Central Michigan Chippewas vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/26/2025

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Friday, December 26, 2025

Venue:  Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  CMU +10.5, NW -10.5; Over/Under:  43.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  CMU +10.5, NW -10.5; Over/Under:  43.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  CMU +10.5, NW -10.5; Over/Under:  43.5 points

Central Michigan Chippewas:  7-5 (5-3) (5th place, MAC)

Northwestern Wildcats:  6-6 (4-5) (11th place, Big Ten)

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Central Michigan Chippewas:  lost their last game at home against the Toledo Rockets 21-3.

Northwestern Wildcats:  lost their last game on the road against the Illinois Fighting Illini 20-13.

Central Michigan is entering this game with a 7-5 record overall and they have a 5-3 record in their conference games too. They are 4-1 in their home games, 3-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, and they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Toledo 21-3. Joey Labas was the starting QB and he completed 19/30 passes for 242 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Brock Townsend led the team in rushing yards with 68. Tommy McIntosh led the receivers with 83 receiving yards on 6 receptions. Jordan Kwiatkowski led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Jordan Kwiatkowski and Michael Heldman each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Northwestern is entering this game with a 6-6 record overall and they have a 4-5 record in their conference games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 1-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Illinois 20-13. Preston Stone was the starting QB and he completed 19/36 passes for 163 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Robby Preckel led the team in rushing yards with 82. Hayden Eligon II led the receivers with 99 receiving yards on 8 receptions and 1 TD. Robert Fitzgerald led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Braydon Brus led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Northwestern listed as a 10.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Northwestern hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 6-6 record overall and their 4-5 conference record which had them lower in the Big Ten. They haven't played in any neutral site games this year so this will be their first, playing in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. Meanwhile, Central Michigan has looked good in their games this season with their 7-5 record overall and their 5-3 conference record which had them in the top half of the MAC. This is also going to be their first game at a neutral site this year. Central Michigan was a good team in the MAC this year, but they also got by beating up on a lot of bad teams in the conference. They ended the regular season with a 21-3 loss at home to Toledo and struggled with the better teams in their own conference. Northwestern had a great start to the season and were much higher in the Big Ten, but they ended up crumbling down the final stretch. They ended the regular season with a 20-13 loss to Illinois and ended up finishing under .500 in the Big Ten, but they also played in a much tougher conference with a tough schedule to end the year. They have a chance to end the season right with a bowl win and their defense hasn't looked bad this year so they are going to shut down a CMU offense that hasn't been great lately and only put up 3 points at home in their final game of the regular season. The best way to place a bet here is on Northwestern to cover the spread in this game. 

Central Michigan Northwestern Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, December 26, 2025 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Northwestern 31 Central Michigan 10.

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Central Michigan Chippewas: 24-34 ATS off a home loss. 17-31 ATS off a home loss against a conference rival. 12-6 OVER when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 8-4 OVER in non-conference games. 

Northwestern Wildcats: 14-7 ATS when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 6-3 ATS off a road loss. 10-4 ATS after playing their last game on the road. 7-0 OVER off a road loss against a conference rival. 13-3 OVER after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses.

Central Michigan Chippewas:  T. Campbell (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Flores (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Nehf (OG) Out - Undisclosed. T. Pierre (OG) Out - Undisclosed. M. Ferguson (LB) Out - Undisclosed. J. Glasser (QB) Out - Undisclosed. R. Callahan (TE) Out - Undisclosed. J. Iannuzzi (OG) Out - Undisclosed.

Northwestern Wildcats:  J. Himon II (RB) Questionable - Lower Body. A. Hubbard (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Russell (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Lines (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Borcherding (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Reynolds II (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Crane (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Smith (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Dorsey Jr. (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Wagner (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Reeder (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Walters (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Komolafe (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Blueitt (WR) Out - Undisclosed. C. Petrucci (TE) Out - Undisclosed. R. Hagarty (DL) Out - Undisclosed. E. Smith (CB) Out - Undisclosed. J. Lewis (CB) Out - Undisclosed. Y. Karlaftis (LB) Out - Undisclosed. D. Roberts (DL) Out - Undisclosed. C. Porter (RB) Out - Lower Body.

"This is a great day for Central Michigan Football. We get to play in the great state of Michigan, in front of our alumni and fans. In Northwestern, we are facing a tremendous opponent from a premier conference. I have the highest respect for Coach Braun, his staff and their team. This also gives added exposure to our recruiting pipeline in the Chicagoland area." - Matt Drinkall on his team playing in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

“We’ve got to do a really good job around college football not diminish how much it means to play in a bowl game. We’ve got to protect that. I don’t have answers, but that’s something as a college football community we’ve got to figure out, because it matters. When it starts to not matter, we’ve got to evaluate how we’re doing things.” - David Braun on bowl games. 

WR McIntosh, Tommy

WR Lewis, Langston

WR Davis, Tyson

TE Temple, DeCorion

QB Labas, Joe

RB Biggins, Nahree

FB VanWetzinga IV, Rusty

WR Eligon II, Hayden

WR Wilde, Griffin

WR Wagner, Drew

TE Albright, Lawson

QB Stone, Preston

RB Komolafe, Caleb

Passing: Joe Labas (1,676)

Rushing: Nahree Biggins (540)

Receiving: Langston Lewis (513)

Touchdowns: Angel Flores (8)

Passing: Preston Stone (2,174)

Rushing: Caleb Komolafe (886)

Receiving: Griffin Wilde (783)

Touchdowns: Caleb Komolafe (10)

Coaches:

Central Michigan Chippewas: Matt Drinkall (1st season)

Northwestern Wildcats: David Braun (3rd season)