It’s bowl season, which means we have a lot of football to watch between Dec. 13 and Jan. 19! Ohio State, Utah, Georgia Southern, Army, Texas A&M — and just about everyone in between — will take part in a total of 47 games that will ultimately conclude with the 2026 CFP National Championship.
NESN has you covered with previews for each and every game — with our next contest bringing us to the midwest:
2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl
Matchup: Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Northwestern Wildcats
Date: Friday, Dec. 26, 2025
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Stadium: Ford Field — Detroit, Mich.
TV: ESPN
Game Overview
The GameAbove Sports Bowl is just the latest tag for one of bowl season’s longest-running games — the former Motor City Bowl (1997-2009), Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (2010-2014) and Quick Lane Bowl (2014-2023).
Daniel Jones, Kenny Pickett and Diego Pavia are some notable names to win the game’s MVP.
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It’ll remain to be seen whether or not this year’s edition will carry the same weight in years to come…
Team Overviews
Central Michigan Chippewas
Conference: MAC
Head Coach: Matt Drinkall
Record: 7–5
Central Michigan is the most MACtion team to ever MACtion, as they carry one of the country’s worst offenses into this game (23.8 points scored per game) while also boasting one of the country’s most impressive defenses (22.7 points allowed per game).
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Joey Labas and Angel Flores are co-quarterbacks, with the former leading the club in passing (1,676) while the latter heads up the running game — which averaged 201.6 rushing yards per game (4.4 yards per carry; 95th of 136) with him compared to just 102.3 without him (2.7 yards per carry; 49th of 136).
The Chippewas are hoping their dual-threat option will be available after missing the final four games of the regular season.
Northwestern Wildcats
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: David Braun
Record: 6-6
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Northwestern was victim to an outrageously difficult schedule, which saw them drop games to Tulane, Oregon, USC and Michigan — two teams that appeared in the college football playoff and another pair who were ranked throughout the season.
David Braun, the club’s head coach, helped them get back into bowl contention after missing the postseason in three of the last four years.
The Wildcats are essentially what they’ve always been, horrific offensively (22.5 points scored per game; 104th of 136) and tremendous defensively (20.9 points allowed per game; 34th of 136).
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Players to Watch
Central Michigan
QB Joey Labas
QB Angel Flores
RB Nahree Biggins
WR Langston Lewis
DL Michael Heldman
LB Jordan Kwiatkowski
LB Dakota Cochran
Northwestern
QB Preston Stone
RB Caleb Komolafe
WR Griffin Wilde
DL Aidan Hubbard
LB Mac Uihlein
DB Robert Fitzgerald
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Key Notes
Central Michigan’s Matt Drinkall can become the first head coach in program history to win a bowl appearance in his first season — with Dick Flynn (1994), Butch Jones (2007) and John Bonamego (2015) all losing.
Betting Lines
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DraftKings Sportsbook: Northwestern -10.5 | O/U 43.5
FanDuel Sportsbook: Northwestern -11.5 | O/U 43.5
BetMGM Sportsbook: Northwestern -10.5 | O/U 43.5
The Pick: Under 43.5
Featured image via Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images
