Northwestern
8th Big Ten7-5
Texas Tech
9th Big 127-5
Northwestern @ Texas Tech preview
Cotton Bowl
The Skinny: Two teams from the middle of the pack in their respective conferences offer an intriguing matchup for the inaugural TicketCity Bowl, which will be played at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1.
Texas Tech (7-5, 3-5 Big 12) has an athletic team that is capable of producing a bushel of points. Northwestern (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten) enters having lost three of its final four games, but will have the opportunity to get several players back from regular-season injuries.
Which team will show up? Will it be the Northwestern team that battled Michigan State to the wire or the one that was beaten by 47 points by Wisconsin? Will it be the Texas Tech team that totaled 99 points in its final two games or the one that managed only seven against Oklahoma.
Point Spread: Texas Tech -9.5. Over/under: 60.5.
Texas Tech’s Edge: The Red Raiders run an efficient passing offense that ranks No. 8 in the nation, with 314.8 passing yards per game. The running game is adequate: Baron Batch (805 yards, five TDs) and Eric Stephens (542 yards, five TDs) are a solid one-two punch. Favorite targets include Detron Lewis (79 catches, six TDs) and Lyle Leong (64 catches, 17 TDs). Lewis has caught a pass in 39 straight games, Leong in 35 straight.
Northwestern’s Edge: Northwestern has been disappointing since winning its first five games, then losing five of the next seven, including giveaway wins against Michigan State and Penn State. The Wildcats have an outstanding corps of receivers, led by All-Big Ten choice Jeremy Ebert (919 yards, eight TDs). The defense is average at best; four of the last six opponents hung 35 or more on the Wildcats and Wisconsin scored 70 in the season-finale.
The Quarterbacks: Texas Tech’s Taylor Potts has a good arm and has the ability to make quick decisions. He’s thrown for 3,357 yards and 31 touchdowns, including a 462-yard, four-touchdown effort against Baylor.
Northwestern’s Dan Persa, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, had thrown for 2,581 yards and 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions when he ruptured an Achilles tendon. He's done for the season, leaving Evan Watkins to take over. Watkins threw for 302 yards and one touchdown in the final two games.
NFL Prospects: Texas Tech — DT Colby Whitlock, OLB Brian Duncan, WR Lyle Leong, RB Baron Batch. Northwestern — OLB Quentin Davie, DT Corbin Bryant.
Bowl history: Texas Tech will be going to a bowl game for the 11th consecutive season. The Red Raiders are 11-21-1 in bowl games and have won six of their last eight, including a 41-31 victory over Michigan State in the 2009 Alamo Bowl.
Northwestern hasn’t won a bowl game since 1948, when it prevailed 20-14 over California in the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats are 1-7 in bowls, but have lost the last two years in overtime, including a 38-35 decision to Auburn in the 2009 Outback Bowl.
Etc.: Texas Tech defensive backs Will Ford (hamstring) and LaRon Moore (concussion) are expected to be available, but receiver Alex Torres is out with a knee injury suffered in the ninth game. Northwestern will be without Persa, but should have running backs Jacob Schmidt (ankle) and Mike Trumpy (wrist) back for the bowl game.
Texas Tech (7-5, 3-5 Big 12) has an athletic team that is capable of producing a bushel of points. Northwestern (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten) enters having lost three of its final four games, but will have the opportunity to get several players back from regular-season injuries.
Which team will show up? Will it be the Northwestern team that battled Michigan State to the wire or the one that was beaten by 47 points by Wisconsin? Will it be the Texas Tech team that totaled 99 points in its final two games or the one that managed only seven against Oklahoma.
Point Spread: Texas Tech -9.5. Over/under: 60.5.
Texas Tech’s Edge: The Red Raiders run an efficient passing offense that ranks No. 8 in the nation, with 314.8 passing yards per game. The running game is adequate: Baron Batch (805 yards, five TDs) and Eric Stephens (542 yards, five TDs) are a solid one-two punch. Favorite targets include Detron Lewis (79 catches, six TDs) and Lyle Leong (64 catches, 17 TDs). Lewis has caught a pass in 39 straight games, Leong in 35 straight.
Northwestern’s Edge: Northwestern has been disappointing since winning its first five games, then losing five of the next seven, including giveaway wins against Michigan State and Penn State. The Wildcats have an outstanding corps of receivers, led by All-Big Ten choice Jeremy Ebert (919 yards, eight TDs). The defense is average at best; four of the last six opponents hung 35 or more on the Wildcats and Wisconsin scored 70 in the season-finale.
The Quarterbacks: Texas Tech’s Taylor Potts has a good arm and has the ability to make quick decisions. He’s thrown for 3,357 yards and 31 touchdowns, including a 462-yard, four-touchdown effort against Baylor.
Northwestern’s Dan Persa, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, had thrown for 2,581 yards and 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions when he ruptured an Achilles tendon. He's done for the season, leaving Evan Watkins to take over. Watkins threw for 302 yards and one touchdown in the final two games.
NFL Prospects: Texas Tech — DT Colby Whitlock, OLB Brian Duncan, WR Lyle Leong, RB Baron Batch. Northwestern — OLB Quentin Davie, DT Corbin Bryant.
Bowl history: Texas Tech will be going to a bowl game for the 11th consecutive season. The Red Raiders are 11-21-1 in bowl games and have won six of their last eight, including a 41-31 victory over Michigan State in the 2009 Alamo Bowl.
Northwestern hasn’t won a bowl game since 1948, when it prevailed 20-14 over California in the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats are 1-7 in bowls, but have lost the last two years in overtime, including a 38-35 decision to Auburn in the 2009 Outback Bowl.
Etc.: Texas Tech defensive backs Will Ford (hamstring) and LaRon Moore (concussion) are expected to be available, but receiver Alex Torres is out with a knee injury suffered in the ninth game. Northwestern will be without Persa, but should have running backs Jacob Schmidt (ankle) and Mike Trumpy (wrist) back for the bowl game.