College football odds, picks and prediction for Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Week 1 betting free pick and game analysis.
Northwestern vs Rutgers picks and predictionsThe Scarlet Knights are playing at home, where they’re 11-2 over their past 13 home openers. Sunday will be the first time has opened its season with a Big Ten opponent, and they’ll have a strong desire to end their two-game losing skid to the Wildcats.
The Scarlet Knights’ defense ranked 37th in the nation against the pass and 54th against the rush last season. They return five of their front seven with a defensive backfield that could be one of the best in the conference. Leading the way will be Bendarik Award candidate Aaron Lewis. Lewis anchors a defensive line stout against the run, and the big fella was their sixth-best tackler in 2022. Lewis is surrounded by experienced athletes and has a solid core of linebackers led by Deion Jennings and Tyreem Powell. Jennings led the team in tackles , and Powell was fourth, with a second-best three sacks. The defensive backfield is experienced and can cover. Robert Longerbeam led the team in picks, and Max Melton snagged two interceptions last season.has a new head coach , but offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian kept his job, so at least there is some continuity from last season. The Wildcats offense has two returning from the Big Ten’s 11th-ranked offense. Northwestern hasn’t decided on a quarterback — Ryan Hilinski led the team in passing with a pair of 300+ yard throwing games, and Cincinnati transfer Ben Bryant has thrown for over 5,000 yards over the past two seasons, splitting time between Eastern Michigan and Cincy last season. The two will likely share time on Sunday, but we should see more of Bryant. The wide receiver room was left empty — sixth-year transfer Cam Johnson has 1,317 receiving yards with 10 TDs during his career, but the rest is unproven. They’ll work behind a completely overhauled offensive line, making it challenging for Northwestern’s leading rusher Cam Porter to do his thing. Rutgers will get enough stops to cover the -6.5, and it will be up to an offense led by junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt to finish the job at hand. Wimsatt threw for over 700 yards with more interceptions than TDs. He’ll throw to mostly new hands, but TE Johnny Langan grabbed the second-most passes last season with one TD. The offensive line should be better than last year. Look for RB Samuel Brown V to do most of the heavy lifting. Northwestern returns five starters from 12th best-scoring defense in the conference. They’ll be tough up the middle with a solid secondary, but they’ll have their hands full stopping Brown, and whoever covers Johnson will have to be ready because that young man can motor. Finally, this game opened Rutgers -4 and now is -6.5. Had the number been +7, I would've considered taking Northwestern, but laying +6.5 isn’t wise. A winning margin of 7+ points is the second-most-frequent outcome in college football, and if anyone is going to win by seven points, it will be Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights defense will lead the way and stymie an inexperienced Northwestern offense with a quarterback battle on their hands. They’ll get enough stops for the offense to sneak past what should be a pesky Wildcats D and win this game by more than seven points.
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