Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas-Texas A&M vs Northwestern-Pick and Analysis

Northwestern’s Coach Pat Fitzgerald is still looking for his program’s first bowl win since 1949 despite leading the Wildcats to 4 bowl games. A&M’s Coach Mike Sherman lost his job following the Aggies disappointing 6-6 season and next year they’ll move to a new conference (SEC) with a new coach (Kevin Sumlin). Will they be motivated to finish out this year strong? Here’s what I expect…

QB Dan Persa looks to end his Northwestern career with the first bowl win for the Wildcats since 1949.(AP Photo/The Bloomington Herald-Times, Chris Howell)

Bowl Breakdown: This game is the ultimate tweener game for A&M. They’ve lost their head coach, the coach they have for this game Tim DeRuyter has served as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator the last two seasons, but he’ll move on as well after being named head coach at Fresno State. The Aggies already were sliding before all these changes losing 4 out of their last 5 with the only win being over lowly Kansas. A&M’s offense is one of the best in the country ranking 11 in points scored, 18th in passing yards, 20th in rushing yards, and scoring 37 or more 7 times. They can definitely put up points, but their defense has been getting shredded as well giving up almost 30 points per game. There will be plenty of points scored to be sure and QB Ryan Tannehill will lead the way for the Aggies. On the other sideline, QB Dan Persa leads a Wildcat team that’s headed the other direction having won 4 of their last 5 including an upset of of #10 Nebraska in Lincoln. They lost their season finale at home to #14 Michigan State, but look to use their balanced attack to go to Houston and beat A&M. Persa is a very good college QB who will be playing in his first bowl game after missing last year’s game due to injury. He led the FBS in completion % with 74.2% and has weapons in WR Jeremy Ebert and Demtrius Fields as well as TE Drake Dunsmore. The Aggies pass defense is ranked 113th (280.5 yards per game) and will have a hard time stopping Persa. I’m not sure about the Aggies’ motivation, and with the inability of A&M to stop the pass, I feel good about taking Northwestern to go into Texas and get the bowl win from an A&M team whose future with Sumlin looks bright but will most likely struggle in this one.

Plenty of NFL Prospects in this one, especially on offense…

Pro Prospects:Dan Persa-NW-QB: Persa is a little small for the NFL most scouts would say but his accuracy is his biggest asset. He may go at the end of the draft or find a home as a free agent…Ryan Tannehill-A&M-QB:Tannehill is a converted WR who has the size and arm strength to be a ver good NFL QB. He’s still a little raw, but could be taken as early as the late first round by a team that can afford to develop him into a QB of the future….Cyrus Gray-A&M-RB: Gray should go in the 2nd round due to his versatility in the passing game both to block and receive. He’s a solid runner who breaks tackles but doesn’t have elite speed. Could possibly sneak into the end of round 1 if he has a good combine…Jeff Fuller-A&M-WR: Fuller is a 6’4″ physical specimen of a receiver, but struggled badly this year with dropped passes and dumb mistakes. He was headed for a first round pick but now appears to have fallen to round 3 or 4. If he can turn things around, he’ll be a steal there, but that’s a big if…Randy Bullock-A&M-K: Bullock is definitely one of the best kickers in NCAA football. He’s got huge range and is accurate as well. Expect him to go off the board in the 5th round or so as the first kicker chosen.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of our ongoing series for our Bowl Mania. You can find the same type of analysis for the Music City, Pinstripe, Armed Forces, Alamo, Champs Sports, Holiday, Military, Little Caesars, and the Belk Bowls. Or check out the  Independence, Poinsettia, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, New Orleans, MAACO Las Vegas, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Idaho Potato Bowls to see how accurate our breakdown was.