NCAA Football
2026-10-17 - Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan State Spartans
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : College Football Week 7
Saturday 17th October 2026 - Scheduled 12pm EST
5pm (British Time)
Preview
The Big Ten has arguably taken over from the SEC as being the best Conference in College Football and the fact the National Champion has resided in this one over the last two years backs that up. A number of Big Ten teams have begun this season unbeaten in the Conference and it is going to be a strong race until the finish to see which of those teams is able to get themselves invited into the College Football Playoff Bracket at the end of the season.
It is unlikely that the Northwestern Wildcats (4-1) or the Michigan State Spartans (2-4) will be involved in the final shake up- the former is 1-1 in the Big Ten this season, while the Spartans have lost all three Conference games played.
Preseason expectations around each school would not have been that great, but the Wildcats can at least say they are well on the way to becoming Bowl eligible as they prepare to face an opponent who have appointed Pat Fitzgerald as Head Coach.
Of course Pat Fitzgerald had been the Head Coach at Northwestern for seventeen years before he was fired back in 2023 and that was amidst a scandal.
Both teams will be downplaying the impact of having Fitzgerald on the sidelines in 2026 and instead the focus is trying to win football games.
There is another connection between the teams and that is Northwestern Quarter Back Aidan Chiles who started twenty games for the Michigan State Spartans in the last two seasons before transferring to the Wildcats. Last season Aidan Chiles threw 10 Touchdown passes with 3 Interceptions as a Spartan, while adding 6 Touchdowns on the ground, but he has begun his time with the Northwestern Wildcats impressively having already thrown over 1100 yards and with 9 Touchdown passes and 0 Interceptions.
As a dual-threat Quarter Back, Aidan Chiles already has 6 Touchdowns on the ground as well, although you have to imagine the Michigan State Coaches have a pretty good idea as to what to expect from him.
Knowing what to expect and stopping what to expect is very different and the problem for Michigan State is that the Defensive Line has not played the run well enough to believe they can put Aidan Chiles in a position where he is throwing from third and long spots on the field. The game plan for the Wildcats is to establish the run and they look to have the edge at the Line of Scrimmage on this side of the ball, which should mean Northwestern are pretty comfortable with the Offensive plan for much of the game.
Playing on the road is difficult, but Aidan Chiles has to be more than aware of what to expect and he should be able to keep the chains moving from a likely third and manageable spot. Play-action becomes a real option, as does any RPO plays and the Northwestern Wildcats should be able to continue the momentum that has been put together in the last two games since the narrow defeat to defending National Champions Indiana Hoosiers.
While it should be expected that the Wildcats will have Offensive successes, the Michigan State Spartans may also feel they can have an impact on this game.
They have not run the ball as well as Northwestern, but the Spartans are facing a Wildcats Defensive Line that have had some issues in slowing the run in recent games and that will be a help for the home team. It has to be questioned whether the Spartans have enough about them to take full advantage as the Offensive Line have struggled to consistently open the running lanes and have also had problems when it comes to pass protection.
Alessio Milivojevic split time at Quarter Back with Aidan Chiles last season and has become the full time starter for Michigan State in 2026- his season has begun with some decent passing numbers in terms of yardage, but 5 Touchdowns with 3 Interceptions is not the kind of ration that will lead to a lot of team success.
Turnovers can be key in games like this and this Northwestern Secondary have allowed some Quarter Backs to have success throwing against them, but have also been able to pick off passes and give the Offensive unit those extra possessions to make the difference.
It may be the case in Week 7 of the 2026 season against the former Head Coach with the three years that have passed since Pat Fitzgerald was fired leading to enough transition for Northwestern to present him something different.
These two Big Ten rivals have not met in five years since Michigan State earned a blowout win on the road, but it is the Wildcats who can earn revenge with a double digit victory in East Lansing on Saturday.
Prediction
Lay the points with the road favourite.
The Pick :
Michigan State Spartans 13-23 Northwestern
