Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/03/2023

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Sunday, September 3, 2023

Venue:  SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Northwestern +6.5, Rutgers -6.5; Over/Under:  40.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Northwestern +6.5, Rutgers -6.5; Over/Under:  40.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Northwestern +6.5, Rutgers -6.5; Over/Under:  40.5 points

Northwestern Wildcats:  0-0 (Big Ten West)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  0-0 (Big Ten East)

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Northwestern Wildcats:  N/A

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  N/A

Northwestern finished last season with a 1-11 record overall and they had a 1-8 record in their conference games too.  They were 0-6 in their home games, 0-5 in their road games, and they were also 1-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 13.8 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 28.3 points per game. Their offense also averaged 335.4 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 374.8 yards per game. Ryan Hilinski led the team in passing yards with 1644, Evan Hull led the team in rushing yards with 913, and Malik Washington led the team in receiving yards with 694.

 

 

 

Rutgers finished last season with a 4-8 record overall and they had a 1-8 record in their conference games too.  They were 2-4 in their home games, 2-4 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 17.4 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 29.2 points per game. Their offense also averaged 281.7 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 349.7 yards per game. Evan Simon led the team in passing yards with 777, Kyle Monangai led the team in rushing yards with 445, and Sean Ryan led the team in receiving yards with 440.

The current betting odds have Rutgers listed as a 6.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Rutgers wasn't great last season with their 4-8 record overall and they were only 1-8 in their conference games but this program has been improving over the years under head coach Greg Schiano and they will be looking to take a big jump this season with a bowl game on their minds. Northwestern was even worse last season with their 1-11 record overall and they were also 1-8 in their conference games as they also struggled against Big Ten opponents. Northwestern also won their only game at a neutral site as they were 0-5 in their road games and 0-6 in their home games. They didn't even average 14 points per game on offense last season and now they are opening the season with a conference game on the road and just weeks after their head coach stepped down amidst a massive hazing scandal that was going on. Northwestern has been left in such a bad spot coming into this 1st game of the season and Rutgers will definitely be licking their chops at the opportunity to open the season at home with a conference win. The best way to place a bet here is on Rutgers to cover the spread in this game. 

Northwestern Rutgers Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Sunday, September 3, 2023 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Rutgers 21 Northwestern 7.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Northwestern Wildcats Rutgers Scarlet Knights prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Northwestern Wildcats: 8-16 ATS in all games. 3-6 ATS as a road underdog. 1-6 ATS in games played on turf. 4-8 ATS in the first half of the season. 8-5 OVER in a road game where the total is 42 or less.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 6-3 ATS as a favorite. 6-2 ATS in the first month of the season. 9-3 OVER in home games. 

Northwestern Wildcats:  None.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  None.

“I am extremely confident in my ability to lead, to inspire, to meet people where they're at, to pull people together for a common purpose. And I also have a unique ability to identify the things that I don't know or don't understand — and wholeheartedly admit that I don't and seek wisdom and expertise to help me navigate that.” - David Braun on himself as he enters this new college football season as the interim head coach. 

“We play in the best league and college football and we’re getting better and we’re just going to keep getting better and those wins will start to come. And we’ll get back to the days when our fans could plan their holiday trips around our bowls. That’s where we need to get back to.” - Greg Schiano on his team coming into this new season. 

WR Johnson, Cam 

WR Kirtz, Bryce 

WR Henning, A.J. 

TE Lang, Marshall 

QB Bryant, Ben 

RB Porter, Cam 

WR Brantley, Naseim 

WR Long, Chris 

WR Jackson, JaQuae 

TE Langan, Johnny 

QB Wimsatt, Gavin 

RB Brown V, Samuel 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Northwestern Wildcats: David Braun (Interim)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Greg Schiano (15th season)