Indiana and Northwestern will kick off their Big Ten conference battle on Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington with both teams undefeated early in the season. Indiana enters at 3-0 after a 38-0 rout of Western Kentucky, while Northwestern holds a 2-0 record following a 41-7 victory over Colorado.
The Hoosiers, coming off a national championship last season and an 11-2 record the year before under head coach Curt Cignetti, have started strong but have yet to cover the spread in any game this year. Their offense ranks eighth nationally, averaging 45 points per game, and their defense is seventh, conceding just eight points on average. Quarterback Josh Hoover, a former standout at TCU, has completed 72.5% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions, although limited playing time in blowouts has kept his total yards modest.
Northwestern has matched Indiana’s early dominance, particularly on defense, ranking third nationally by allowing only seven points per game. Their offense is 13th in scoring with 41 points per game. The Wildcats have been more successful against the spread, standing 2-0 so far and coming off a 34-point win over Colorado when they were favored by just 3.5 points. Last season, Northwestern went 7-4-2 ATS, including a strong run covering the spread in their final 15 games.
The Wildcats added quarterback Aidan Chiles from Michigan State this offseason, and he made an impact last week by throwing for 241 yards and contributing five total touchdowns in the win over Colorado.
As the teams prepare to face off, betting odds show Northwestern as a slight favorite. FanDuel’s SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates games 10,000 times, predicts Northwestern will cover the spread in 55% of simulations. The model has a 22-19 record on top-rated college football money-line picks this season and recently updated its algorithms to account for transfer portal data ahead of 2026.
Indiana’s schedule so far has included less challenging non-conference opponents, but the Hoosiers have performed as expected. Northwestern is coming off its second winning season in three years and seems to have maintained momentum early in 2024.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, with betting promotions running on platforms like FanDuel and BetMGM, including bonus bets for new users wagering on this matchup. The game will test Indiana’s championship defense against a Northwestern team that has quietly built consistency under the radar.
According to CBS.