College Football Week 7 Best Bets: 4 B1GBets Big Ten Expert Picks

Week 7 of the College Football season features seven Big Ten games.

Big Ten Week 7

• Ohio State at Indiana: Battle of top-five teams.
• Nebraska @ Oregon: Who can bounce back after a loss?
• Penn State at Michigan: Looking to end losing streaks.
• Wisconsin @ UCLA: Two of the B1G’s surprise teams (positive).
• Northwestern at Michigan State: Pat Fitzgerald revenge game.
• Washington at Purdue: Teams going in opposite directions.
• Rutgers at Maryland: Teams going in the same direction.

B1G BETS 2026 BETTING RECORD

• Last Week: 1-5 (-3.5 UNITS)
• 2026 Season: 18-26-1 (-9.5 UNITS) | ATS Bets: 8-16-1 (-7.5 UNITS)
• Team Totals: 10-9 (-1.5 UNITS) | Game Totals: 0-1 (-0.5 UNIT)
• Not So B1G Bets: 15-12-1 (+1.5 UNITS) | B1G Bets: 3-14 (-11 UNITS)
• B1GGER Bets: 0-0 (0 UNITS) | B1GGEST Bets: 0-0 (0 UNITS)

Matriculate down the field with SportsGrid’s FREE Top College Football Picks and College Football Player Prop Picks weekly!

Scared money, don’t make money! Let’s Eat!

NOT SO B1G BET (1/2 UNIT): 15-12-1 (+1.5 UNITS)

Northwestern -7 MICHIGAN STATE (DraftKings)

As I mentioned above, this is a Pat Fitzgerald revenge game. But here’s the thing. He doesn’t have the horses.

Northwestern is for real. The offense has been among the most efficient and explosive. Yes, explosive. Head coach David Braun has handed the keys to the offense to Chip Kelly, who has Twitter X&O nerds giddy every week with his play calling and formations.

Michigan State has given up 31-plus points in all three Big Ten games, and their defense is a MASH unit. Have you looked at the availability report? Their best defender, LB Jordan Hall, is out, as are their next two best linebackers and their top two cornerbacks.

Kelly & Company will cook.

And the defense is MSU’s strength.

Already without their best offensive player, RB Cam Edwards, they lost another key UConn transfer, LT Ben Murawski, last week. Yes, they showed some life last week, but that was more a product of a horrendous Illinois defense.

If a bigger-name program were playing like Northwestern, this line would be double digits, maybe two touchdowns.

Penn State UNDER 17.5 (FanDuel)

Back in the Big House, with an extra week to prepare and regroup, we were tempted to lay the points with Michigan, but the offense hasn’t played well enough to pull the trigger.

By contrast, the defense has been elite. If not for special teams and turnovers, they easily would have held their last two opponents (Iowa and Minnesota) to below their betting point total.

We’re banking on a similar effort this Saturday against a Penn State offense that has looked lackluster in Big Ten play without its dynamic receiver, Koby Howard.

Michigan’s defense is the best unit on the field. They are stout in the trenches, with multiple pass rushers, aggressive playmaking linebackers, and a talented secondary.

The Nittany Lions haven’t found a reliable rushing game this season, and Rocco Becht hasn’t been it. In three Big Ten games, the former Cyclone has completed just 57.8 percent of his passes, with two touchdowns, three interceptions, and 6.33 yards per pass.

Without Michigan’s help, Penn State will struggle to move the ball.

Nebraska +7 OREGON (DraftKings)

Anthony Colandrea has been an upgrade at quarterback, freshman Jamal Rule runs like a full-grown man, and their receivers are more reliable than in years past. Also, the offensive line is playing much better than any unit under Matt Rhule.

Oregon’s big-name defense has been a big disappointment. They’ve given up 27-plus points in three of four games against FCS opponents and could have given up that many last week if UCLA hadn’t lost their quarterback.

Defensively, I couldn’t have been more impressed with how the Cornhuskers defended the run against Indiana last week. They shut them down and, surprisingly, won the line of scrimmage.

Oregon doesn’t know who they want to play at quarterback with Dante Moore out. Is it former Nebraska five-star Dylan Raiola? Brock Thomas, who came in relief last week? Could we even see Akili Smith Jr.? Does it matter?

Bottom line. These teams have been pretty close this season, and frankly, Nebraska has been the better team through six games. Metrics-wise, it’s not even close. Dan Lanning miscalculated with his offseason coordinator hires, and I’m not sold that in-season changes will make a difference. This line is too small. Give me the points.

B1G BET (1 UNIT): 3-11 (-8 UNITS)

None.

B1GGER BET (1.5 UNITS): 0-0 (0 UNITS)

None.

B1GGEST BET (2 UNITS): 0-0 (0 UNITS)

INDIANA +3.5 Ohio State (DraftKings)

Wait. You’re giving me 3.5 points with Curt Cignetti? At home?

I get it. Indiana hasn’t always looked as good as they did at their peak last year, but has Ohio State been overly impressive?

I’m not reading too much into last week’s close call at Nebraska, which reminds me a lot of last year’s win at Iowa, when IU survived Iowa on the road the week before they played at Oregon. They responded with a 30-20 win at Oregon as a seven-point underdog against a Ducks team that went 13-0 against everyone else last season.

On a neutral field, I’d have this game close to PK, so in Bloomington, the Hoosiers probably should be favored.

I have questions about OSU’s rushing attack, and they go into this game without their best offensive tackle, Austin Siereveld, and RB2 Ja’Kobi Jackson (354 yards, 6.0 YPC, 6 TDs), their most effective runner this season.

As good as Julian Sayin (71.1%, 17 TDs, 2 INTs) has been, he completed 53.1 percent of his passes, with one TD and one INT, in his one big road test at Texas. Now, he has to go back on the road again, against a team with a top-notch pass rush. Like most quarterbacks, he struggles under pressure, which is why he was overwhelmed against Indiana and Miami last season. No one believes Anthony Colandrea is anywhere close to Sayin, but Indiana’s defensive line will be happy to face a QB who doesn’t scramble as effectively.

The Hoosiers can really get after the passer, with 20 sacks this season led by EDGEs Stephen Daley and Tobi Osunsanmi (5 sacks each). They’ve been holding back linebackers Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy as blitzers (no sacks), but don’t be surprised if they unleash them on Saturday (15 combined sacks in 2025).

Can Jeremiah Smith carry the team? Maybe. He went 164 yards and scored a TD on eight catches against the Longhorns, and it wasn’t enough. Smith also put up 301 yards against IU and Miami in losses last season, when the Buckeyes scored 24 points total. He’ll need help, and I’m not sure where it will come from.

This is also the biggest test for an Ohio State defense that isn’t as dominant as it was a year ago. The Buckeyes are searching for a pass rusher to complement Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (3 sacks), who is good, not great. OSU has just nine sacks.

Will they get to Josh Hoover (17 TDs, 0 INTs) against one of college football’s best offensive lines? I don’t see it. That’s why he’s no longer prone to turnovers.

Smith is the best player in this game, but the Hoosiers have more explosive players. Charlie Becker (17.6 YPC, 8 TDs) and Nick Marsh (18.2 YPC, 6 TDs) are the best WR duo in college football, and Turbo Richard (8.4 YPC, 5 TDs) has been a big-play machine.

I’ll go with the better rushing attack and pass rush. You can argue the wrong team is favored, so let’s gobble up the points.