Big Ten Bowl Preview: 2018 Holiday Bowl Northwestern vs Utah

Two stout defenses and underrated quarterbacks collide when Northwestern (8-5 overall) takes on Utah (9-4) at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the Holiday Bowl.

Some programs just don’t receive the respect they’re due, and the Northwestern and Utah football teams definitely fall under that umbrella. They don’t win with flash or style. They win with defense, solid but not high-scoring offenses and great coaching, and they do that on a consistent basis. This year’s Holiday Bowl matchup will feature all of these things once again when the two meet tomorrow night.

Starting off with the Wildcats, they put together a late bounce back season after 1-3 start to the year. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who is one of the best in the business, kept his composed along with senior, four-year starting QB Clayton Thorson. They rallied the team back to a 7-1 finish and a Big Ten West Title before losing to Ohio State in the Big Ten Title Game.

The defense led the way, holding opponents on average to just 23.5 points per game. Sophomore linebackers Blake Gallagher and Paddy Fisher are one of the most productive LB duos in the nation. Both players have 100-plus tackles with Gallagher leading the Big Ten in stops with 120.

Between those two and an opportunistic defense that’s forced 20 turnovers keyed by safety J.R. Pace (3 interceptions) on the back-end, this defense will be tasked with stopping quarterback Tyler Huntley or Jason Shelley and a tough running game.

The Utes also won a Pac-12 division title under head coach Kyle Whittingham but lost in the conference title game to Washington. They use a run-heavy approach that pounds defenses for an average of 40.8 rushing attempts per game for nearly 190 yards per game and takes care of the ball through the air. Although Huntley has missed time with a broken collarbone, he has a chance to be back for the bowl game but the starter has not been decided on according to Deseret News.

His backup Shelley is a similar scrambler albeit a little shorter, so whichever one goes will be a dynamic passer. The two QBs have combined for 2,622 yards, 15 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and 407 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Linebackers Gallagher and Fisher are the ones that will try to stop him from getting out of contain and rushing for first downs or buying time to throw downfield.

Utah is without two-year leading rusher Zack Moss who is out for the season with an injury, but his backup Armand Shyne has filled in capably (479 yards, 5 TDs on year)

On the flip side, Utah’s defense is very similar with productive, strong LBs in Chase Hansen ( and Cody Barton. The Utes only allow 18.5 points per game and that’s because it’s littered with studs, including a secondary that’s forced 14 interceptions.

Thorson has one final game to close out what is the greatest QB career in Northwestern history. He’s thrown for 10,490 yards, 59 touchdowns, rushing for 27 more TDs on the ground all while compiling a record of 35-17. The run game hasn’t been what it usually is for the Wildcats, but leading rusher Isaiah Bowser and Jeremy Larkin have combined for more than 1,000 yards and 11 TDs. They should take the pressure off Thorson.

A win for Northwestern would be huge for the Big Ten especially with another Big Ten-Pac-12 matchup earlier in the day between Michigan State and Oregon.