Las Vegas Bowl Predictions: Utah vs. Northwestern Pick

The Utah Utes take on the Northwestern Wildcats at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 23. We have a Utah team that didn’t see the season go as ideally as they had hoped with a lot of injuries but still scored some nice wins on their way to an 8-4 mark. They battle a Northwestern team that wasn’t very good to begin the season, along with a scandal to boot. But over the last handful of games in the regular season came alive, earning this bowl spot against a pretty good Pac-12 team in a high-visibility game in a desirable locale. Who can resist the call of the Vegas night and produce in this spot? Let’s break it down!

State of Each Team Entering this Game

Unquestionably, the Wildcats enter this with some better inertia. After losing on the road to Nebraska, where they scored 9 points, NW sat at 3-4. After all the drama with their coach and the bullying and hazing scandal, it would have been fair at that point to consider it a tough situation. But they upset Maryland, nearly beat Iowa, then peeled off three nice wins to end the season. In the second half of the season, they were making a mockery of point spreads, winning several times as pretty big dogs and making life hard on those betting against the Wildcats. It’s just for a one-win team from last season to fire their head coach and then come out and put up seven wins is noteworthy.

You could site an almost reverse trajectory for the Utes this season. They looked to be doing really well at 6-1 despite a lot of issues, including injuries and uncertainty at the quarterback position, with Cameron Rising never making his way back onto the field this season. Still, with wins over UCLA and USC earlier in the year, one would have expected the Utes to once again be in there giving conference toughies a hard time. Instead, we saw them getting creamed by Oregon and Arizona and looking very un-Utah-like to close the season. In their last game, they did manage a win over another downward-trending team in the Buffaloes, at least able to enter this spot with some positive energy. Both teams last played on November 25.

Trouble for Utah?

Quarterback issues again rear their head for the Utes in a season where they didn’t have Cameron Rising, using mostly Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson, both of whom are in the transfer portal, leaving them a wounded animal heading into this bowl game. But we even hear rumblings that despite Barnes transferring, he might even play this game. In either event, watching information as it comes in will be helpful in this game. Conversely, Northwestern has no such issues in a season they were able to finish strongly.

It’s sort of a weird situation for Utah. Normally, they’re the feisty ones winning against all odds, beating better and richer programs that have higher-rated talent. Usually, Utah is in that role of an overachiever, coming on strong at the end of the season to ruin the plans of other teams. This season, it’s Northwestern rising up late, using defense and resourcefulness to steer wins into their column. And it’s more about team mentality and being galvanized that led to them being where a lot more-celebrated teams are not. And it’s not like there is anything about them that is compelling on either side of the ball. They have some good players on both sides, but it’s really a team thing with the Wildcats, something Utah usually flexes. Northwestern QB Ben Bryant has some nice receivers, and the offense can be plucky with a persistent defense, but again, it’s a team that does the little things and really gets after it.

But Not So Fast…

After losing to four ranked opponents this season, the irritated Utes will be in no mood. Also, with a rotten bowl record in recent seasons against much tougher teams, any Northwestern backer who is banking on a Utah no-show in this spot could be in trouble. Kyle Whittingham wants to win a bowl game, and doing it against a team from the conference he will soon be joining should give this coaching staff and their troops some extra bite to start next year. We can sit here and parse out what’s what due to the transfer portal, but regardless, there are going to be things Utah should be able to do here—run the ball, play defense, and have their still-substantial veteran presence help steer this thing in their direction. Northwestern will hit this field with a lot of energy, but if in fact, Bryson Barnes sticks around and plays this game, it’s not terribly easy to picture Northwestern maintaining four-quarters of a fever pitch that they will need to hang in there with the big and physical Utes.

Take the Favorite

I’d look for coach Kyle Whittingham to flex his powers here for Utah. A guy like him knows how to beat a team like Northwestern, and I suspect defense and running the ball with Ja’Quinden Jackson will be a large part of that formula. It’s hazardous to low-rate a Northwestern team that was really something in how they navigated their way to a 7-win season. Not a great year for many, but quite a feat for what they were dealing with heading into the year. I just think certain harsh football realities will come crashing down on the Wildcats in this spot as Utah gets out of Vegas with the win and the cover. I’ll go with the Utes in this one.