College Football Playoff Ranking Projections: Top 25 for Week 12
By Zach Bigalke
No. 25 Northwestern took a 14-0 lead at home on Saturday night against Purdue. Then Pat Fitzgerald‘s team held on as their offense sputtered and the Boilermakers tried to mount an unsuccessful comeback. The Wildcats earned their seventh win of the season in a 23-13 takedown of Purdue.
The defense struggled against the pass as Elijah Sindelar threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns for the Boilermakers. But the secondary picked off Sindelar in the fourth quarter, and it was enough to preserve the win. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was enough to keep Northwestern in the College Football Playoff Top 25 for another week.
All that stands between Northwestern and nine wins are Minnesota and Illinois. The Wildcats will be favored in both games. Northwestern lost its chance to win the Big Ten West when Wisconsin stayed undefeated in Week 11. But they will move up in the rankings a few spots this week into the low 20s, and a New Year’s Six berth is still on the table.