Northwestern - Michigan Predictions

Daniel Olinger: Michigan 31, Northwestern 14

Last week was fun and gave evidence that the entire Big Ten West is the equivalent of seven out of shape dads fighting each other in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday night — they all have an equal chance to win and/or throw up on each other at any given time for no reason at all. Sadly, the Wolverines reside in the East, where superior athletes, coaches and also Rutgers lies. NU loses but only in kind-of-miserable fashion rather than all-out-miserable. Moral victory!

Ben Chasen: Michigan 34, Northwestern 17

After predicting a 38-14 win for the Wolverines earlier this week on a podcast for Maize N Brew, UM’s SB Nation site, I’ve decided to reverse course a little bit. A big question in this game is whether the Wildcats will stand up to the Michigan Stadium crowd early and show that they’re going to put up a fight, or whether they’re going to wilt in front of college football’s biggest crowd like they did at Nebraska earlier this month. I’ve decided that the ‘Cats actually will come out of the gates hot, putting a bit of a scare into the maize-donning fans at the Big House by keeping the game either very close or tied at halftime. Still, I think the Wolverines will emerge soundly victorious after a dominant second half in which their talent advantage over NU is displayed for all to see.

Mac Stone: Michigan 38, Northwestern 16

The only question about this game is whether the ‘Cats will cover. Forget winning. The line is Michigan by -21.5, and if the Wildcats were to win it would be the second largest upset in college football this year (behind Bowling Green’s win over Minnesota). I don’t think Northwestern’s defense is anywhere close to good enough to stop Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins. Michigan will likely have 150+ rushing yards by the end of the day and the Wolverines cover due to a missed extra point from Charlie Kuhbander.

John Olsen: Michigan 42, Northwestern 7

I’ve gotten into somewhat of a PPA (Predicted Points Added) craze as of late, and when I looked at the top FBS running backs, I was instantly struck with fear for the ‘Cats defense this Saturday. Remember those two running backs that have had their way with the NU defense this season: Kenneth Walker III and Mataeo Durant? They’re both in the Top 15. And you know who else is in the Top 15? Both of Michigan RBs, Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. Add on top of that a confident QB Cade McNamara and I don’t really see Northwestern staying in this game for very long, regardless of whether Mike Bajakian’s offense has Mike MacDonald’s defense figured out.

Jacob Brown: Michigan 52, Northwestern 21

This score looks bad, but it’s actually very good. Cade McNamara is going to throw for over 300 yards (increasing his season yardage by over 33%) and the combo of Haskins and Corum will add another 300 themselves. With another embarrassment on a national level, it will be impossible for a change to not be made. Is it going to be O’Neil? Absolutely not. But maybe Fitz will finally stop playing the linebackers who have struggled all year long. Maybe watching Ryan Hillinksi get bounced like a basketball by Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo will make Jake cut the cuteness out of his game plan and call plays to let Hilinski get the ball to his playmakers. Worst comes to worst, the national media will see the great flaws in the Northwestern defense, making Jim O’Neil’s chair slightly warmer. All of that aside, Ryan Hilinksi is really freaking awesome on and off the field and I think this is a prime opportunity for him to show out against a good team, even if it isn’t enough to keep NU in the game.

Bradley Locker: Michigan 37, Northwestern 15

In this universe, there exists an analyst that thinks this game could be close, or that Northwestern could even win. I am not that guy. While the ‘Cats seemed resuscitated against Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are nowhere close to the plane in which the Michigan Wolverines lie, averaging a whopping 38.5 points per game. Pair that with a Jim O’Neil defense that’s been subject to big plays all season, and Cade McNamara, Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins are likely to give Wildcat fans flashbacks to, well, earlier this year. The only silver lining for NU could be that Michigan yields nearly 120 rushing yards per game, but Evan Hull has been a total non-factor in the last two Big Ten contests, posting 84 ground yards on 32 carries. I do think that Northwestern can cover the 21.5-point spread, as this game will likely reach garbage time territory fairly early; part of me even feels that the score will be close and low at the end of the first quarter. NU faithful shouldn’t expect much, but it will be key to continue to monitor Ryan Hilinski and if the defense can force any stops at all. At least the pain will be drowned out by the soothing voices of Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt.

Myles Gilbert: Michigan 28, Northwestern 13

I am not going to get my hopes up thinking somehow, someway Northwestern leaves Ann Arbor with a miraculous win against the No. 6 Wolverines, and that I will be in the Big House to see it with my own two eyes. However, while good teams win, great teams cover. Northwestern’s defense took a big step in their performance last week against a Rutgers team that Michigan defeated by just one score a few weeks prior. Ultimately, the Wolverines’ two-headed monster at running back will prove too fast and too strong against the Wildcat front seven, and the Sky Team will probably give up some big plays to Michigan’s speedy wideouts. Hopefully, for the better part of this game, Northwestern drags it into mud and we get to see a ton of punts, keeping the Derek Adams for Heisman campaign alive and well. I believe the ‘Cats keep it closer than most think, but the George Jewett Trophy will remain in Ann Arbor.

Ignacio Dowling: Michigan 37, Northwestern 20

The only other raucous crowd Northwestern has experienced this year was Nebraska’s, and we all know how that went. I don’t think the Wolverines will do as much damage, but they have too much offensive talent for the Wildcats to keep up. Hot take: it won’t be Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum who put this game out of reach. Instead, it will be Cade McNamara, who will get off to a quick start against the Northwestern secondary and set the tone for the rest of the day. However, Ryan Hilinski’s ability to move the ball even with a limited playbook in blowouts will help the ‘Cats cover.

Andrew Katz: Michigan 52, Northwestern 14

It was nice to see Northwestern beat Rutgers by double digits a week ago. Unfortunately, Michigan is not Rutgers. The Wolverines are fresh off a bye and the ‘Cats three wins are all against far worse teams. The very thought of the team that lost to Nebraska by 49 earlier this year upsetting the No. 6 team in the nation breaks my mind.

Gavin Dorsey: Michigan 43, Northwestern 14

I was very happy to see my game prediction proven wrong last week with the win over Rutgers, and hopefully it instilled some confidence in the normally malleable Northwestern defense. I like where the team is headed for the back half of the season, but this week just isn’t its week. The Wolverines boast the fourth best rushing offense in the Power Five with nearly 250 yards per game. On the flip side, the Wildcats this season have surrendered the fourth most rushing yards per game among Power Five teams, at a rate of 205 yards per game. It’s hard for me to see an outcome other than Michigan (literally) running away with it.

William Karmin: Michigan 27, Northwestern 13

Northwestern will keep it close, but Michigan’s rushing attack breaks through in the fourth quarter.

Season Standings

Jacob Brown: 5-1

Mac Stone, Bradley Locker, Andrew Katz: 4-2

Daniel Olinger, Ben Chasen, John Olsen, Will Karmin: 3-3

Gavin Dorsey: 2-2

Michael Barthelemy: 2-0

Meredith Revsine: 1-0

Eli Karp: 2-1

Colin Kruse, Myles Gilbert: 1-1

Didi Jin, Lia Assimakopoulos: 1-2

Sarah Effress, Brian Paget, Nik Mehrotra, Isaac Diaz, Sydney Supple, Jackson Gordwin, Liam Hubbard: 0-1