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Ohio State opens as favorite in B1G Championship Game vs. Northwestern

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

The stage was set on Saturday afternoon. No. 10 Ohio State and No. 19 Northwestern will go head-to-head in Indianapolis in the B1G Championship Game next weekend.

And now, the spreads have been set.

Per Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch, the Buckeyes have opened as a 14-point favorite against Northwestern next Saturday. The Wildcats were expected to be an underdog heading into the matchup, the question was where the line would be set.

Ohio State has absolutely dominated the head-to-head series with Northwestern, owning a 61-14-1 advantage all-time. The Buckeyes have also won 30 of the last 31 meetings. The Wildcats’ lone win came in 2004.

The last matchup between the two was in 2016 in Columbus, a game Ohio State won 24-20.

But being an underdog might not be a terrible thing for Northwestern. It’s actually been a pretty good omen for Pat Fitzgerald and Co. this season.

According to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, Northwestern is 0-4 against the spread when it is tabbed as a favorite. The Cats are 5-1-1 when they are labeled an underdog.

No, that doesn’t directly translate to wins and losses, but Northwestern really is out to prove something when it’s picked as an underdog.

We’ll see if that translates to a hard-fought battle in Indianapolis next Saturday.

Ohio State and Northwestern will square off at Lucas Oil Stadium with kickoff scheduled at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on FOX.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB