OfftheNumber
14
at
4-1, 4-1 ATS
45
FinalBTNFOX One

Closing number

Spread
BALL +34.5
NU -34.5
Open –
Total
Over 53.5
Under 53.5

Source: DraftKings.

BALL 14, NU 45. BALL covered by 3.5, over by 5.5.

Our crowd

Who's on what before kickoff, from the cappers we track and bets logged on our tracker.

Public cappers

SpreadSplit 1-1
Ball St 11 Northwestern

Each capper counts once. See their picks

Want sportsbook bets % and money %? DraftKings posts theirs free: DK betting splits. We quote a few big games by hand when we can. Tracker counts are anonymous: no names, and private bets stay private.

Common opponents

No common opponents yet this season.

Last season (2025): 1 common opponent
Opponent Ball St Northwestern
Purdue
L 0-31 away
-31 · +16.5 Didn't cover
W 19-0 home
+19 · -3.5 Covered

Against 1 common opponent: Ball St lost by 31.0 on average, 0-1 against the spread. Northwestern won by 19.0 on average, 1-0 against the spread.

What the public cappers like

Spread
1 Ball St1 Northwestern
Ball St -35.51
Stuckey 1u*Line -35.5 · Price -110 (assumed, not posted) · 1u (units not given, 1u used) · Collected after the fact from the public post · Posted Oct 9 12:56 PM ET · Record 41-28-1 (Incomplete record. We're still adding the rest of their picks.) · Original post
Northwestern -37.51
Dave Portnoy 1u*Line -37.5 · Price -110 (assumed, not posted) · 1u (units not given, 1u used) · Collected after the fact from the public post · Posted Oct 7 6:50 PM ET · Record 32-34-1 (Incomplete record. We're still adding the rest of their picks.) · Original post
Total
No picks
Moneyline
No picks

* price not posted, -110 assumed. Tracked from public posts, not endorsed. All public picks

Betting form, 2026 to date

Ball State LWLLWW

ATSTotals
All games3-3 50%Small sample5-1 83% overSmall sample
Road1-3 25%Small sample3-1 75% overSmall sample
As underdog2-3 40%Small sample
Last 53-2 60%Small sample

6 graded games this season. Small sample: read it as a hint, not a trend.

Northwestern WWWWL

ATSTotals
All games4-1 80%Small sample5-0 100% overSmall sample
Home3-1 75%Small sample4-0 100% overSmall sample
As favorite2-1 67%Small sample
Last 54-1 80%Small sample

5 graded games this season. Small sample: read it as a hint, not a trend.

Head to head since 2019

DateScoreCloseATSTotalO-U
Oct 10, 2026BALL 14, NU 45NU -34.5BALL covered53.5Over

Ball State 1-0 ATS in these meetings. 1 meeting is not a trend, and rosters turn over. Closing lines from ESPN's archive.

Side by side

BALLNU
1-5Record4-1
3-3Against the spread4-1
5-1Over-under5-0
-2.5Avg cover margin+13.5
18.3Points per game35.4
39.0Points allowed16.2
4.71Yards per play6.88
308.0Yards per game437.4
3.90Rush yards per carry5.20
63.8Completion %70.2
28.9Third down %40.4
+1Turnover margin+8
14Sacks allowed9
72.5Penalty yards per game61.8

Season to date. Stats from ESPN. Points from final scores. Bold is the better number.

The Friday Number

One email before the weekend: the lines that moved, the games worth a look, and where they're on.

Free. One email a week. Unsubscribe anytime.