The Northwestern Wildcats and Utah Utes both came up short in their respective conference title games. And while we are not sure whether playing in the Holiday Bowl provides all that much consolation, both teams will try to deal with some injury woes and put their best foot forward when they take the field at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego at 7 PM ET on ESPN. Remember that BetAnySports can place wagers while they are watching the game, as they utilize the state-of-the-art software from Live Betting Ultra.

Northwestern made it to the Big 12 championship game, where it was beaten 45-24 by Ohio State. Utah was in the Pac-12 title game and lost 10-3 to Washington. So they both played for a spot in the Rose Bowl, and both missed.

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, a former NFL player, is often mentioned as a candidate for various NFL job openings, although he has always preferred to stay at his alma mater. But he is being mentioned more prominently than usual as an option for the Green Bay Packers' job because of his close ties to officials within the front office.

In the Holiday Bowl betting odds posted o this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the Utes are the solid favorites:

Utah Utes -7 (+100)
Northwestern Wildcats +7 (-120)

Over 43.5 points -110
Under 43.5 points -110

The one thing you notice very clearly about Northwestern is that their offensive numbers are not impressive at all. They are 105th in Total Offense, 117th in Rushing Offense,for example. Yet they are 8-5 (6-6-1 ATS) and Clayton Thorson is considered a quarterback with an NFL future, albeit as a likely backup. With 15 touchdowns and 14 INT's, he doesn't "wow" anyone. But the skills are there. They went through a bit of a hard time at running back, where Jeremy Larkin had to, in effect, retire, but Isaiah Bowser, a freshman, averaged 113 yards picking up the slack left by Larkin's absence. And we may not be sure until game time as to the status of top receiver Flynn Nagel, who has a leg injury but did indeed see a little time against Ohio State in the Big 12 title game.

On the Utah side, the injury situation is probably more damaging. Quarterback Tyler Huntley broken his collarbone a couple of months ago, and although he has been practicing the last few weeks, head coach Kyle Whittingham has just said that for him to play on New Year's Eve would require a "miracle" and that it is “by all definitions, a game-time decision.” And while we don't doubt that miracles can happen, we would still expect 5-11 Jason Shelley (57.7% completions) to get the start. Leading rusher Zack Moss (1092 yards, 6.1 per carry) is out for sure, and remember that Huntley is also the team's third leading rusher. Britain Covey, who has twice as many catches (60) as anybody else, is sitting out this game with an injury as well, so if Utah (9-4 SU, 7-6 ATS) had a "Big Three," it's down to a "big nothing."

But maybe none of those injuries is as significant as the one no one really knows about. The Utes ranked fourth in the nation in Rushing Defense this season, and ninth in the category of Tackles For Loss. The guy who spearheads that effort is All-America linebacker Chase Hansen, who led the nation with 22 TFL's. But Whittingham says that he has "minimal chance" of playing here, leading to some speculation that Hansen would add to the trend of players bowing out to prepare for the NFL Draft.

Let's point out some numbers that need to be mentioned. Whittingham has a 10-1 straight-up record (8-3 ATS) in bowl games at Utah. So that has to be respected. What also has to be respected is the way the Wildcats hung tough against stout opposition like Notre Dame and Michigan, even in defeat. They are on a tremendous run of 19-7-1 ATS as a dog, and that's important here. Northwestern doesn't beat itself in silly ways; they are the least penalized team in the nation, and they have lost just THREE fumbles all season long. So even though special teams may favor Utah (particularly with kicker Matt Gay), they are shy in other key areas because of the injuries, enough for Northwestern top keep this tight and perhaps make for a good money line play.

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