Opening odds for every Big Ten game in Week 6

Eleven Big Ten teams are in action in the sixth full week of the college football season, and the contenders are beginning to separate themselves from the pretenders. This week features no ranked matchups involving Big Ten teams — although Maryland, which plays Ohio State, was the first team out of the latest AP poll — but there are still a handful of games worth a look, with some of the nation’s top teams in action and others looking to get back on track.

Presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, here’s a look at the opening odds for every game involving a Big Ten team this week.

Note: Michigan State, Penn State and Indiana have byes this week. Odds are not available for Howard at Northwestern.

Friday

Nebraska at Illinois (-3.5), 8 p.m. ET

O/U: 43.5

Neither of these two teams were competitive last week. Nebraska was unsurprisingly trounced by Michigan, 45-7, and Illinois suffered a convincing 44-19 defeat at the hands of Purdue. With both teams entering at 2-3, this is anyone’s game, but Illinois is a slight favorite at home in a crucial game for their growingly distant hopes of competing for the Big Ten West championship.

Saturday

Maryland at No. 4 Ohio State (-19.5), 12 p.m. ET

O/U: 57

In this matchup of unbeaten Big Ten East opponents, Ohio State is heavily favored against Maryland. The Terps most recently defeated Indiana in dominant fashion, and the Buckeyes are just a bye week removed from an impressive comeback win at Notre Dame. This is the best team Maryland has had under head coach Mike Locksley, but it’ll still take a gargantuan effort to knock off the playoff-contending Buckeyes on the road.

Rutgers at Wisconsin (-14), 12 p.m. ET

O/U: 44.5

Rutgers has performed better than expected through its first five games, but in its one real test, it lost to Michigan, 31-7. Whether or not the Scarlet Knights’ 4-1 start is indicative of Greg Schiano finally lifting them from the bottom of the Big Ten East will become more evident this weekend when they travel to play Wisconsin. The Badgers are two-touchdown favorites and look right now to be the most likely candidate to represent the Big Ten West in the conference championship game.

Purdue at Iowa (-2.5), 3:30 p.m. ET

O/U: 39

Somehow, Iowa’s offense might have actually regressed after a historically troubling 2022 campaign. And to add insult to injury, quarterback Cade McNamara is expected to miss the rest of this season with a knee injury suffered in the team’s recent win over Michigan State. The Hawkeyes are still slight favorites at home against Purdue behind their strong defense and special teams, but the lowest over/under of any game involving a Big Ten team this week does not inspire confidence moving forward.

No. 2 Michigan (-19.5) at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. ET

O/U: 46

For the third straight year, Michigan may be the team to beat in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are blowing past their competition, yet to allow more than seven points in a game and having scored at least 30 in their first five. They earned their 12 first-place votes in the latest AP poll and certainly have a case for the No. 1 spot. Minnesota desperately needed its win over Louisiana last week after a two-game skid, but expect the Golden Gophers’ struggles to continue this week.