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Northwestern Not Expected to Repeat as Winners of Big Ten West

By Iain MacMillan

Pat Fitzgerald has his work cut out for him if he wants Northwestern to repeat as champions of the Big Ten West.
Pat Fitzgerald has his work cut out for him if he wants Northwestern to repeat as champions of the Big Ten West. / Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
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The shortened 2020 college football season was a nightmare for some teams, but it was an absolute dream season for the Northwestern Wildcats. They finished first in the Big Ten West division for the second time in three seasons, which was a strong bounce back after an abysmal 3-9 record in 2019.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they're suffering from key departures on both sides of the ball, and it’s more likely that their 2021 season will resemble more of 2019 than 2020.

WynnBET has Northwestern’s season win total for this season set at 6.5 wins, with the UNDER set as the -275 favorite. That means oddsmakers expect them to get the same amount of wins as last year, despite playing a full 12-game schedule.

The Wildcats problems on offense begin with needing to find a replacement for quarterback Peyton Ramsey. A number of names could fill the role, including South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski, and seniors Andrew Marty and Hunter Johnson.

They also lost their star wide receiver, Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman, to graduation this offseason, so head coach Pat Fitzgerald will be looking for young wideouts to step up and perform in Chiaokhiao-Brown’s absence.

Northwestern will likely rely on its deep backfield in 2021, as Cam Porter and Evan Hull return for another season. Hull averaged 8.4 yards per carry on 25 attempts last season, so look for him to have an expanded role this year.

The strength of Northwestern will once again be their defense. Northwestern had the fourth best scoring defense in the country last season, allowing just 15.9 points per game. They’ll need to find competent replacements for their two star linebackers, Paddy Fisher and Blake Gallagher, but their returning a decent amount of starts both on the defensive line and in the secondary.

Despite winning the Big Ten West last season, WynnBET has Northwestern tied for fourth on the odds list with Minnesota to win the division once again. Wisconsin (-108), Iowa (+115), and Nebraska (+240) all have shorter odds to win the West and likely face Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game.

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