Central Michigan’s appearance in the GameAbove Sports Bowl will be its first bowl game berth since 2021.
That’s quite a triumph for CMU in its first year with Matt Drinkall as head coach. But the Chippewas had even higher hopes than a bowl game just a few weeks ago.
CMU (7-5) was near the top of the MAC standings midway through the 2025 campaign. The Chippewas started the year 2-2 in non-conference play with wins over San Jose State and Wagner and losses to Pitt and Michigan.
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And after a win over Eastern Michigan at home and a loss at Akron, CMU won four contests over a five-game stretch over Bowling Green, UMass, Buffalo, and Kent State with a loss to Western Michigan. But after losing the regular season finale to Toledo, it wasn’t enough for CMU to quite make the conference title game.
CMU still has a chance to earn a victory over a Power Four program, Northwestern, a team that’s already lost to a Group of Five program this season. So the GameAbove Sports Bowl represents an opportunity for the Chippewas to build some momentum going into 2026.
Central Michigan vs. Northwestern Betting Odds
Northwestern is a -10.5 college football betting odds favorite against Central Michigan, with the Over/Under being 43.5 as of this writing. The moneyline for Central Michigan is +320, while it’s -425 for Northwestern.
Central Michigan vs. Northwestern On TV
The matchup between Central Michigan and Northwestern will be televised on ESPN.
The game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 26. The contest is taking place at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
Central Michigan vs. Northwestern Prediction
I predict Northwestern will win the GameAbove Sports Bowl but I also predict Central Michigan will cover the 10.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Under 43.5 total points.
This is a matchup of two great defenses. Northwestern is 34th in the country in scoring defense with 20.92 points per game allowed. Led by defensive lineman Michael Heldman and linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski, two HERO Sports Group of Five All-Americans, Central Michigan is 50th in the nation with 22.67 points per game given up.
And the Chippewas limited their last six opponents to 24 or fewer points. So I think CMU has enough talent on the defensive side of the ball to make this game competitive.
But I think Northwestern will be just a little better on the offensive side of the ball. I expect the Wildcats will score just enough to win this game.
