Bowl Mania: Las Vegas Bowl

2023 Las Vegas Bowl

When: Saturday, December 23rd @ 7:30 PM ET

Where: Las Vegas, Nevada

Who: Northwestern (7-5) vs. Utah (8-4)

Spread & Total: Utah -6.5; O/U 41.5

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Tale of the Take: Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern had the most tumultuous offseason heading into 2023. Pat Fitzgerald was terminated on July 10th, leaving David Braun as the interim head coach. Braun was hired as the defensive coordinator after the 2022 season from North Dakota State. It first appeared as if 2023 would be a long season for Northwestern, losing on the road to Rutgers and Duke. But hosting Maryland showed signs of life for a Northwestern team in the running for the Big Ten West. They won four of their last five, with the lone loss against Iowa. In Braun’s debut season, Northwestern went 4-4 against bowl eligible teams and 5-2 in one possession games.

Offensively, Northwestern is one of the worse bowl eligible teams. They average just 4.4 yards per play. On 350 pass attempts (43% of their total plays), they average just under 6.9 YPA and complete 62% of their attempts. Northwestern’s 3.0 YPC is the worst mark among bowl eligible teams and 126th overall.

Defensively, Northwestern allows a 64.8% completion rate, while holding opponents to 6.7 YPA. They saw 28.7 pass plays per game on average. Northwestern allowed opponents to average 4.2 YPC on the ground, while seeing 37.8 rush plays per game. They did force 20 total turnovers this season.

Opt Outs: N/A

Injuries: N/A

Transfer Portal Departures:

QB Cole Freeman

IOL Josh Priebe

DL Matt Lawson

CB Nigel Williams

 

Players to Know:

#32 LB Bryce Gallagher

2023 All-Big Ten Second Team Defense. Led the team with 110 total tackles (43 solo). Two pass breakups, one interception and one sack. Forced two fumbles; recovered one

#34 LB Xander Mueller

2023 All-Big Ten Third Team Defense. 2nd on the team with 102 total tackles (52 solo) and five sacks. Three interceptions was the most on the team; cause two pass breakups

Preview: Bowl Mania: 68 Ventures Bowl

Tale of the Tape: Utah Utes

Utah suffered a significant blow at the start of the 2023 season. Starting quarterback Cam Rising was teased to be ready at the start of the season. That was pushed further and further into the season, until it was ultimately announced he would redshirt and return in 2024. No matter, as Kyle Whittingham had the well oiled Utes machine moving forward. Utah began the year winning four straight until a tough trip to Corvallis. Winning their next two against Cal and USC clinched a bowl berth for Utah for the 9th straight year. Utah finished the year 8-4 with all four losses coming to top-20 ranked teams. The Utes were 3-4 against bowl eligible teams and 4-1 in one possession games.

Offensively, Utah attempted just 26.2 pass attempts per game, or 36% of their total offensive plays. This ranked 113th of 133 FBS programs. The Utes completed just 57.3% of their attempts for 6.6 YPA on average. Utah attempted 42.6 rush attempts per game, the 10th highest rate in the country. They averaged 4.4 YPC

Defensively, few were better than Utah stopping the run. Opponents ran the ball just 314 times this season against the Utes, the lowest mark in the country. Utah allowed just 3.2 YPC and forced 12 fumbles, while allowing just 13 touchdowns. Team’s did try to beat Utah via the pass, where opponents threw 31.8 times per game. They completed just 58.1% of their attempts and averaged 7 YPA. Eight interceptions is one of the lower marks among bowl eligible teams.

Opt Outs: N/A

Injuries:

 

Transfer Portal Departures:

QB Bryson Barnes

Starting quarterback after Cam Rising missed the entire season. Completed 58.5% of his attempts, averaging 6.6 YPA. Threw for 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Will play in the bowl game

WR Mikey Mathews

3rd on the team with 29 receptions for 261 yards

QB Nate Johnson

QB Mack Howard

WR Makai Cope

LB Justin Medlock

LB Owen Chambliss

DB Jocelyn Malaska

DB JaTravis Broughton

CB Kenzel Lawler

CB Faybian Marks

S Jadon Pearson

S Bleu Stewart

 

Player to Know:

#83 DL Jonah Elliss Jr.

2023 All-Pac 12 First Team Defense. 12 sacks was most on the team; three pass breakups and forced a fumble

#28 DB Sione Vaki

2023 All-Pac 12 First Team Defense. 4th on the team with 50 total tackles (37 solo); recorded two sacks, two pass breakups, and one interception. Vaki was also Utah’s 3rd leading rusher with 317 yards and two touchdowns

Bowl Game Trends:

• 2023 Las Vegas Bowl marks Utah’s 6th appearance in this bowl’s history (4-1)
• Utah’s Kyle Whittingham is 11-5 in bowl games, but has lost his L4. (10-6 ATS)
• Northwestern as an underdog this year was 6-3 ATS and 4-5 SU

Game Synopsis:

Both team’s strength falls on the defensive side of the ball. But the one key advantage appears to be Utah’s rushing attack against a beatable Northwestern defense. Utah has a duo in their backfield – Ja’Quinden Jackson and Jaylon Glover – who will handle most of the workload against a strong Northwestern front seven.

Utah was more battle tested in a difficult Pac 12 compared to a down Big Ten West. I think Utah gets the job done in the 2023 Las Vegas Bowl to snap Kyle Whittingham’s bowl game losing streak.

Bowl Mania Pick To Win: Utah

Bowl Mania Confidence: 23/43

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