Central Michigan Chippewas vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, Odds and Picks for Friday, 12/26/25

The Central Michigan Chippewas of the Mid-American Conference make the short jaunt down from Mount Pleasant to Detroit to battle the Northwestern Wildcats in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field. The Chips were hot against the number, but they ran into a defensive buzzsaw in the regular-season finale, falling 21-3 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Nov. 29. That halted a 5-0 against the spread (ATS) run dating back to Oct. 18. In CMU’s only other meeting with a Big Ten team in 2025, the Chips were hammered 63-3 at the Big House against Michigan on Sept. 13 as a 28-point underdog.

The Wildcats were tripped up 20-13 in the snow in Champaign on Nov. 29, pushing as a 7-point underdog. Northwestern limps in with four losses in the final five games, but all of those games were against bowl-bound teams. The defense did allow 24 or more points in four of those outings. If we’re looking at common opponents, the Wildcats lost just 24-22 to Michigan at home on Nov. 15. While leading RB Caleb Komolafe missed the regular-season finale in Illinois, he is expected to play. That’s a big boost, as is the fact backup RB Joseph Himon II is also ready to go. He was Komolafe’s replacement, and he hurt against the Illini. Still, double digits is a lot for the Wildcats to lay, and CMU should be able to hang around.

Central Michigan +10.5 (-110) at time of publishing. Playable to +10.