The Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl will be the first bowl game of the 2013 year. The game will see the Big Ten and SEC square off as the Northwestern Wildcats take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the game has a start time of 12:00 p.m. and it will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Currently the odds for the game have the Northwestern favored by two points.

In the New Year, the first college football game to kick off will be the Gator Bowl, which will see a pretty solid matchup between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Both teams finished the regular season as middle-of-the-road teams in their respective conferences and both teams sports hot coaching candidates for other schools.

Northwestern is a solid team stemming from the Big Ten. They were in and out of the Top 25 overall this season and won nine games overall, which is pretty solid. The Wildcats had wins over Vanderbilt and Michigan State, both of whom were bowl teams this season. They also beat bowl teams in Syracuse and Minnesota.

The Bulldogs of Mississippi State won eight games this year in the SEC. They opened up as favorites in this game but have ended up being an underdog. Don't underestimate them, how ever.

This will be the first time these two teams have played, and it just so happens to be in a bowl game. Pretty cool.

During the past few seasons, Northwestern has come alive and really put themselves on the college football map. They've done a good job of playing away from home as well. Northwestern has gone 17-6 against the point spread away from home since 2008. Overall this season they went 10-1 overall against the number.

Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter is a pretty solid threat to throw and run out of the backfield. Look for him to try and pick up key yardage via the ground in this game. He does lead the team in rushing TDs. But don't sleep on Vernic Mark, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards this season.

Tyler Russell is coming off an ankle injury for Mississippi State but is expected to be at full strength for this one. Look for LaDarius Perkins, a second-team all-SEC selection, to get a lot of carries in this game as the SEC team looks to pound the rock against a perceived weak Big Ten team. Perkins totaled 940 yards on the ground with eight TDs this year.

Johnny Football ripped up Mississippi State back in SEC play. We're not saying that Colter is as good as JF, but he has the same style of offense. Look for him to take advantage of the Bulldogs defense in this one. We also like the Wildcat defense in this one. Northwestern is a lot better than people think.

Free Pick: Northwestern 30, Mississippi State 27

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