestern (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) were able to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to Nebraska by defeating Rutgers 21-7 last Saturday. It was your stereotypical slow, plodding Wildcats game with the offense sitting on the football for most of the afternoon.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Northwestern: 77th overall, 108th offense, 31st defense
Michigan: 8th overall, 18th offense, 9th defense

Injury update

Northwestern

QB Andrew Marty Ques Sat - Upper Body
OL Sam Gerak Ques Sat - Knee
TE Trey PughTEQues Sat - Undisclosed
WR Bryce Kirtz Ques Sat - Undisclosed

Michigan

WR Roman Wilson Day-To-Day – Wrist

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Northwestern: 2-4 ATS
Michigan: 5-1 ATS

Total

Northwestern: Over 3-3
Michigan: Over 3-3

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Northwestern: 41st overall, 40th offense, 42nd defense
Michigan: 17th overall, 17th offense, 18th defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Michigan -23.5
Total: 51
Moneyline: Michigan -2000, Northwestern +1000

Opening line: Michigan -21
Opening total: 49

Weather

55 degrees, 10 MPH winds W, 16% chance of rain

The Pick

Under 51

This could be a bit of a look-ahead spot for Michigan with a potential Top 10 showdown at in-state rival Michigan State looming next Saturday. However, the Northwestern offense lacks the juice to do much of anything against Aidan Hutchinson and that physical Michigan defense.

This could be a scenario where Michigan decides to establish a large enough lead and park the car as they don’t want to give away too much before facing Sparty in East Lansing next week. Think somewhere along the lines of 28-10. Hit the under here.

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