Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Northwestern Wildcats Picks & Preview | NCAAFB Week 1

The Northwestern Wildcats play on Sunday at 12:00 PM ET at SHI Stadium against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

The Scarlet Knights are the favorites (-6.5) in their matchup against the Wildcats, with the over/under at 40.5 points. (In terms of the moneyline, the Scarlet Knights are -229 and the Wildcats are +188.)

Create your Pick’em Pool with the Internet’s #1 pool creation and hosting platform. Get 15 friends together and play for free!
Start here >

Game Info for Rutgers vs. Northwestern

• Game Day: Sunday, September 3, 2023
• Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
• TV Channel: CBS
• Location: Piscataway, New Jersey
• Stadium: SHI Stadium

Rutgers Pick Insights

• Rutgers covered five times in 12 games with a spread last season.
• Rutgers covered the spread once last season (1-1 ATS) when playing as at least 6.5-point favorites.
• A total of six Rutgers games last season hit the over.

Rutgers Stats & Insights

• Rutgers racked up 10.9 fewer points per game (17.4) than Northwestern surrendered (28.3) last season.
• Rutgers averaged 93 fewer yards per game (281.3) than Northwestern gave up per outing (374.3) last year.
• In games that Rutgers amassed over 374.3 yards last year, the team was 2-0 against the spread and 1-1 overall.
• Last year Rutgers rushed for 64 fewer yards per game (126.9) than Northwestern allowed per outing (190.9).
• When Rutgers ran for more than 190.9 yards last year, it had a 4-0 ATS record and a 3-1 overall record.
• Last season Rutgers turned the ball over 20 times, eight more than Northwestern’s takeaways (12).

Rutgers’ Best Players

• Last season Evan Simon recorded 782 passing yards (65.2 per game), a 57.7% completion percentage, four touchdowns, and six interceptions.
• Kyle Monangai churned out 459 rushing yards (38.3 per game) and two touchdowns last season.
• Samuel Brown V put up 373 rushing yards on 85 carries and three touchdowns last season.
• Sean Ryan hauled in 26 catches for 440 yards (36.7 per game) while being targeted 56 times. He also scored three touchdowns.
• Aron Cruickshank produced last season, grabbing 42 passes for 385 yards and two touchdowns. He collected 32.1 receiving yards per game.
• Johnny Langan grabbed 31 passes on 62 targets for 296 yards and one touchdown, averaging 24.7 receiving yards per game.
• Tyreem Powell’s hard work last season put together a stat line of four sacks, five TFL and 48 tackles.
• Avery Young was a wrecking ball on the field, collecting 58 tackles, two TFL, one sack, and one interception last year.
• Last season Christian Braswell had a huge stat line of three interceptions, 21 tackles, one TFL, and three passes defended.

Northwestern Betting Insights

• Northwestern won five games against the spread last season, failing to cover seven times.
• When playing as at least 6.5-point underdogs last year, Northwestern had an ATS record of 5-4.
• Last season, five Northwestern games went over the point total.

Northwestern Pick Insights

• Last year Northwestern scored 15.5 fewer points per game (13.8) than Rutgers gave up (29.3).
• Northwestern collected just 11.5 fewer yards per game (335.4) than Rutgers gave up (346.9) per matchup last season.
• In games that Northwestern churned out over 346.9 yards last year, the team was 2-3 against the spread and 1-4 overall.
• Last year Northwestern rushed for 17.8 fewer yards per game (125.1) than Rutgers allowed per outing (142.9).
• Last season Northwestern had a 4-2 ATS record and a 1-5 overall record in games the team ran for more than 142.9 yards.
• Northwestern turned the ball over 30 times last year, 16 more turnovers than Rutgers forced (14).

Northwestern’s Best Players

• Ryan Hilinski completed 55.5% of his passes to throw for 1,619 yards and six touchdowns last season.
• Evan Hull accumulated 913 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground in addition to 546 receiving yards and two touchdowns through the air during last year’s campaign.
• Last season Cam Porter rushed for 286 yards. He also scored two total touchdowns.
• Malik Washington was targeted 8.3 times per game and collected 694 receiving yards and one touchdown over the course of 2022.
• Donny Navarro averaged 19.8 receiving yards per game on 5.3 targets per game a season ago.
• Last year Adetomiwa Adebawore racked up five sacks, five TFL and 31 tackles.
• Bryce Gallagher had an impactful defensive performance last season with 95 tackles, five TFL, 1.5 sacks, and one interception.
• Last year Xander Mueller intercepted two passes to go along with 76 tackles, nine TFL, three sacks, and two passes defended.