The Indiana Hoosiers are ready to play under the Fright night lights. Indiana's Big Ten opener is set for tonight at 8 p.m. ET against the Northwestern Wildcats, and both teams are looking to stay undefeated. The Hoosiers are 3-0 with non-conference wins over North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky, while Northwestern is 2-0 with victories over South Dakota State and Colorado.
Indiana needs to lean on these 5 players to propel team to victory over Northwestern
Curt Cignetti owns a stellar 17-1 regular season record in Big Ten play during his tenure in Bloomington. Professional oddsmakers seem to like his chances to pickup another conference win in this one, as the Hoosiers are significant favorites. Here is a look at the latest Indiana vs Northwestern betting odds as well as a score prediction for this Big Ten opener.
Final betting odds for Indiana vs. Northwestern
Indiana has remained a three-touchdown favorite all throughout the week. As of this publishing, DraftKings Sportsbook has the Hoosiers favored by 20.5 points with lopsided odds of -1800 on the moneyline.
Moneyline:
Northwestern +1000
Indiana -1800
Spread:
Northwestern +20.5 (-112)
Indiana -20.5 (-108)
Total:
Over 49.5 (-102)
Under 49.5 (-108)
Despite winning their first three games by 36, 55, and 38 points, the Hoosiers have yet to cover the spread this season. On the other side, the Wildcats are 2-0 against the spread. The over is also 2-0 for Northwestern, while Indiana is 2-1 to the under through three games.
Over their last nine meetings going back to 2007, Northwestern is 6-3 against Indiana, while the over has gone 5-4. Indiana won the most recent matchup by a score of 41-24 on October 5, 2024 in Evanston.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Final score prediction for Indiana vs. Northwestern
Indiana is favored by 20+ points for a reason. They have a solid talent edge just about everywhere you look, and should find the win column. But this will be Indiana's toughest competition of the season, and Northwestern is not to be overlooked.
Northwestern QB Aidan Chiles faced the Hoosiers twice during his time at Michigan State. Indiana gave him fits, as Chiles had more turnovers (4) than touchdowns (2) and was sacked a total of 6.0 times. His teams also lost both games by a combined score of 85-23. But MSU was a complete dumpster fire, and those losses can't fully be put on Chiles.
Now Chiles is in a different situation, and a much better one. He now he has offensive mastermind Chip Kelly as his offensive coordinator at Northwestern. Through two games, Chiles has completed 67.4% of his passes for 514 yards with 4 touchdowns and zero interceptions. With Kelly calling plays, look for Northwestern's offense to be vastly improved from what we've seen in recent seasons.
In the end, Indiana should be able to find the win column. But Chiles and the Wildcats may hang around for a while before the Hoosiers pull away. IU wins 34-17.
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