Northwestern Projected to Make College Football Playoff in Early Prediction

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Northwestern is starting to receive some serious national attention.

After a dominant 34-13 victory over Penn State in the first game at New Ryan Field, the Wildcats have now appeared in an early College Football Playoff projection.

Andy Staples projects Northwestern as the No. 10 seed in the College Football Playoff, putting the Wildcats among the teams he currently believes could make the 12-team field.

Yes, it is extremely early.

But after what Northwestern has shown through four games, the idea may not be as crazy as it would have sounded before the season.

Northwestern is 3-1, with its only loss coming in a 29-23 battle on the road against No. 5 Indiana. The Wildcats trailed 12-0 at halftime before outscoring the defending national champions 23-17 in the second half and nearly completing the upset. 

At the time, it was an encouraging performance in a loss. Friday night against Penn State made it look even better.

Northwestern controlled the Nittany Lions from the start, rushing for 413 yards in a 34-13 victory. Caleb Komolafe rushed for 188 yards and a touchdown, while Joseph Himon II added 162 yards and two scores. The defense was just as impressive, holding Penn State to only 48 rushing yards. 

That performance has Staples reconsidering just how good this Northwestern team might be.

Staples pointed to Northwestern’s dominant win over Penn State as a reason to reevaluate the close loss at Indiana. He also highlighted the Wildcats’ 41-7 win over Colorado and how Chip Kelly’s offense has been able to attack defenses in different ways from week to week.

That might be the most encouraging part of Northwestern’s start. There has not been one formula for success.

Aidan Chiles and the passing game have taken over at times. Against Penn State, it was Komolafe, Himon and the rushing attack. Defensively, Northwestern has continued to create turnovers, generate pressure and make life difficult for opposing offenses.

The Wildcats have shown they can win games in different ways.

And while talking about the College Football Playoff after only four games is obviously premature, Northwestern has at least earned the right to be included in the conversation.

There is still a very difficult road ahead.

Staples believes Northwestern will probably need to beat either Oregon or Ohio State to have a realistic chance of reaching the CFP. Those would be massive challenges, but after Northwestern pushed Indiana to the final minutes and then dominated Penn State, those matchups suddenly do not look quite as impossible.

That is how quickly things have changed.

Northwestern entered the season with plenty of questions surrounding how quickly Kelly’s offense would come together and whether the Wildcats could compete with the best teams on their Big Ten schedule.

Four games later, they are appearing in College Football Playoff projections.

There is still a lot of football left to play, and Northwestern has plenty left to prove. One bad week could completely change the conversation.

But right now, it is fair to say the Wildcats look like one of the more dangerous teams in the Big Ten.

If Northwestern continues taking care of business and can pull off another major upset or two, seeing the Wildcats included in more CFP projections throughout the season would not be surprising.

For now, being projected as the No. 10 seed is another sign that people around college football are beginning to take Northwestern seriously.

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