2026 Week 4: Indiana vs. Northwestern College Football Prediction

The defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers begin defense of their Big Ten championship on Friday night when they face the Northwestern Wildcats. Both the Hoosiers (3-0) and Wildcats (2-0) have been mostly untested thus far. The Hoosiers and Wildcats average 461 and 460 yards per game, respectively. Indiana owns a 19-game win streak and a defense allowing 5.3 points per game. TCU transfer QB Josh Hoover has 10 TDs and zero INTs. IU has won the last two matchups handily, snapping a string of dominance (9 of 10) by Northwestern.  Claim the latest Polymarket promo code CBSSPORTS to get a $50 bonus after $10 in trades :

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers are 21-point favorites in the latest Northwestern vs. Indiana odds. The over/under for total points is 49.5. Before making any Northwestern vs. Indiana picks,  check out the Northwestern vs. Indiana predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model .

The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It is off to a profitable 22-19 start on all top-rated college football picks at  betting sites  so far this season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to better factor in the transfer portal. Anybody following its picks on college football betting sites could have seen strong returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Northwestern vs. Indiana . You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks . Here are the FBS college football odds and trends for Indiana vs. Northwestern:

Northwestern vs. Indiana spread

Indiana -21

Northwestern vs. Indiana over/under

49.5 points

Northwestern vs. Indiana money line

Indiana -1800, Northwestern +1000

Northwestern vs. Indiana picks

See picks at SportsLine

Northwestern vs. Indiana streaming

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Top Northwestern vs. Indiana predictions

After simulating Northwestern vs. Indiana 10,000 times, the SportsLine model is going Under (49.5 points) at  betting apps .  These teams combined for 65 points in last season's matchup. The Over hit in Northwestern's one game vs. an FBS opponent, and the Over is 1-1 in Indiana two games vs. FBS foes.

But despite the scoring, each team has been led by defense. Northwestern did all the work in a 41-7 win over Colorado, while Indiana has two shutout through three games.

Turbo Richard leads a Hoosier rushing attack averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Northwestern is at 5.0 ypc, as both teams can grind it out. The model projects 48 combined points as the Over hits in 52% of simulations.  See the model's spread and money-line picks at SportsLine .

How to make Northwestern vs. Indiana Carolina picks

In addition to going Over on the total, the model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations.  You can only get the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Northwestern vs. Indiana, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time?  Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that's on a 22-19 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks , and find out.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/indiana-northwestern-prediction-odds-time-2026-week-4-college-football-friday-picks/)._