AUBURN vs NORTHWESTERN
When: 1/1/2021 1:00 PM
Where:

TV: 1:00 PM
LINE: -3.5
PREDICTION: NORTHWESTERN , AUBURN

Oddsmakers currently have the NORTHWESTERN listed as -3.5 point favorites versus the AUBURN, while the game’s total is sitting at 43.5.

Eleven years to the day after facing off in a thrilling bowl game, the Auburn Tigers and No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats meet again on New Year’s Day in the Citrus Bowl at Orlando, Fla.

The teams played in the 2010 Outback Bowl, with the Tigers pulling out a 38-35 overtime victory. Current Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka completed 47 of 78 passes for 532 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions for the Wildcats.

Northwestern scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes to tie the game, but the Tigers’ Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in OT and the Wildcats were unable to equalize. Auburn went on to win the national championship the following season.

This year, the Wildcats (6-2) enter the bowl game coming off a 22-10 loss to No. 3 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. Northwestern led the Buckeyes 10-6 at the half, but three second-half turnovers and a tired defense gave way to a potent Ohio State rushing attack.

“We just didn’t make the plays we needed to make down the stretch in the fourth quarter to be Big Ten champions,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “But to have the opportunity to represent the Big Ten in Orlando, we are ecstatic.”

The Tigers (6-4) haven’t played since Dec. 12, and in that time they fired head coach Gus Malzahn and hired Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has stepped into the interim head-coaching role for the bowl game.

“These guys have been resilient,” Steele said. “They’ve shown a lot of character, leadership and just the ability to adapt. We’ve actually had an additional bump in the road that we had a change at the top for us, which is something that’s hard on a football program. And so we’re going through that.”

Both teams have their conference’s freshman of the year.

Auburn running back Tank Bigsby was selected the Southeastern Conference’s top freshman after rushing for 834 yards on 138 carries in 10 games. He added 300 kick-return yards and 84 receiving yards for 1,218 all-purpose yards.

Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph won the Freshman of the Year award for the Big Ten, the first strictly defensive player to win the award since Deion Barnes in 2012. Joseph leads the nation with six interceptions.

The game will also be the last in the career of Northwestern’s defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who would reach 400 career wins if the Wildcats win the Citrus Bowl.

Hankwitz started his coaching career at his alma mater of Michigan and served as the defensive coordinator for Arizona, Western Michigan, Colorado, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin before being hired by Fitzgerald before the 2008 season.

Hankwitz is a finalist for the Broyles Award, which goes to the best assistant coach in the country, and Fitzgerald believes Northwestern’s success on defense starts and ends with Hankwitz.

“You look at my head coaching career here and our success, I mean Mike Hankwitz is in the DNA, the fabric, the architect, take whatever you want to say,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m just so grateful for him.”

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DUKE vs NORTHWESTERN
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 8, 2018
Where: Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois

TV: 12:00 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: NORTHWESTERN , DUKE

Oddsmakers currently have the NORTHWESTERN listed as point favorites versus the DUKE, while the game’s total is sitting at .

The post DUKE vs. NORTHWESTERN 9/8/2018 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

NORTHWESTERN vs PURDUE
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, August 30, 2018
Where: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -2.5
PREDICTION: PURDUE , NORTHWESTERN

Oddsmakers currently have the PURDUE listed as -2.5 point favorites versus the NORTHWESTERN, while the game’s total is sitting at 49.

Northwestern looks to build off a successful 2017 season when it kicks off the new campaign on the road against Purdue on Thursday. The Wildcats are coming off a 10-win season, which culminated in a Music City Bowl victory, and their hopes of posting another double-digit win total rests squarely on the health of senior quarterback Clayton Thorson, who is a game-time decision for the opener after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason.

Northwestern owns the nation’s current longest winning streak by a Power 5 team at eight games and aims to extend its run by beating Purdue for the fifth straight time. There’s reason for optimism in West Lafayette as well after the Boilermakers finished last season with a winning record for the first time since 2011. Head coach Jeff Brohm flirted with a few high-profile openings in the offseason, but his decision to return for a second year bodes well for the offense, which returns nine starters, including quarterbacks David Blough and Elijah Sindelar as the Boilermakers search for their first win over Northwestern in eight years. “This year is a challenging schedule and opening up with Northwestern at home is a great opportunity for our football team,” Brohm told reporters.” We’re excited that the expectations have risen but I think our players will respond.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Purdue -2.5

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (2017: 10-3): Thorson threw for 2,844 yards and 15 touchdowns before tearing his ACL in the bowl win against Kentucky and will be backed up by walk-on T.J. Green, who could make his first career start if Thorson is not medically cleared to play on Thursday. Jeremy Larkin averaged six yards a carry last season and will shoulder the load at running back as he replaces Justin Jackson, who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers after leaving Evansville as Northwestern’s leading all-time rusher. “We’re fully aware of the challenge that we have ahead of us,” Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald told reporters. “We’re playing an incredibly well coached, outstanding football team on the road.”

ABOUT PURDUE (2017: 7-6): Blough was the starter before suffering a season-ending ankle injury on Nov. 4 while Sindelar threw for 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns despite playing the final three games with a torn ACL, and both players are expected to share snaps in the season opener. Wide receiver Jackson Anthrop led the team with 47 receptions last season and should see his role expand with the departures of Anthony Mahoungou and Gregory Phillips while Markell Jones is coming back for his senior year after leading the team in rushing (566 yards) for the third consecutive season. Linebacker Markus Bailey, who recorded 89 tackles and seven sacks last season, and defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal will be tasked with providing stability to a defense which returns just four starters.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Northwestern has won six of the last seven meetings with Purdue.

2. The Boilermakers are 7-27 in Big Ten play since the start of 2014.

3. The Wildcats are 10-2 in season openers under Fitzgerald.

PREDICTION: Northwestern 24, Purdue 23

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