UTEP Miners vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/09/2023

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 9, 2023

Venue:  Ryan Field, Evanston, IL

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UTEP -1.5, NW +1.5; Over/Under:  38.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UTEP -1.5, NW +1.5; Over/Under:  38.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UTEP -1.5, NW +1.5; Over/Under:  38.5 points

UTEP Miners:  1-1 (0-1) (6th place, C-USA)

Northwestern Wildcats:  0-1 (0-1) (7th place, Big Ten West)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Amedeus Mastrangelo is on a HOT STREAK in CFB coming off a MASSIVE 9-2 CFB WEEKEND! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

UTEP Miners:  won their last game at home against the Incarnate Word Cardinals 28-14.

Northwestern Wildcats:  lost their last game on the road against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 24-7.

UTEP is entering this game with a 1-1 record overall and they have a 0-1 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Incarnate Word 28-14. Gavin Hardison was the starting QB and he completed 10/13 passes for 94 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Deion Hankins led the team in rushing yards with 174. Tyrin Smith led the receivers with 49 receiving yards on 4 receptions and also had 1 TD. Tyrice Knight led the defense in that game with 10 solo tackles and 6 assisted tackles while Tyrice Knight led the defense in sacks with 1. Latrez Shelton came away with the only interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Northwestern is entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-1 record in their conference games too.  They are 0-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Rutgers 24-7. Ben Bryant was the starting QB and he completed 20/35 passes for 169 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Brendan Sullivan led the team in rushing yards with 11. Cam Johnson led the receivers with 45 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Bryce Gallagher led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 15 assisted tackles while no one recorded any sacks in that one. No one on the defense came away with an interception in that game.

The current betting odds have UTEP listed as a 1.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. UTEP hasn't been great this season as they struggled to beat Incarnate Word from the FCS in their last game at home and already have a conference loss from their game in week 0 which was on the road. They haven't been good in their road games over the last year and are now on the road again here, but Northwestern was terrible in their 1st game of the season as they lost 24-7 to Rutgers and they don't have a lot of talent on their team left after the big scandal right before the season started. They looked terrible against Rutgers as their offense couldn't move the ball well and being at home here won't make much of a difference since UTEP is the better team. UTEP will also be motivated to get a road win finally since this is definitely a team they can beat. The best way to place a bet here is on UTEP to cover the spread in this game.

UTEP Northwestern Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 9, 2023 (3:30 pm ET start time) is UTEP 21 NW 10.

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

UTEP Miners: 16-9 ATS after allowing 75 or less rushing yards last game. 26-19 ATS after allowing 14 points or less last game. 8-1 UNDER when the line is +3 to -3. 8-4 UNDER as a favorite. 

Northwestern Wildcats: 8-17 ATS in all games. 2-12 ATS off 1 or more consecutive unders. 22-10 UNDER after gaining 3.75 or less yards/play in their previous game. 9-4 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive losses against the spread. 

UTEP Miners:  M. Bellon (WR) Out indefinitely - Leg. A. Dumas (RB) Out indefinitely - Eligibility.

Northwestern Wildcats:  J. Fitzgerald (TE) day-to-day - Undisclosed. B. Kirtz (WR) day-to-day - Undisclosed.

"I think where he's matured is he made some decisions in the game (at Jax State) to throw the ball away when he was on the run. Where maybe in previous (situations), just as he continues to grow as a quarterback, he would try to force those throws on the run a little bit. This one (the first interception), obviously he knows that that's what we've got to continue to improve in. You can't just try to thread it in that needle. That's the thing he's got to be very careful of because he's got such great arm strength, but you can't throw it in too tight of a window right there. So, on 2-11 in a really close-fought ball game he has got to make better decisions in that type of situation for sure. So, we will keep working with that. We've already looked at that in the film. There wasn't much of a window there to put football into right there. He's just got to be better." - Dana Dimel on Gavin Hardison this season.

"This the lightest I've been since I took over, just from a standpoint where we're playing football. It's an opportunity to look around, look at these guys. They've been working so hard to get to this point. Are there plenty of things that I need to work on that are very apparent that I'm taking notes on as the game goes? Absolutely. I need to be so much better in this role and look forward to being much better.” - David Braun after his team’s loss against Rutgers in their last game.

WR Bellon, Marcus  

WR Akharaiyi, Kelly 

WR Smith, Tyrin 

TE Fryar, Zach 

QB Hardison, Gavin 

RB Hankins, Deion 

FB Lopez, Julian 

WR Johnson, Cam 

WR Kirtz, Bryce 

WR Henning, A.J. 

TE Lang, Marshall 

QB Bryant, Ben 

RB Porter, Cam 

Passing: G. Hardison (302)

Rushing: D. Hankins (228)

Receiving: K. Akharaiyi (108)

Touchdowns: K. Akharaiyi (1)

Passing: B. Bryant (169)

Rushing: B. Sullivan (11)

Receiving: C. Johnson (45)

Touchdowns: C. Komolafe (1)

Coaches:

UTEP Miners: Dana Dimel (6th season)

Northwestern Wildcats: David Braun (Interim)