The Northwestern Wildcats are in the midst of a fantastic four-year stretch in which they have won at least nine games in three of those and are coming off a 10-win campaign. However, the team lost its heart and soul after last season with the departure of star quarterback Clayton Thorson. Northwestern has bucked the odds of late by remaining competitive against their more decorated Big Ten brethren, but the current college football odds are forecasting a step back in 2019.
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Northwestern regular season win total
o6.5 +123
U6.5 -150
Northwestern Win Total Odds Analysis
Northwestern is not expected to be finish close to double-digit wins again this season as the oddsmakers believe they will need to fight to simply finish .500 in the regular season. The Wildcats have a tough game right out of the gate as they go on the road to face a nationally ranked Stanford team. Next up is UNLV and then a brutal stretch against Michigan State, Nebraska and Ohio State.
The Wildcats will need to make some hay in the back portion of their schedule, which includes matchups against Iowa, Indiana, Purdue, UMass, Minnesota and the regular season finale against Illinois.
Northwestern went 8-1 in conference last season and then won the Holiday Bowl to finish 9-5 overall.
Northwestern Odds
There are concerns about Northwestern’s ability to rack up the wins this season because of its offense The Wildcats were never a juggernaut on that side of the ball in past seasons, but Thorson had a magical way of making big plays when they were most needed. Now that he is gone, there is concern the group will not be able to hang in conference.
There is still a quarterback battle going on to replace Thorson. Hunter Johnson is a former five-star recruit who transferred in and is expected to be the favorite, but T.J. Green is pushing him for the starting nod. Ben Skowronek and Riley Lees are a nice receiving duo but there are questions about Northwestern’s ability to scare teams deep in the passing game. Isaiah Bowser had a nice finish to 2018 and is aiming to pick up where he left off at running back.
The Northwestern defense allowed only 23.2 points per game last year and will need to dominate once again this year for the team to hit the “over” on the projected win total. Defensive end Joe Gaziano is an all-conference performer who will lead a talented defensive line, while Paddy Fisher and Blake Gallagher will highlight a strong linebacker core. J.R. Pace is among the leaders of a secondary that has a lot of experience.
Key Stats or Trends
The Northwestern roster still has some playmakers returning from a year ago, but the loss of Thorson is big. There is also the concern that the results could come crashing down because the Wildcats have regularly outplayed their expected win-loss record in recent seasons. If that is because of good coaching, Northwestern could surprise again. It will be intriguing to see if the Wildcats can keep the success rolling or if this year is a struggle.
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