Two Big 10 teams will kick off the season Thursday in primetime match-ups. The best ways to exploit the spreads are on Saturday in the Big 10. Here are two games to keep an eye on this weekend in the big 10.
BYU at Nebraska (-7)
Nebraska has a lot to replace from last season. BYU welcomes back a dark-horse Heisman trophy candidate.
Don’t forget, the Cougars were undefeated last season with quarterback Tayson Hill, before he injured his leg. Hill can throw and run, which should keep the Cornhuskers defense at bay in head coach Mike Riley’s debut.
The Cornhuskers will have home-field advantage, but as a home team last season, the Cornhuskers were 3-3-1 against the spread, while the Cougars were 4-2 against the spread as the road team.
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall is taking over the defense this year and the Cougars should have something to prove. The Mike Riley era gets off to a less-than-stellar start as BYU covers on the road against Nebraska. – BYU
Purdue at Marshall (-7.5)
These opening games sometimes feature huge swings from the opening line to the final spread. This would be one of those games.
Purdue came out as a 2.5-point favorite in the opening line. Since that time, the line has swung 10 points in favor of the Thundering Herd. Marshall nearly went undefeated last season, but lost in overtime against Western Kentucky. Purdue has struggled to win games recently.
There’s a reason why the odds swung in a big direction toward Marshall. However, in this case, the Boilermakers should be better this season, and the line has moved too much. The Thundering Herd can’t stop anyone. Purdue comes out motivated in this game and keeps it close throughout. There’s no guarantee that Purdue will win, but it will keep it within a touchdown. – Purdue
Other Big 10 games with a betting line
Odds provided by Oddsshark
Michigan at Utah (-4.5)
TCU (-15.5) at Minnesota
Michigan State (-18) at Western Michigan
Kent State at Illinois (-14.5)
Stanford (-12) at Northwestern
Penn State (-7) at Temple
Wisconsin vs. Alabama (-10.5)
Ohio State (-11) at Virginia Tech
