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After three straight losses, all to opponents ranked in the top 10 of the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, Rutgers is now favored this weekend to get a win. The brutal stretch of three ranked opponents in as many weeks is now over.
ESPN FPI updated their projections on Sunday with Rutgers (3-3; 0-3 Big Ten) now a favorite this Saturday at Northwestern.
The Scarlet Knights are now projected at 54.1 percent to win over Northwestern this weekend. The Wildcats are currently 2-3 on the season.
Winning on Saturday would be huge for Rutgers, who due to their strong start to the season still maintain legitimate bowl aspirations. Getting a win at Northwestern this weekend is almost a necessity if the Scarlet Knights are going to make a bowl game.
A season ago, Northwestern had a bit of a Cinderella year, going 7-2 (6-1 Big Ten) and losing to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. They finished the season ranked tenth in the nation after beating Auburn 35-19 in the Citrus Bowl.
It has been a difficult season for Northwestern, who are coming off a bye week while Rutgers is pretty banged up.
Rutgers has gone through a tough stretch of games, arguably the most difficult stretch of games in the nation over the past few weeks.
Three weeks ago, they lost 20-13 at now No. 7 Michigan, before having their worst performance of the season the next week when now No. 6 Ohio State won 52-13 at SHI Stadium. This past Saturday, Rutgers lost to a Michigan State program currently ranked ninth in the nation in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.
Northwestern opened the season with a 38-21 home loss to Michigan State (6-0) and has losses to Duke (3-3) and a 56-7 loss at Nebraska (3-4) in early October.