The university has been in the news lately because the football team is talking about forming a union – whatever that means. On the hardwood things have shown some promise with wins over Purdue and Indiana last week but this is still a limited club.
Michigan State is on track to meet Ohio State in the B10 Championship game with two games to go in the season. This should seemingly be the greatest obstacle as Northwestern has the ability to put points on the board, something that has been exceedingly difficult for most MSU opponents.
Northwestern is falling in the rankings and will look to rebound after a shellacking in last week’s matchup at Camp Randall Stadium, when they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday in Evanston.
The 19th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats are coming off a hard-fought loss to Ohio State, whom they had a shot at upsetting in the fourth quarter, and they will get thrown right back into the Big Ten fire with a trip to Camp Randall for a date with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Minnesota has lost 2 straight games with both coming against top 10 teams and they look to get back in the W column facing a Northwestern team that has lost 2 of their last 3 games.
Texas A&M came into this season with high hopes, but second half blunders cost this team a chance at a special season. Mike Sherman was replaced by Kevin Sumlin as head coach of the Aggies.
Penn State has been bit by the injury bug this year. In hindsight, it should have been a sign of things to come when Joe Paterno was injured in August practice.
The Nittany Lions are without some of their best players as they head to Evanston to take on the Wildcats. Northwestern had high expectations for this season, but they sit at just 2-4.
Ryan Field
Saturday October 22, 7:00 PM EST
NCAA Football Odds from BetOnline
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: Penn State -4 (-110) Northwestern +4 (-110)
Over/Under: 47.5
Pat Fitzgerald’s team really needs to start putting some wins together if they are going to go bowling this year. I expect this to be a very good game.
Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden have been sharing the quarterback duties for Penn State. Bolden has been starting the last few games, but McGloin has come in and taken a lot of snaps on a weekly basis. McGloin has put up better numbers overall, but neither quarterback has been tremendous. Derek Moye is the team’s best play maker offensively, but he will miss this contest with a foot injury. Silas Redd has done a solid job as the Nittany Lions primary ball carrier, but backup Brandon Beachum is listed as questionable for this game.
The Nittany Lions defense is the strength of this team. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to avoid the injury bug. Michael Mauti was the heart and soul of this defense from his linebacker spot, but he will miss the rest of the season with torn ligaments in his knee. Still, this is a defense that is one of the best in the conference, especially against the pass. Despite the front seven not generating much of a pass rush, the secondary is giving up just 161 passing yards per game.
Dan Persa is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation when healthy, but he hasn’t been completely healthy this year. Persa has shared time with Kain Colter because of his injury issues, but Persa is getting the majority of the snaps at this point. Persa is completing 75% of his passes this year, and he has all the tools to pick apart a defense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Jeremy Ebert already has 39 receptions and six touchdowns on the season. Starting running back Mike Trumpy is out for the season with a torn ACL, and the Wildcats need to get some improved production from the tailback spot in order to take pressure off the quarterbacks.
The Wildcats have really struggled defensively in 2011. Northwestern is currently ranked 101st in the nation in total defense. They have been beaten by power running teams as well as opponents who simply air it out offensively. It would really help this defense if they could find some kind of a pass rush. The secondary is being forced to cover their man for far too long right now. This defense must improve if Northwestern is going to reach a bowl game this season.
Northwestern jumped out to a 21-0 lead in Happy Valley last year before the Nittany Lions scored 35 straight to win 35-21. The Wildcats really need this game, and the night game in front of the home crowd should really help them.
Free College Football Pick: Northwestern +4
Score Prediction: Northwestern 24 Penn State 21
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I was surprised to open the paper Monday and see the Michigan Wolverines sitting at #12 in the most recent rankings. Sure they did a number on Minnesota but that was just Minnesota right…although there was San Diego State and Eastern Michigan before that.
Wrigley Field was the site of last year’s matchup between these two teams, but they’ll be back in Champaign for this week’s contest. Dan Persa has missed the last three games for Northwestern, but he is listed as probable for this one.
Before College Football Gambling fans turn their attention to other sports betting events this week, we have a Saturday NCAA game of the day pick for you. It’s time for our weekly Football picks for online ncaa football betting action.
The College Football season may be 6-7 weeks away but our man Kyle Hunter has been deep in study and will provide his take and 2010 College Football Predictions on as many NCAA teams as he can before the 2010/11 season kicks off.
We start from the top and move our way down so keep checking in for more college football previews for the 2010-2011 NCAA Football Season!
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BetUS NCAA College Football Sportsbook Odds: NORTHWESTERN -20, Total 52
Eastern Michigan brought back some of the old and brought in some of the new this season. Ron English, who has been a top level assistant at places like Michigan and Louisville, took over has head coach after the Eagles put forth a disappointing 3-9 season that featured a 2-6 mark in one of the weakest conferences in the country (the Mid-American Conference).
Northwestern’s defense did a heck of a job this year. Only two teams exceeded 30 points against them (Michigan State and Ohio State) and the Wildcats limited capable offensive clubs like Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa to 17, 10 and 17 points respectively. All told, they allowed just 19.2 points per game.
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: MISSOURI -12.5, Total 66
The Purdue Boilermakers (2-4 SU, 2-2-1 ATS) have been overwhelmed by a difficult early schedule. On Saturday they will try to start turning things around when they face the Wildcats of Northwestern (5-1 SU, 2-3 ATS) in NCAA football action in the Big Ten Conference, scheduled to get underway at Noon ET at Ryan Field (natural turf) in Evanston, IL.
