Point Spreads: Indiana-Purdue Betting Line Picks Up Where it Left Off

Indiana and Purdue are going to try to settle the fight over the Old Oaken Bucket again this week, trying again after having to cancel the game a week ago because of COVID concerns.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the second week in a row, Indiana and Purdue are going to try to play the Old Oaken Bucket game. But there's no guarantee yet that Friday night's game in Bloomington will come off.

• BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Indiana-Purdue game gets canceled again. Here's the latest story, including a breakdown on what it might mean for Indiana's bowl hopes. CLICK HERE

Both schools have dealt with COVID-19 concerns in the past two weeks, and it was bad enough that both schools agreed to pause activities last week and cancel the game. But it appears that both teams have it under control enough — meaning contact tracing protocols have been met —to try to get this annual rivalry game in.

Last week, Indiana opened as an 11.5-point favorite, but all the early money came in on Purdue and the line dropped to 9.5 before the game was canceled. The line is set again, and that 9.5 number is still in play, according to the DraftKings.com website.

This is the fourth time in eight games that the Hoosiers have been favored this year, according to DraftKings. Each time they have won the game, and also covered, beating Rutgers by 16 points, Michigan State by 24 and Maryland by 16.

Indiana has been an underdog four times, but one three of the games outright anyway, knocking off Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin. In their only loss, the Hoosiers fell 42-35 as 21-point underdogs to Ohio State.

Indiana is the only team in the country to be 7-0 against the spread this season.

(Advice: My gambling friend Walter Ego still loves the Hoosiers at 9.5. He's already got in down. He also took an early piece on Penn State, and suggests you do the same)

Here are the lines for all seven Big Ten games this weekend.

Nebraska at Rutgers (Friday)

• GAMETIME: 4 p.m. ET
• TV: Big Ten Network
• RECORDS: Nebraska (2-5); Rutgers (3-5)
• LAST WEEK: Nebraska lost to Minnesota 24-17; Rutgers beat Maryland 27-24 in overtime.
• OPENING LINE: Nebraska by 9.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: Who would have ever guessed that the Cornhuskers would have fewer wins that Rutgers on the final week of the season? Scott Frost continues to be a huge disappointment in Lincoln, and this is his last chance to leave 2020 with some positive vibes. Greg Schiano has Rutgers headed in the right direction, and last week's overtime win over Maryland was huge. 

Ohio State vs. Northwestern (Saturday)

• WHAT: Big Ten Championship Game
• GAMETIME: Noon ET, on Saturday
• TV: FOX
• RECORDS: Northwestern (6-1); Ohio State (5-0)
• LAST WEEK: Ohio State did not play because of COVID issues inside the Michigan program; Northwestern beat Illinois 28-10.
• OPENING LINE: Ohio State by 20.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: This is the second title game matchup between these two teams in three years, with an ugly 3-9 season for Northwestern sandwiched in between. They've had a great bounce-back season led by the league's best defense and the steady play of quarterback Peyton Ramsey, the graduate transfer from Indiana. Last time Ramsey saw Ohio State, he struggled in a 51-10 loss a year ago in Bloomington Ohio State is 5-0, and got special dispensation to play in this game after it failed to meet the Big Ten's six-game minimum. This should have been Indiana's spot had they followed their own rules. But in 2020, rules are written in pencil.

Minnesota at Wisconsin (Saturday)

• GAMETIME: 4 p.m. ET on Saturday
• TV: Big Ten Network
• RECORDS: Minnesota (3-3); Wisconsin (2-3)
• LAST WEEK: Minnesota beat Nebraska 24-17; Wisconsin lost to Iowa 28-7. 
• OPENING LINE: Wisconsin by 12.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: The Big Ten first planned on this weekend being made up by crossover games between teams from the East and West, but I much prefer that they've tried to save some rivalry games, like this one and Indiana-Purdue. Both schools have had to fight through COVID issues, but we should be good to go on Saturday. 

Illinois at Penn State (Saturday)

• GAMETIME: 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday
• TV: FOX Sports 1
• RECORDS: Illinois (2-5); Penn State (3-5)
• LAST WEEK: Illinois lost to Northwestern 28-10; Penn State beat Michigan State 39-24.
• OPENING LINE: Penn State by 14 points.
• THE SKINNY: Penn State has won three games in a row since that school-record five-game losing streak to open the season, and everyone is feeling better in Happy VAlley now. That's not the case in Champaign, where coach Lovie Smith was fired after five disappointing seasons after the 28-10 loss to Northwestern. Smith is a great guy, but something had to give after five straight losing seasons and no hope on the horizon with recruiting. It's going to be interesting to see how much fight Illinois brings into t his game with an interim coach (Rod Smith).

Michigan at Iowa (Saturday)

• GAMETIME: 7 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• RECORDS: Michigan (2-4); Iowa (6-2)
• LAST WEEK: Michigan did not play due to COVID issues within the program. Iowa beat Wisconsin 28-7. 
• OPENING LINE: Iowa by 13.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: The Hawkeyes have won six straight games and are playing as good as anyone in the Big Ten right now after trouncing Wisconsin 28-7. They wanted a highly ranked team like Indiana in this crossover weekend, but instead get a Michigan team that has had serious COVID issues the past two weeks. According to the Detroit Free Press last week, “at least a dozen” Michigan players had tested positive for COVID-19 and 40 would have missed the scheduled Ohio State game, had it been played last week. It will be interesting to see if this one gets played, too.

Michigan State at Maryland (Saturday)

• GAMETIME: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Big Ten Network
• RECORDS: Michigan State (2-5); Maryland (2-3)
• LAST WEEK: Michigan State lost to Penn State 39-24; Maryland lost to Rutgers 27-24 in overtime. 
• OPENING LINE: Maryland by 1.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: Michigan State leads the all-time series 9-2, including a 5-1 mark in league play along with three straight victories since they became Big Ten East rivals. This was another rivalry game that the league chose to reschedule as opposed to setting up a crossover matchup. Maryland has lost back-to-back games vs. Indiana and Rutgers, while the Spartans come off consecutive losses to Ohio State and Penn State following an upset win over Northwestern.

Purdue at Indiana (CANCELED)

• GAMETIME: CANCELED
• TV: None
• RECORDS: Purdue (2-4); Indiana (6-1)
• LAST WEEK: Purdue and Indiana did not play because of COVID issues on both campuses.
• OPENING LINE: Indiana by 9.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: The Hoosiers finish the regular season 6-1, and it's very disappointing that they didn't get this game in vs. Purdue. With a win, it could have finished with its best record ever.