According to ESPN Analytics, this Northwestern football team stands an 80.5% chance of winning their first home of the Pat Fitzgerald era. Meanwhile the bookmakers actually have the UTEP Miners as 1.5 point favorites.
So who is right and who is wrong here, within the prognostication community? No one knows! This game is all over the map, and absolutely anything can happen.
UTEP Miners at Northwestern Football FYIs
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2:30 p.m. CT
Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Season Preview Article: go here
Season Preview Appearance on WGN News Now: go here
Season Preview Appearance on ESPN Radio: go here
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WGN 720 (Dave Eanet, Ted Albrecht)
Northwestern Football Preview
Northwestern interim coach David Braun, at least from a public and media relations perspective, is nicely fitting into his new role. It’s to be highly commended, given what an exceedingly difficult job he was tasked with.
On the field, well Braun is off to a very rough start.
The only positive to take away from last week’s season opener at Rutgers- the meaningless garbage time touchdown they scored near the very end because it prevented Rutgers from achieving their first shut out in Big Ten play/in any game since 2016.
At least they avoided that indignity in New Jersey. However, Rutgers dominated that game in a way that the slight yardage disparity doesn’t convey.
Sure, the 24-7 score is lopsided, but RU prevented Northwestern from even seeing the red zone until the very end, and that was only able to happen, partially due, to a muffed punt.
That simple fact tells the story much more accurately. As does this one- 12 yards rushing, on 0.5 yards per carry. Those numbers are laughably awful, and must improve massively, and immediately.
A Big Ten West team that can’t run the football? Is that even legal?
X-Factor: The Home Crowd
This will be the first home Northwestern football game since the hazing scandal rocked the program and caused massive upheaval. How will the Wildcats be received?
Probably very warmly, but what happens if/when things go further south?
Will the crowd abandon them and will a lack of energy drain this team? Their fans have been through a lot, even before all the shocking revelations about Pat Fitzgerald, who was the biggest individual brand name in Northwestern sports history.
This program is still seeking its first win on American soil since mid-October of 2021.
UTEP Miners Preview
Texas El-Paso is one of those rare teams that has played twice already this season, and the results were mixed. They actually lost 17-14 to Rich Rodriguez and Jacksonville State in week 0, which is pretty sad when you consider that’s a team that clocked in at #7 in ESPN’s preseason bottom 10.
Then again, NU was #4 in the same ranking. UTEP was mostly ranked in the 100s and 110s whenever you saw them in those preseason publications that rank every team in FBS.
Again though, Northwestern often showed up in the 80s and 90s.
UTEP looked really good in solidly beating Incarnate Word last week, but remember that’s a FCS opponent. A very elite FCS team, but still, it was punching down in weight class.
Key Matchup: Northwestern OL vs UTEP DL
The Wildcats need to not only have an advantage here, they must dominate. The running game was a total joke last week out in Jersey, and if/when they turn that around on Saturday, it’ll make all the difference.
The Cats have the size advantage to overpower the Miners, and they should. If NU can average north of 4 ypc this week, they should be fine.
Prediction: Northwestern Football 20, UTEP Miners 18
It will probably be an ugly win, the kind of W that makes Northwestern football fans sweat, stress and cringe, but it’ll be a victory nonetheless, somehow, someway.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.