Betting the Big Ten: Week 14 decides who goes to Indy

Betting the Big Ten: Week 14 decides who goes to IndyStory byMatt EifertThu, November 27, 2025 at 9:00 PM UTC·6 min read

I hope you were paying attention. After a few rough weeks, we bounced back into the green in Week 12. In Week 13, we were perfect for the first time since starting up Betting the Big Ten! An 8-0 week is exactly what we needed. Several underdogs covered with ease, while Michigan, Washington and Oregon covered as favorites.

A perfect week brings our season total up to 58-52-2. Who says we can’t win all our bets again this week?

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Week 14 has just one ranked matchup in the Big Ten, but that would be hideously underselling the card. Four teams have a berth in the Big Ten Championship on the line in Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon. Not to mention, Michigan looks to win The Game for the fifth consecutive time. Let’s dig into it.

All lines courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Please bet responsibly.

Iowa (-6) at Nebraska, O/U 38.5, Noon Friday

The line here has slid toward Iowa all week long with no end in sight. The Hawkeyes are 8-3 ATS while Nebraska is just 4-6-1. On top of that, a whopping 89 percent of all bets are in on Iowa. The general public loves the Hawkeyes, and I’m inclined to agree.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe pick: Iowa -6Indiana (-28.5) at Purdue, O/U 54.5, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Despite Indiana being a legitimate national title contender, the Hoosiers are just 6-5 ATS on the season and have failed to cover in their last two games. When it comes to the total, the Boilermakers tend to always go under (3-8) while the Hoosiers tend to go over (7-4), so we can’t touch that. I’m going to base this pick off one game: the head-to-head matchup last year. Curt Cignetti’s squad never took their foot off the gas in a 66-0 whomping. In a game in which the spread is huge again, I look for more of the same from Cignetti.

The pick: Indiana -28.5Ohio State (-10) at Michigan, O/U 44.5, Noon Saturday

Do we dare take Michigan? The spread is all over the place. Just a week ago, it was down to 6.5. By early in the week, it had climbed up to 12.5. However, it’s come all the way back down to 10 now. That’s a ton of volatility. It’s hard to trust season-long trends in this matchup given how the record books get thrown out. Instead, I’m going to look at the injury picture. Michigan is set to miss Justice Haynes, Evan Link, potentially Max Bredeson, and more. Ohio State may be missing its two best receivers. With snow in the forecast, I love the under here, as it should be a good, old-fashioned slugfest.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe pick: Under 44.5Oregon (-7) at Washington, O/U 51.5, 3:30 p.m.

Somewhat surprisingly, the line here is slowly trending towards the Huskies. After a big win over USC, Oregon saw the spread drop from 7.5 down to 7 thanks to 77 percent of all bets coming in on Washington. Given that bet percentage, I would have expected the line to move more. I’m hesitant to go that route since the Huskies are 0-2 ATS as an underdog. Instead I’ll take the over. Oregon is 5-3 against the total as a favorite and has gone over in its last two games. Washington is 4-2 against the total at home.

The pick: Over 51.5Wisconsin at Minnesota (-1.5), O/U 37.5, 3:30 p.m.

Per The Action Network, 60 percent of all bets are in on Wisconsin, which has caused the spread to drop from 2.5 down to 1.5. I tend to agree with the public, as the Badgers are 3-1 ATS on the road and have covered in four consecutive games. Likewise, Minnesota is just 3-7-1 ATS on the season and has only covered once in their last four games. All signs point to Wisconsin in this one.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe pick: Wisconsin +1.5Penn State (-13.5) at Rutgers, O/U 56.5, 3:30 p.m.

A whopping 86 percent of all bets are in on Penn State. However, I’m still skeptical of the Nittany Lions, as they are just 4-7 ATS this season. For context, Rutgers isn’t much better, sitting at 5-6 ATS. However, both teams have been pretty good against the total — Penn State is 8-3 on the season and 3-1 on the road, while Rutgers is 6-5 on the season and 5-1 at home. Those are definitely strong enough trends to follow.

The pick: Over 56.5Maryland vs Michigan State (-4), O/U 48.5, 7 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit, MI

They are literally giving tickets away for free in this matchup if it tells you anything about how Maryland and Michigan State’s seasons have been going. Michigan State has been putrid at home this year, but maybe being at a neutral site will help. The spread hasn’t budged one bit despite 82 percent of all bets being on Maryland. This tells me there’s big money on Sparty.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe pick: Michigan State -4UCLA at USC (-22.5), O/U 59.5, 7:30 p.m.

Having likely been eliminated from CFP contention, it will be interesting to see how motivated USC comes out of the tunnel. UCLA has been awful ATS all season long (3-8), but USC is hovering around .500 as well. The total is our best bet here, as the Bruins are 5-2 against the total as an underdog while USC is 5-4 against the total as a favorite. It’s not an incredibly strong trend, but it’ll do for now.

The pick: Over 59.5Northwestern at Illinois (-7), O/U 46.5, 7:30 p.m.

Has any team fallen from grace further than Illinois this season (other than Penn State of course)? The Fighting Illini lost a humiliating game at Wisconsin last weekend by 17 despite being favored by nine. That said, I view this week as a prime bounce-back spot for Illinois. The Illini are 7-4 ATS and, more importantly, 5-1 ATS as a favorite. Northwestern is a solid 3-2-1 ATS as an underdog, but just 1-2-1 ATS away from home.

The pick: Illinois -7AdvertisementAdvertisement