Northwestern Gets Playoff Talk From Big Ten Network Analyst Ahead of Oregon Trip

Northwestern has gone from a pleasant surprise to a team people discuss alongside the College Football Playoff. On Wednesday, Big Ten Network analyst Anthony Herron, a former Iowa linebacker, told host Dave Revsine that the 6-1 Wildcats could contend for both a Big Ten title game spot and a Playoff berth, Roundtable Sports reported.

Herron pointed to a defense he expects to keep getting better. He also called quarterback Aidan Chiles a possible All-Big Ten pick and asked whether Chiles belongs in the Heisman Trophy discussion. Herron said the ceiling depends on how much the team improves over November, and added: "I really think that potential is there for huge goals."

The record backs up the optimism. Northwestern's only loss came 29-23 at No. 5 Indiana. Since then the Wildcats have beaten Penn State 34-13, Ball State 45-14, Michigan State 24-21 on the road and Rutgers 42-14 last weekend. Over seven games they have scored 243 points and allowed 116, an average of about 34.7 points scored and 16.6 allowed. Coach David Braun's team has five games left, which leaves time to build a résumé but not much room for a second loss. Full season details are on our Northwestern team page.

What it means for Saturday at Oregon

The next test is the toughest road trip left on the schedule. Northwestern plays at Oregon on Saturday, October 31, on Peacock. The Ducks are 4-3, according to Doc's Sports, and their season has unraveled. Roundtable Sports reported that quarterback Dante Moore is out for the season after a concussion against USC. Wide receivers are also hurt. After last week's loss to Illinois, Oregon fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer and gave the job to Jay Johnson. Autzen Stadium still matters, though. Oregon's only home loss this season was 17-15 to UCLA, and crowd noise is the obvious hurdle for a Northwestern team that has been steady on the road but has only been out of Evanston three times.

Most venues still have Oregon favored, but not by much. On this site's board for the game, which tracks 11 venues, Novig lists Oregon at -163 on the moneyline. FanDuel has the best Oregon price at -160. Northwestern sits at +156 on Novig. The spread is Oregon -3.5 on Novig, with Northwestern +3.5 at even money there. BetRivers offers Northwestern +4 at -122, the only venue off the 3.5 number. Novig has the total at 47.5 and Pinnacle has it at 47. The venues are close together on this game: half a point at most on the spread and the total, and only a few cents on the moneyline. Sportsbook hold runs from about 3% to 7% depending on the market.

Those numbers reflect what Herron described. Oregon is short-handed and changing coordinators, and Northwestern is now priced close to a coin flip on the road. A win in Eugene would make the Playoff talk much harder to dismiss. A loss would leave the Wildcats needing to win out in November to keep that conversation going.