The Colorado Buffaloes and the Northwestern Wildcats meet Saturday in college football action from Ryan Field in Evanston. Here’s a Northwestern vs Colorado prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Northwestern vs Colorado pick.
Colorado Buffaloes Betting Preview
The Buffaloes took on Georgia Tech in their opener this year, and it was a tight finish. Colorado was down 10-7 going into the final quarter, then managed to find the end zone for a 14-13 thriller win. QB Julian Lewis was 14-of-27 for 124 yards and a score. Damian Henderson had 11 carries for 62 yards, and Micah Welch rushed 15 times for 58 yards and a touchdown of his own.
In game two versus Weber State, the Buffaloes scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters, entering the break with a dominant 42-14 lead. Colorado hit cruise control from there and scored 10 more points during a 52-21 blowout win. Lewis notched a 17-of-23 line for 366 yards and four scores while Welch added 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 totes.
Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Northwestern side, they’re coming off a reasonable 2025 season. The Wildcats managed to go 7-6 overall with a 4-5 run in a very tough Big Ten. That effort would put Northwestern near the middle of the pack in the conference standings, but they earned a berth in the GameAbove Sports Bowl versus Central Michigan (The Wildcats won that game 34-7).
Northwestern has just one game in the bag so far; a matchup with South Dakota State on September 5. The Wildcats scored in every quarter (while giving up points in three of them) on the way to a 34-18 victory. QB Aidan Chiles was 14-of-24 for 273 yards and a score while Joseph Himon rushed four times for 87 yards and a touchdown in the winning effort.
Colorado Buffaloes @ Northwestern Wildcats Betting Trends: Week 3
Northwestern Wildcats Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 3, Griffin Wilde ranks 1st amongst qualified players for Yards Per Reception (34.7) this season.
Colorado Buffaloes Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 3, Quentin Gibson ranks T1st amongst qualified players for catch rate (100.0%) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- Northwestern ranks T1st among FBS teams for Q1 opponent points per game this season (0.0).
- Northwestern ranks 138th among FBS teams for 1st downs this season (19).
- Colorado ranks T1st among FBS teams for Q3 opponent points per game this season (0.0).
- One of Colorado’s two games this season have been decided by a margin of three points or less – equal-most amongst FBS teams.
Northwestern vs Colorado Prediction
I’m going to take a stab on Northwestern here but in reality I’m probably not going near it. The Wildcats didn’t really get it going until the fourth quarter in their win over South Dakota State, but the result was nice. Northwestern notched 497 total yards (224 rushing) with 9.0 yards per play in that one but also had nine overall penalties for 61 yards. The Wildcats defense gave up 432 yards (285 passing) on the other side with 27 first downs and 34:08 in time of possession for the Jackrabbits. There are plenty of things to clean up, but Northwestern has had an open week to do it.
As for Colorado, they rolled right over Weber State last weekend to the tune of 578 yards (398 passing), 7.9 yards per play and 24 first downs. It wasn’t perfect though, as the Buffaloes had two lost fumbles and 13 penalties for 107 yards. If both teams play to their capabilities, this should be a fun matchup.