Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5, 3-5 Big Twelve) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten)
TicketCity Bowl
January 1 - 12:00 pm - ESPNU
Dallas, TX
$1,200,000 payout per team
The Big Ten sits at an impressive 2-0 so far in the 2010-2011 bowl season, but Northwestern will be tested by an up-and-down Texas Tech team. It doesn't help the Wildcats' fortune that the game is being played in Texas, but Pat Fitzgerald knows how to get his team ready for a bowl game. Last year, Northwestern took Auburn to the wire before falling to the Tigers. Northwestern is looking to pull out the big win this year.
These two schools have never met on the field, so the game will have a feeling out process before either team settles in to play. Unfortunately, Northwester will be without star QB Dan Persa, who is out for a few more weeks with injuries. At the end of the regular season, Persa's absence was instrumental in Northwestern losses, while Texas Tech is riding late season momentum into the TicketCity Bowl.
This is the first ever playing of the TicketCity bowl, being hosted by Jerry Jones and the theme park-like Texas Stadium.
- SBN Pittsburgh analysis by Jeff Junstrom
SBN PITTSBURGH BOLD PREDICTION: Northwestern 23, Texas Tech 21
Texas Tech has dealt with plenty of injuries this year, but nothing like what Northwestern suffered late in the season. The Wildcats will take on the Red Raiders without quarterback Dan Persa, who tore his Achilles on the game-winning play against Iowa. NU was blown out in its final two games without Persa, but Tech won three of its final four games, including a win over then-No. 12 Missouri. -- David Ubben