Last season was an ‘almost’ year for Northwestern. After eight games last season, the Wildcats sat at 5-3, 2-2 in the Big Ten, well within the bowl picture.
Northwestern did get a sixth win against Indiana to become bowl-eligible, but thanks to three losses in their final four games, a 6-6 record wasn’t enough to see the Wildcats return to the postseason after missing out in 2006.
But, with 17 starters returning and a lot of points on the horizon, Pat Fitzgerald’s third season at the helm looks to be the charm for Northwestern.
Northwestern Wildcats
Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (3rd year at Northwestern, 10-14, 10-14 overall)
2007 Record: 6-6 (3-5 Big Ten), did not make postseason
Starters Returning: 17 (8 offense, 7 defense, kicker, punter)
Key Returnees: QB C.J. Bacher, RB Tyrell Sutton, TE Brendan Mitchell, SB Drake Dunsmore, WR Ross Lane, WR Rasheed Ward, WR Eric Peterman, OL Joel Belding, OT Kurt Mattes, DE Kevin Mims, DE Corey Wootton, DT John Gill, DT Adam Hahn, LB Prince Kwateng, CB Sherrick McManis, FS Brendan Smith, SS Brad Phillips, K Arnado Villareal, P Stefan Demos
Key Losses: WR Kim Thompson, OG Adam Crum, OT Dylan Thiry, C Trevor Rees, LB Adam Kadela, LB Eddie Simpson, CB Deante Battle, FS Reggie McPherson
2008 Schedule
8/30 vs. Syracuse
9/6 at Duke
9/13 vs. Southern Illinois
9/20 vs. Ohio
9/27 at Iowa
10/11 vs. Michigan State
10/18 vs. Purdue
10/25 at Indiana
11/1 at Minnesota
11/8 vs. Ohio State
11/15 at Michigan
11/22 vs. Illinois
Key Game: 11/22 vs. Illinois - While their in-state rivals could be looking to sew up a BCS berth (either automatic or at-large), or at least a New Year’s Day bowl bid, Northwestern may be trying to solidify their place in the postseason or improve their standing for a better bowl. Past all of those implications, Northwestern will be looking to start a new winning streak against the Illini after having a four-game run broken with Illinois’ 41-22 triumph in Champaign.
2008 Outlook
Getting up early to watch Northwestern several times this season will be well worth it thanks to an offense that produced very well last year and should be even better with the return of a healthy Tyrell Sutton to lead the ground game.
Last season, Sutton missed five full games and saw limited action in two others thanks to a leg injury, and while Northwestern fared decently without him (4-3 in those games), the Wildcats’ offense is a lot better when a healthy Sutton is in the mix. Sutton enters his senior season just a few yards short of 3,000 for his career, and if he can stay healthy and have a third 1,000 yard year, should top the 4,000 yard mark.
More than being the man to get most of the carries, he’ll also be one of C.J. Bacher’s leading receivers, so his health is of great importance to the offense’s success. Even with Sutton back and producing big numbers, it’ll be a luxury for the Wildcats to have senior Omar Conteh (447 yards, 5 TD rushing, 215 yards, 2 TD receiving in 2007) providing a quality 1-2 punch and making sure that Sutton doesn’t take too much of a beating.
Sutton won’t be the only exciting thing to watch on Northwestern’s offense, as the aerial attack stands a good chance to surpass its 2007 production, provided senior QB C.J. Bacher can be more consistent.
Last season, Bacher threw for more than 300 yards on six occasions, including going for 520 yards and five touchdowns and 470 yards and four scores in back-to-back weeks in shootout wins over Michigan State and Minnesota, and on the season, completed 61% of his passes for 3,656 yards and 19 scores. However, Bacher struggled with interceptions at times, tossing two or more in seven of twelve games and finishing the season with 11 picks (and only five touchdowns) in that pivotal four-game stretch to end the season.
Bacher will benefit from not only having a productive running game to take the load off of him, and from having Sutton (30 catches, 282 yards in ’07) and Conteh to play pitch and catch with regularly, but from the return of receivers Eric Peterman, Ross Lane, and Rasheed Ward, who combined for 161 catches, 1,826 yards, and 10 touchdowns last season. Peterman led the way in catches (66) and yards (744), while Lane caught 49 passes for 649 yards and a team-leading seven scores, and Ward caught 46 passes for 434 yards. Jeff Yarborough and Andrew Brewer will also have plenty of opportunities through the air as well, and if Bacher can spread the ball around well, the sky’s the limit for the Wildcats’ passing game.
Northwestern will need to stop some people on defense, which was something they had trouble with last season, allowing 31 points and 410 yards per game. The top two tacklers from last year are gone in Kadela (125 tackles) and McPherson (78 tackles), but seven starters return, eight if you include junior strong safety Brendan Smith, who missed much of the 2007 season due to injury but is back to help lead the defensive charge. Better yet, there are several talented defensive recruits from the 2007 class that will be ready to make an impact after redshirting last year.
The defensive line is one area that isn’t a concern depth-wise, as the entire starting unit from last season is back, in ends Kevin Mims (38 tackles, 5.5 for loss, two sacks) and Corey Wootton (39 tackles, 7 for loss, sack), and tackles Adam Hahn (33 tackles, three for loss) and John Gill (50 tackles, 8.5 for loss, four sacks). They’ll be responsible for improving against the run (167.1 yards allowed per game last year) and for instilling more fear in a pass rush that managed only 18 sacks last season. Starting with the redshirt freshmen who could make an impact is end Vince Browne, who will be backing up Mims. Browne comes in at 6′5, 260, and has the strength to become a pass-rushing force over the next few seasons.
Linebacker is the area where there’s the most starter turnover, as Kadela is gone, along with Eddie Simpson. However, Fitzgerald, quite the star linebacker in his playing days at Northwestern, has a talented group of guys in the middle of the defense. At this point, it looks like senior Prince Kwateng (45 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 2 sacks) and sophomore Quentin Davis (25 tackles, 1.5 for loss) will anchor the outside spots, with senior Malcolm Arrington (47 tackles, 5 for loss) taking over for Kadela in the middle. Also expect to see senior Mike Dinard (25 tackles, 1.5 for loss) getting significant playing time as well, along with another talented redshirt freshman in Bryce McNaul.
Altogether, Northwestern stands to have a strong front seven, which leaves it up to the secondary to be reliable and productive as well. McManis is the returning starter at cornerback, and he finished third on the team in tackles (75 tackles) and tied for third in tackles for loss (6.5), while also recording an interception. At the other corner position, sophomore Justan Vaugh emerged as a starter in spring, and while he and McManis could make for a solid duo, the man to really watch for is redshirt freshman Jordan Mabin, the jewel of the 2007 class. Mabin stands a good chance of breaking into the starting lineup before long, and he may well be just the playmaker that the Wildcats need in the secondary.
Speaking of making plays in the secondary, Northwestern picked off only seven passes last season, with no one getting more than one pick, and while picking off two or three passes a game isn’t a must, at least being able to make big plays happen in the defensive backfield on a regular basis is.
The safety positions are a lock with the return of starter Brad Phillips, who took over at strong safety for Smith last season and had a solid campaign (55 tackles) there, but with Smith back in the fold, will slot in for McPherson at free safety. At 6’4, 210, Phillips has the frame to really lay the wood, while Smith certainly isn’t a small fry at 6’1, 205. Rounding out the impact redshirt freshmen is David Arnold, who’s set to back up Phillips and should see the field regularly in 2008. Arnold also packs a load at 6′1, 210, and the same can be said for fellow reserve safeties Brad Peters (6′4, 210) and James Nussbaum (6′2, 215).
On special teams, kicker Arnado Villareal, who made 12 of 18 field goals and 36 of 37 extra points last season, will need to be more consistent inside 40 yards, where most of his misses came. Punter Stefan Demos is also back after averaging 40.1 yards per punt last season as a freshman.
Northwestern has an excellent chance to start the season 4-0, provided they don’t get tripped up at Duke, who beat them in Evanston last season and should be at least a little improved with former Ole Miss head coach/Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe now leading the program. And with winnable home games against Michigan State and Purdue, along with a road slate that should see them beat at least one of the trio of Iowa, Indiana, or Minnesota, Northwestern should be bowl eligible by the time they hit a tough final stretch that sees them face Ohio State, Michigan, and Illinois.
So, provided that they can win all of the games that they should, and take a game or two that they won’t be favored in (upset special against the Buckeyes or Illini, anyone?), Northwestern should be playing on into December, with 7-5 or better a more than reasonable target to shoot for.
Where do the Wildcats stand in our Big Ten preview? You can check that out here.
