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The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Northwestern Wildcats are going to square off on the Gator Bowl odds and betting lines. Join us here at Cappers Info, as we make our Gator Bowl picks & predictions for football for what should be a great game on Tuesday.

Gator Bowl Picks: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Northwestern Wildcats
Date: Tuesday, January 1st, 12:00 ET
Location: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Gator Bowl Betting Odds: Northwestern -1.5
Mississippi State vs. Northwestern Live TV: ESPN2

The 2013 calendar year kicks off in Jacksonville with the Gator Bowl, which should be a heck of a game to take in. The Bulldogs are coming out of the SEC with eight wins to their credit, and when you look back at their four losses, you have to still remain impressed. There aren’t many teams that beat Alabama, LSU, or Texas A&M, and the slip in the Egg Bowl really wasn’t all that notable, knowing that the game meant a heck of a lot more to the Ole Miss Rebels than it did to MSU. The Bulldogs are led by QB Tyler Russell, who very quietly had a great year, throwing the ball for 2,791 yards and 22 TDs. RB LaDarius Perkins and WR Chad Bumphis do a little bit of everything, as they were stars offensively for the team and also were featured on special teams as returners. Both men had over 900 yards from scrimmage this year, and Perkins needs 59 yards in this game to become a 1,000-yard back.

Northwestern just continued to cover spreads left and right this year, and the argument could be made that it exceeded its own expectations this year by more than any other team in the Big Ten. You don’t think of this as a team that averaged over 31 points per game, nor do you think of it as a team that averaged allowing less than 23 points per game, but that was the end result. The rushing attack was out of this world this year and ended up ranking No. 15 in the land at 230.9 yards per game. RB Venric Mark was outstanding, rushing for 1,310 yards and 11 TDs, while QB Kain Kolter ran some of the offense and ended with 820 rushing yards, 796 passing yards, and a total of 20 touchdowns. Watch out for Kolter to play some wide out as well, as he caught 16 passes in the rare instances that he was used as a receiver as well. This is definitely a team that has some talent on it, and QB Trevor Siemian is good enough to work the ball up the field if he is given the chance to do so.

Normally speaking, it’s awfully bad news to fade a team that went 11-1 ATS on the season. However, normally speaking, it’s awfully bad news to fade a team from the SEC against a team from the Big Ten. The Big Ten has just been atrocious in these situations in the past, especially in the bowl games played here in the Sunshine State, and knowing that we can get a very solid Mississippi State team with a point and a half on our side to start, we just can’t pass on the chance.

Mississippi State vs. Northwestern Pick: Mississippi State Bulldogs +1.5
Gator Bowl Score Prediction: Mississippi State 27 – Northwestern 24