Fearless Forecast: Central Michigan vs. Northwestern
Let’s be honest: the GameAbove Sports Bowl is not one of the marquee games on the bowl calendar this season.
It’s played the day after Christmas in Detroit, no one’s idea of a glamorous bowl destination during the holidays. It features a Big Ten team and a MAC team who combined to go 13-11 on the season. The bowl itself is on its fourth name since it was founded in 1997.
But one thing you can say about this game that you can’t say about all bowls is both Northwestern and Central Michigan are excited to be there.
The Wildcats (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) rebounded from a 4-8 2024 season and made a bowl game for the second time in three years under head coach David Braun. The program is gunning for its sixth straight bowl win, something that seemed unthinkable when they lost nine in a row from 1996-2011. The game will also determine whether or not they finish with a winning record.
The Chippewas (7-5, 5-3 MAC) had low expectations in coach Matt Drinkall‘s first season but find themselves in their first bowl game since 2021. They are excited to be in their home state for a bowl for the sixth time and would love nothing more than to knock off a Big Ten opponent for the seventh time in program history.
Can 10.5-favorite Northwestern take care of business and beat a MAC team in the postseason after losing the 2003 Motor City Bowl to Bowling Green? Or will Central Michigan leave the Wildcats with a bad taste in their mouths heading into the offseason?
Here are our staff’s predictions.
MORE ON THE GAMEABOVE SPORTS BOWL: Breaking down Central Michigan l Notebook: Braun optimistic about GameAbove Sports Bowl, player retention
Matt Shelton (9-3)
Northwestern has a bad taste in their mouth after letting the Hat slip away in a snowstorm, 20-13, in their last game of the season against rival Illinois. That didn’t go the way that the Wildcats’ best offensive players wanted, from quarterback Preston Stone’s three interceptions to left tackle Caleb Tiernan allowing a sack to running back Caleb Komolafe missing the game with an injury. The Wildcats hope to have Komolafe back for this one and I think come out of the gate looking to dominate to Braun’s standard.
The Wildcats’ offensive style will still limit the lights on the scoreboard but I expect they come out and put the hammer down to cap off a season they felt should have gone much better. Central Michigan is on a great first-year trajectory under Drinkall but have been outclassed in their Power Four matchups, losing to Pitt by 28 and Michigan by 60. I pick the Wildcats by two scores in a game that will feel like more.
Prediction: Northwestern 24, Central Michigan 10
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Louie Vaccher (8-4)
Two things will determine this game: the running game and turnovers.
Both teams want to control the clock by running the football. It’s just that Northwestern does it better. The Wildcats were 5-0 when they ran for 180 or more yards this season. And with Komolafe expected to be back in the fold facing a middle-of-the-road MAC run defense, I think they can make that total — and more.
But where Northwestern can get into trouble is with turnovers. The Chippewas are very good at taking the ball away: they generated 20 takeaways on the season and ranked 15th in the nation in turnover margin with a +8. They generated at least one TO in every game and went 4-0 when getting more than one.
The Wildcats, as any fan will tell you, often had issues with turnovers, giving the ball away 17 times. They ranked 96th in the country in turnover margin with a -4. Northwestern may have more talent than Central Michigan, but the Wildcats’ margin of victory is still slim and they won’t be able to win if they give the ball away too many times.
All that said, Northwestern should be able to control both sides of the line of scrimmage. And that’s where this game will ultimately be decided.
Prediction: Northwestern 30, Central Michigan 14
