Rutgers @ Northwestern: Lines, Model & ATS Trends (Week 8, 2026)

Sat, Oct 24, 2026, 12:00 PM EDTWeek 8 · at Northwestern · Conference game

Kickoff forecast61°F7 mphgusts 15DryWeather watch ›

Rutgers

2-4 · Power #77

projected

Sat 12:00 PM ET

Northwestern

5-1 · Power #30

projected

RUTG 13%

87% NU

Spread

NU -15.5

open NU -16.5

Total

58.5

model 57.5

Spread edge

NU by 2

no lean

Pick this game

Your picksMy picks ›

Spread

Total

Winner

1H spread

1H total

DraftKings via ESPNupdated 7:32 PM ET

SourceDraftKings via ESPN odds feed

OpenNU -16.5

CurrentNU -15.5

Total58.5

Last update7:32 PM ET

Books differ and lines move; check your sportsbook before betting.

Market

Open → current

Spread

OpenNU -16.5

1 → RUTG

NowNU -15.5

1 pt toward Rutgers

Total

Open58.5

no move

Now58.5

No change since the open

Line movement

Pre-kickoff prices from ESPN · tap a dot

Opened NU -16.5 · unchangedmodel NU -17.5

model NU -17.5

Oct 20line modelNow

Line context

Home favorites of 14.5–16.5 since 2023: won 89%, covered 50% (135 games)ⓘ

Lines that moved 1–1.5 pts toward the underdog: that team covered 49% (398 games since 2024)ⓘ

DraftKings via ESPNupdated 7:32 PM ET

SourceDraftKings via ESPN odds feed

OpenNU -16.5

CurrentNU -15.5

Total58.5

Last update7:32 PM ET

Books differ and lines move; check your sportsbook before betting.

Game preview · 1:03

Rutgers at Northwestern: game preview

Made automatically from this game card’s numbers (Oct 23, 9:26 AM ET). The lines and the model’s numbers may have moved since.

Transcript

Our ratings see a big gap between these two. It’s Rutgers at Northwestern, Saturday at 12 PM Eastern. Our power ratings have Northwestern 30th and Rutgers 77th. That’s about 12.5 points better than Rutgers on a neutral field. Since the preseason, Rutgers has slipped from 56th to 77th, while Northwestern has moved up from 55th to 30th. Kickoff forecast at Ryan Field: 60 degrees, dry, wind 5 miles per hour, gusting to 12. Northwestern has the better offense, 21st to 55th. On defense, Northwestern ranks 64th and Rutgers 127th. Rutgers games have gone over 5 of 6 times. Northwestern games have gone over 5 of 6 times. Our model projects Northwestern 38, Rutgers 21, with a 88 percent win chance. Northwestern is favored by 16.5. The total is 58.5. Our model makes it Northwestern by 17.5, with a total near 58.5. Full breakdown · sportsanalysis.info Subscribe for every preview

More game previews ›

Books

9 sportsbooks · current prices

SpreadTotalMoneyline

Book	Spread		Total		Moneyline
Book	RUTG	NU	Over	Under	RUTG	NU
BetMGMMGM	+16.5-110	-16.5-108	58.5-110	58.5-108	+575	-750
BetOnline.agBetOnline.ag	+16-109	-16-111	58.5-110	58.5-110	+540	-765
BetRiversBetRivers	+17-109	-17-114	58.5-117	58.5-106	+550	-910
BetUSBetUS	+16.5-110	-16.5-110	59-110	59-110	+530	-750
BovadaBovada	+16.5-110	-16.5-110	59-110	59-110	+550	-850
DraftKingsDK	+15.5-108	-15.5-112	58.5-110	58.5-110	+525	-750
FanDuelFD	+16.5-110	-16.5-110	58.5-110	58.5-110	+570	-850
LowVig.agLowVig.ag	+16-105	-16-107	58.5-108	58.5-108	+540	-765
MyBookie.agMyBookie.ag	+16.5-110	-16.5-110	59-110	59-110	+500	-752

Prices from ESPN’s odds feed and The Odds API, updated 7:32 PM ET. Highlighted = best number in that column (the line first, then the price). Prices vary by state; check your book.

1st-half prices

3 sportsbooks · current prices

SpreadTotal

Book	Spread		Total
Book	RUTG	NU	Over	Under
BetUSBetUS	+9.5-108	-9.5-112	30.5-112	30.5-108
DraftKingsDK	+9.5-112	-9.5-108	29.5-112	29.5-108
FanDuelFD	+9.5-104	-9.5-118	30.5-112	30.5-108

Prices from The Odds API’s 1st-half markets (graded on the halftime score). Highlighted = best number in that column (the line first, then the price). Prices vary by state; check your book.

Public betting

Share of bets and of money

Spread

RUTG +15.5

NU -15.5

Bets49% 51%

Money50% 50%

Winner

RUTG

Bets3% 97%

Money4% 96%

Sports Betting Dime, an average of sportsbooks. Read Thu, Oct 22, 4:27 AM ET. ⓘ

Similar games

The recent games that looked most like this one before kickoff, and how they turned out

In the 10 games most like NU as a 15.5-point home favorite against RUTG, the favorite won 9, covered 7, and 2 went over the total.

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games

Favorite won

9 of 1090%

Normal range · usually 87%

Favorite covered

7 of 1070%

Normal range · usually 52%

Went over

2 of 1020%

Normal range · usually 50%

All three sit in the normal range for favorites of this size, so history shows no clear lean. Average result: favorite by 21.8 against an average line of 15.7; 51 points a game (usually 52.9). Of the 2 overs, 1 had cashed by the end of Q3. When games like this go over ›

All 10 games

Match	Game	Line	Final	Covered	O/U
Very close	KSU vs HOU 2023 · Week 9 · very close · similar rest & situation	-17.5	41–0	W	U60.5
Very close	JMU vs GASO 2025 · Week 5 · very close · similar rest & spread	-15	35–10	W	U54.5
Very close	USC vs RUTG 2024 · Week 9 · very close · similar situation & rest	-13.75	42–20	W	O56.25
Very close	TCU vs COLO 2025 · Week 6 · very close · similar situation & rest	-13.5	35–21	W	U57
Very close	UVA vs WSU 2025 · Week 8 · very close · similar spread & total	-16.5	22–20	L	U56.5
Very close	COLO vs OKST 2024 · Week 14 · very close · similar spread & rest	-15	52–0	W	U66.5
Very close	UNLV vs NEV 2024 · Week 14 · very close · similar rest & season form	-17.5	38–14	W	U54.5
Very close	GT vs SYR 2025 · Week 9 · very close · similar situation & rest	-17.5	41–16	W	O52.5
Very close	BOIS vs ORST 2024 · Week 14 · very close · similar rest & season form	-17.5	34–18	L	U58
Very close	MD vs ILL 2023 · Week 7 · very close · similar situation & rest	-13.5	24–27	L	U52

History, not a prediction. Every FBS game from 2023 on is compared with this one as it looked before kickoff (team strength, the betting line, season form, situation, venue and rest), and only close matches are kept. How matches are found

ATS

Records before kickoff

	Season	Cover	Venue	Role
RUTG LWWLW	3-3	50%	1-1	2-2
NU WWWLL	4-2	67%	3-1	2-2

Venue/role: RUTG away, as underdog; NU home, as favorite. Squares: last 5 games ATS (W covered, L didn’t), oldest first.

Totals

Over/under before kickoff

	O-U	Over %	SU
RUTG UOOOO	5-1	83%	2-4
NU OOOOU	5-1	83%	5-1

In 1094 games with totals 54.5–62.5, 49% went over; 3% of those overs had cashed by halftime and 32% by the end of Q3.

When games like this go over ›

Squares: last 5 games (O over, U under), oldest first. Hover for the score and line.

Last 10 games

Before kickoff, this and last season

	Straight up	Spread	Over / under
RUTG	3-7 30%	5-5 50%	6-4 60%
NU	7-3 70%	6-3-1 67%	7-3 70%

Wins-losses (pushes and ties last). Spread and over / under skip games without a line.

Next 3 games

With how the last meeting with each opponent went

Rutgers

Date	Game	Last meeting
Oct 31	vs MICH	L7–31PU
Nov 7	@ WIS	L7–42LO
Nov 14	vs NEB	L7–14LU

Northwestern

Date	Game	Last meeting
Oct 31	@ ORE	L14–34WU
Nov 7	vs IOWA	L14–40LO
Nov 14	@ OSU	L7–31WU

Last meeting: result, against the spread, over / under. Hover a result for its date.

Recent meetings

Last 1 since 2023

RUTG 4–2 NU RUTG leads · 6 games since 1919 · RUTG has won the last meeting

All-time series from CollegeFootballData.

Date	Result	Line	ATS
Sep 3 2023	Northwestern 7 @ Rutgers 24	RUTG -5	RUTG W

Matchup stats

Season to date before kickoff · ranks among 138 FBS teams

Power rating this season

pts vs an average team · #rank · tap a dot

RUTG+2.3 →−2.8▼ 5.1#77

NU+2.4 →+9.8▲ 7.4#30

Predashed line = average team · hover or tap a dotW7

RUTG

Longer bar = better

#55

Offense

NU better ▶

#21

#127

Defense

NU better ▶

#64

−0.8 #127

Turnovers

NU better ▶

+1.2 #7

67 plays #64

Pace

◀ RUTG faster

63 plays #102

Unit by unitEach offense against the other's defense

When RUTG has the ball

Even matchup

	RUTG off	NU def	Edge
Points / game	31.2 #59	17.0 #25	NU
Yards / play	6.03 #56	5.29 #61	Even
PPA / play	+0.16 #63	+0.08 #67	Even
Success rate	47% #40	44% #101	RUTG

When NU has the ball

Advantage: NU offense

	NU off	RUTG def	Edge
Points / game	33.5 #41	31.8 #119	NU
Yards / play	6.70 #19	6.58 #130	NU
PPA / play	+0.33 #9	+0.26 #128	NU
Success rate	50% #13	48% #130	NU

Bars show league standing (dashed mark = league middle); Offense and Defense use the average rank across the four stats below. In the tables, a highlighted value and the Edge column mark the side ranked better by at least 15% of the league; defense values are what that team allows. Yards and turnovers from ESPN box scores; PPA from CollegeFootballData (garbage time excluded). Descriptive only: the model already uses these.

Points by quarter and half

Per game this season before kickoff · ranks among 138 FBS teams

RUTG scoring against the NU defense

	Q1	Q2	1H	Q3	Q4	2H
RUTG scored	7.0 #50	6.7 #103	13.7 #87	9.2 #13	8.3 #45	17.5 #21
NU allowed	1.5 #5	7.3 #72	8.8 #32	2.7 #24	5.5 #50	8.2 #27

NU scoring against the RUTG defense

	Q1	Q2	1H	Q3	Q4	2H
NU scored	6.8 #59	9.2 #67	16.0 #61	8.7 #18	8.8 #34	17.5 #21
RUTG allowed	9.2 #133	10.3 #119	19.5 #133	5.3 #78	7.0 #89	12.3 #83

Regulation only (overtime is left out). 1H = Q1 + Q2, 2H = Q3 + Q4. #1 scores the most, or allows the fewest. Season to date, not adjusted for opponents.