The WNUR Sports staff provides their predictions for Saturday’s football contest between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Maine Black Bears.

Jim Sannes (@JimSannes): Northwestern, 90-3. Jeff Budzien will kick 30 field goals, the Groza committee will give him the award on the field and rename it the Budzien Award. Trevor Siemian becomes the first player in college football history to pass for 500+ yards with no touchdowns. Players to Watch: Pat Hickey and Brandon Williams.

Christian Flores (@Mr_C_G_Flores): NU – 45 Maine – 13. Another big win that still makes all ‘Cats fans a little nervous. Player to watch – Matthew Harris.

Joe Misulonas (@jmisulones): NU 52-10. It’s Maine. We’re going to win. Player to Watch: Tim Hanrahan. He gets a handful of carries and a TD in the second half.

Josh Walfish (@JoshWalfish): Northwestern 38 Maine 10. This game will be a big test for Northwestern in defending a dual-threat quarterback. Wasilewski leads the team in rushing and is ninth all-time in passing yards at Maine, 270 yards behind the person in eighth. The Wildcats need to play a full 60 minutes or risk giving fans a lot of anxiety before Ohio State comes to town. Player to Watch: Maine QB Marcus Wasilewski.

Zach Kisfalusi (@zKisfalusi): Northwestern takes out frustration after an underwhelming performance last week. Maine scores several times on the struggling NU secondary thanks to a solid passing attack. Look for NU to play deep into their bench as the Cats roll 51-14. Player to watch is Marcus Wasilewski.

Cameron Songer (@CameronSonger): Northwestern wins, 38-14. Much like last week, I think Northwestern will be pretty much focused on Ohio State, but instead of falling behind early, the ‘Cats will jump out on top but never really pull away to bury the Black Bears. Of course, this one could be ugly from the beginning, with Northwestern boasting a pretty clear advantage at just about every position. The one exception might be Northwestern’s O-line against Maine’s solid front seven. Player to watch: Maine linebacker Cabrinni Goncalves. The sophomore leads Maine with 26 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, as well as 2 pass breakups.

Tralon Williams (@itsyaboytray): Northwestern – 49, Maine – 14. So maybe hoping for NU to be ruthless throughout was too much to hope for. Not expecting anything flashy, just execution of the base offense with a large amount of missed tackles from Maine. The defense can inspire some confidence with a shut down performance (excluding garbage time). Player to watch: Dwight White. Time to make us all believers. Show out young man. Show out.

Jeffrey Eisenband (@JeffEisenband): 41-13 Northwestern. For once, Northwestern does not play to the level of their opponent and buries an opponent. Kain Colter, Treyvon Green and Mike Trumpy all rush for first half touchdowns. The ‘Cats are playing with a chip on their shoulder after dropping in the rankings despite the win over Western Michigan. Player to Watch: Venric Mark.

Tara McManus (@taramcmanus): Northwestern 35, Maine 10 – both teams are off to a 3-0 start, but the Black Bears haven’t seen a team as competitive as northwestern yet this season. With the Black Bears averaging 27 points a game, they will have a hard time out scoring the dynamic Colter-Siemian duo. Player to watch: Treyvon Green.

Enrique Perez (@EPerez1792): Northwestern, 42-17: NU will have to take advantage of how turnover prone Maine has been and put the game away quickly. Maine has gotten off to relatively slow starts in each of their games, but can work their way back into a game thanks to their quarterback Marcus Wasilewski. He has proven the ability to run the ball as well as pass, so it will be up to NU’s defense to stop any momentum. Player to Watch: Chi Chi Ariguzo.

Ben Goren: Another no contest for the ‘Cats, as they will have two eyes looking toward Ohio State. Too bad it won’t matter. Northwestern wins 41-6, Stephen Buckley gets 50 yards rushing and a score.

Nick Scoliard: Northwestern 52 Maine 12 Unlike the last game this will be a full 4 quarters of domination. Expect the 3rd stringers in 2nd half. Player to Watch: Maine kicker Sam Lenson- he’s a good friend of mine from home. I don’t even know if he starts but making fun of him Saturday night will be great and I can’t think of anyone else that will be worthy enough to watch on Maine.

Kevin Harris (@KevinGoesCats): 52-17 Northwestern. It’s hard to get excited for this one but the Wildcats actually have a lot to prove in this game before a bye week and then the big Ohio State game. While Treyvon Green will get another heavy workload, NU fans also want to see Colter test his arm a little more. After a slow start last week the No. 18 ‘Cats need to prove they can dominate an opponent – especially an FCS school. Player to watch: Ibraheim Campbell – odds are he’ll have yet another pick.

Jason Dorow (@jasondorow): Northwestern, 48-17. After some early issues in last week’s first half against Western Michigan, Coach Fitzgerald will have the wildcats prepped and ready to score from the get go. NU will build a significant lead early and show no signs of turning back. Back-ups should see some solid playing time in second half. Player to watch: Treyvon Green. The junior running back will have a huge day on the ground as he tries to cement his role in the offense before Venric Mark’s return.

Preston Michelson (@PrestonMich): Watch for the ‘Cats to get riled up after their meek start to the Western Michigan game. Colter and Siemian will have fire in their eyes and will burn the Black Bears down to the ground. Northwestern will be clicking on all cylinders, and will cruise to victory like a well-oiled machine. Black Bears are used to seeing green in the forest, but the only Green they’ll be seeing is Treyvon. He’s the player to watch, as he will tear it up once again. Prediction: Northwestern 45 – Maine 10

Jesse Kirsch (@JesseRKirsch): Northwestern, 48-3. The Broncos scored far more than was anticipated last weekend. On Saturday, the Wildcats know a blowout is urgent as their AP Poll ranking will otherwise continue to suffer. Keep an eye out for Venric Mark to possibly run a few plays in preparation for his expected return when The Ohio State visits Evanston.

Bob Hayes (@_BobHayes_): Northwestern wins 41-13. This should be another easy one for the Wildcats in the big lead-up to the October 5th matchup against the Buckeyes. It’s hard to expect Northwestern to come out to a start as slow as last week’s; expect this Saturday to look more like the Syracuse game, when the Wildcats dominated from the opening kickoff. Player to Watch: Mike Trumpy. The senior running back received 26 snaps last week against Western Michigan, but only received 8 rushing attempts. This week we will see how much of the workload he gets as compared to Treyvon Green, and we can predict how the running back duo will split carries once Venric Mark comes back– a question many have been asking.