Ohio State is looking to finish off as the Big Ten Champions and earn their spot in the College Football Playoff. Can Northwestern shock the world?
Betting Odds and Trends
- Ohio State -18.5
- O/U 55.5
- Ohio State is 1-4 ATS in a neutral site since 2018
- Northwestern is 5-1-1 ATS in 2020
Northwestern record in Big Ten Championship games: 0-1
- Lost to Ohio State 45-24 in 2018
Ohio State record in Big Ten Championship games: 4-1
- 4th straight appearance
We know what Justin Fields has the ability to do, but how well does he perform against high competition?
- 4-1 record against teams at least 5 games over .500
- 2+ touchdowns in 4 of those 5 games
- Fields leads Big Ten in completion percentage (78.1), yards per attempt (10.3), passing touchdowns (15), and passer rating (196.12)
Key for Northwestern will be to make Fields turn the ball over 2+ times
- Fields has had 2+ interceptions just twice in his college career
- Both times the game was decided by one possession
- Brandon Joseph has 5 interceptions (T-1st in Big Ten)
Wildcats’ offense in 2020 has been reliant on the running game
- 44.1 rushing attempts per game (2nd in Big Ten)
- 3 different players with 60+ carries
- They average 3.86 yards per carry (9th in Big Ten)
- Evan Hull was very productive against Illinois last week finishing with 149 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries
It is a tale of two cities in terms of each team’s secondary performance
|
Big Ten rank in parentheses |
Northwestern |
Ohio State |
|
Opposing QB’s completion percentage |
51.3 (1st) |
62.4 (9th) |
|
Passing yards allowed per game |
192.0 (2nd) |
268.8 (Last) |
|
Passing TD’s allowed |
7 (T-2nd) |
9 (T-5th) |
|
Interceptions |
12 (2nd) |
4 (T-7th) |
Ohio State receivers have been the most dominant duo in the Big Ten and arguably the nation
|
Chris Olave |
Garrett Wilson |
|
|
Receptions |
36 |
34 |
|
Receiving TD’s |
5 |
5 |
|
Receiving yards per game |
105.6 |
114.4 |
- Wilson and Olave rank first and second respectively in the Big Ten for receiving yards per game
- Both players have recorded 100+ yards in 4 of 5 games this season
- Olave has a TD in 6 of his last 9 games
Another dominant duo has been on fire for the Buckeyes as of late
- Master Teague and Trey Sermon have combined for 770 rushing yards
- There has been a rushing TD from one of these two in all of Ohio State’s games this year
- Trey Sermon has averaged 6.3 yards per carry (3rd in Big Ten)
- Master Teague has had 2+ touchdowns twice this season
Who will leave Indianapolis as the Big Ten Champion? Let me know on Twitter @James_Costanz
