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CBS Sports B1G Predictions

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katatonic2

Sophomore
Dec 1, 2025
189
131
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This Crawford guy seems to know even less about the Cats than he does the conference...

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Northwestern​

Projected record: 4-8, 1-8
Wins: South Dakota, Colorado, Ball State, Rutgers
Losses: at Indiana, Penn State, at Michigan State, at Oregon, Iowa, at Minnesota, at Ohio State, Illinois


The offseason addition of Chip Kelly as their new offensive coordinator was an intriguing get for the Wildcats, but he's not going to have talent overflow like he's had at many of his coaching stops since winning big at Oregon. Northwestern still faces a significant talent gap against much of the Big Ten and lacks the depth necessary to reach for a high-end finish. Even if the offense improves, questions linger about the defense against the conference's more physical teams.


www.cbssports.com

2026 Big Ten predictions: Game-by-game picks, projecting every team's final win-loss record

An early-summer projection for all 18 teams in the Big Ten and where they'll end up in the postseason
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com


Barring significant injuries, Cats should win against Illinois and MSU with Minny being a toss up and potentially an upset against Iowa or PSU.

Aside from the top teams/offenses, the D is good enough to keep the Cats in games against the rest of the conference.
 
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jne381

jne381

Freshman
Sep 2, 2013
534
57
23
I feel like the CBS analysis is lazy, and is basically what they believe about Northwestern, and not what Northwestern has been over the last few years. Unless I am missing something, it has been the NU defense that has kept them competitive the last few years when the offense has been less than great in long stretches.
 
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H

hdhntr1

All-Conference
Sep 5, 2006
38,041
1,361
113
katatonic2 said:
This Crawford guy seems to know even less about the Cats than he does the conference...

​

Northwestern​

Projected record: 4-8, 1-8
Wins: South Dakota, Colorado, Ball State, Rutgers
Losses: at Indiana, Penn State, at Michigan State, at Oregon, Iowa, at Minnesota, at Ohio State, Illinois


The offseason addition of Chip Kelly as their new offensive coordinator was an intriguing get for the Wildcats, but he's not going to have talent overflow like he's had at many of his coaching stops since winning big at Oregon. Northwestern still faces a significant talent gap against much of the Big Ten and lacks the depth necessary to reach for a high-end finish. Even if the offense improves, questions linger about the defense against the conference's more physical teams.


www.cbssports.com

2026 Big Ten predictions: Game-by-game picks, projecting every team's final win-loss record

An early-summer projection for all 18 teams in the Big Ten and where they'll end up in the postseason
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com


Barring significant injuries, Cats should win against Illinois and MSU with Minny being a toss up and potentially an upset against Iowa or PSU.

Aside from the top teams/offenses, the D is good enough to keep the Cats in games against the rest of the conference.
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Until we see something different on the field it is hard to condemn his position. If you look at the Rivals projections, his view lines up pretty close. Of course we hope for more but don't get too distracted with those purple glasses
 
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Hungry Jack

All-Conference
Nov 17, 2008
38,443
4,842
67
The guy writes that Illinois is due to regress (agree as they lost several good players to the League), then pegs them for the same conference record (5-4) as last year.

Iowa has averaged 9 wins per season since 2015 (prorating the COVID season when they were 6-2), but they lose Gronowski.
 
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hdhntr1

All-Conference
Sep 5, 2006
38,041
1,361
113
Hungry Jack said:
The guy writes that Illinois is due to regress (agree as they lost several good players to the League), then pegs them for the same conference record (5-4) as last year.

Iowa has averaged 9 wins per season since 2015 (prorating the COVID season when they were 6-2), but they lose Gronowski.
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Everyone has to replace players including QBs. Iowa has done it pretty successfully over the years because they don't rely on the QB as much as many teams, They play at a pretty consistent level IL may have lost a lot but they brought in a lot as well. Heck we are replacing a QB (we hope it is an upgrade)

At his point his projections make some sense, Hopefully some of them will be proven in accurate once the season starts
 
J

Jaguar 88

Freshman
Oct 1, 2021
1,103
75
48
I have only read one preseason magazine thus far and they placed us ending the season at 14th place. We definitely won't win the conference, but I would hope we would make a bowl. I was hoping the Chip Kelly hire would have given us a bit of a boost in terms of landing 4 star recruits. Let's hope these 3 stars really pan out!!!!
 
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prez77

Junior
Dec 27, 2024
698
311
57
Jaguar 88 said:
I have only read one preseason magazine thus far and they placed us ending the season at 14th place. We definitely won't win the conference, but I would hope we would make a bowl. I was hoping the Chip Kelly hire would have given us a bit of a boost in terms of landing 4 star recruits. Let's hope these 3 stars really pan out!!!!
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As Casey Stengel once said, “Joe is a terrific 22 year old rookie and next year he has a great chance to be 23."
 
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phatcat_rivals223240

All-Conference
Nov 5, 2001
18,973
1,128
113
hdhntr1 said:
Everyone has to replace players including QBs. Iowa has done it pretty successfully over the years because they don't rely on the QB as much as many teams, They play at a pretty consistent level IL may have lost a lot but they brought in a lot as well. Heck we are replacing a QB (we hope it is an upgrade)

At his point his projections make some sense, Hopefully some of them will be proven in accurate once the season starts
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In a way, I cannot blame prognosticators. We have a long history of bad seasons following good seasons. With few exceptions, (96 and 2018 come to mind. Maybe 2009 too) we generally disappoint following a successful year. Not that 2025 was great, but I can understand the skepticism. See 1997 2001 06, 11, 13, 19, 21, 24.
 
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Catmandoo78

Sophomore
Nov 12, 2025
355
192
43
Jaguar 88 said:
I have only read one preseason magazine thus far and they placed us ending the season at 14th place. We definitely won't win the conference, but I would hope we would make a bowl. I was hoping the Chip Kelly hire would have given us a bit of a boost in terms of landing 4 star recruits. Let's hope these 3 stars really pan out!!!!
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With the portal and NIL, there’s no excuse for P4 schools to miss a bowl. The G5 just can’t compete anymore at scale.
 
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phatcat_rivals223240

All-Conference
Nov 5, 2001
18,973
1,128
113
Catmandoo78 said:
Which all but 6 big ten teams managed to do last year. Of the 6 who didn’t, 1 was a new coach, 2 fired their coach, and 2 of them will absolutely be firing their coaches this season.
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Yeah I am not saying NU shouldn't win 6+, but if you look at betting odds (o/u and individual games), we are not expected to win 6. Not an excuse, just an observation
 
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Jaguar 88

Freshman
Oct 1, 2021
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phatcat_rivals223240 said:
Yeah I am not saying NU shouldn't win 6+, but if you look at betting odds (o/u and individual games), we are not expected to win 6. Not an excuse, just an observation
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The magazine I read was Athlon's and the write up was rather bland and for me a bit depressing. Like I said in my previous post, I was hoping for us to get one ot two 4 star recruits from the Kelly hire. I think the Braun era is going to be a short one to be honest. NU needs to somehow get the hottest OC out there to want to make a name for himself and turn NU around.
 
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