The Auburn Tigers (6-4) will lock horns with the Northwestern Wildcats (6-2) Friday in the VRBO Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff. Below, we analyze the Auburn-Northwestern college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Northwestern is ranked No. 17 in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Auburn vs. Northwestern: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:37 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Auburn +160 (bet $100 to win $160) | Northwestern -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Auburn +4 (-110) | Northwestern -4 (-110)
- Over/Under: 43.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Auburn vs. Northwestern: Three things to know
- Northwestern ranks fifth in scoring defense, allowing just 15.5 points per game. The Wildcats are coming off a grinder of a Big Ten Championship Game, a 22-10 loss to Ohio State Dec. 19. The 22 points allowed marked NU’s second-most in a game this season – it allowed 29 in a nine-point loss at Michigan State Nov. 28).
- Auburn last played Dec. 12, a 24-10 win at Mississippi State. The day after, the Tigers fired head coach Gus Malzahn and hired Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will serve as interim head coach vs. Northwestern.
- Auburn freshman RB Tank Bigsby could prove to be a big key against an NU defense, which was torched for 399 rushing yards (9.1 yards per carry) by Ohio State. Bigsby is coming off a 26-carry, 192-yard performance against Mississippi State. On the season, he’s rushed for 834 yards on 138 carries (6.0 yards per attempt). But Bigsby is also a feature name on a crowded midweek injury report (undisclosed-questionable). His status is one worth tracking down to the wire.
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Auburn vs. Northwestern: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Northwestern 20, Auburn 14
Money line (ML)
A lot of jobs will be auditioned for the changing-of-the-guard Tigers. But a lot of bodies could also be on the shelf for this one – and on both sides. PASS.
Against the spread (ATS)
The Tigers are 0-4 ATS against winning teams. The Wildcats are 4-0 ATS in such situations.
The Northwestern defense does a tremendous job of keeping offenses off schedule and then forcing turnovers. On what figures as breezy day in Central Florida, look for more of the same against an Auburn offense which hasn’t had answers and is ready to move forward with new answers and new personnel.
Take NORTHWESTERN -4 (-110) but perhaps as a partial-unit play on a light-to-moderate lean.
Over/Under (O/U)
The Under is 7-1 in NU’s eight games … and 5-0 in follow-up games after AU straight-up wins.
That’s the lean in a game with quite a few understudies manning the controls. Take the UNDER 43.5 (-105).
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