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** 2017 Opponent Previews: Northwestern (Game 9) **


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CollegeFootballNews: Can Northwestern Ever Win The Big Ten?

 

Since 1896, how many outright Big Ten titles does Northwestern have?

 

Three.

 

That’s a whole lot of football played for a very, very, very long time for just two undisputed championships.

 

Northwestern was the co-champion in five other seasons, but in the new world of the Big Ten Championship Game, the program can’t get away with that anymore. It’s not that the other titles weren’t earned, but there was one giant thing missing from the last three championships.

 

Ohio State.

 

http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/preview-2017-can-northwestern-ever-win-the-big-ten

 

2017 Northwestern Preview: What You Need To Know

2017 Northwestern Schedule Breakdown & Analysis

 

HuskerOnline: Spring Opponent Preview - Northwestern

 

Northwestern has been close to contending in the Big Ten Conference over the past few years, but it's always been left with no cigar when all was said and done. But with a talented and veteran roster coming back, the Wildcats have their sights set on a West Division title and more heading into the 2017 season. We caught up with WildcatReport.com's Louie Vaccher to get an idea of where things stand with Northwestern coming out of spring ball and what the expectations are going into the fall.

 

Overall 2017 win-loss expectation

“Pat Fitzgerald has done a lot for the program. He’s won two bowl games, and they’ve got three bowl wins in school history. He’s the all-time winningest coach, and I think the expectation now is to make a bowl just about every year.

 

“But the one thing he hasn’t done really is contend for a Big Ten title. He hasn’t really contended in the (Big Ten) West, either. I think this is the year where they could do that. Looking at what they have coming back and the other schools in the West, I think they should be in contention for the title.

 

“They’re going to find out early, because their first two Big Ten games are Penn State and Wisconsin, the two teams that played for the conference title last year. So they’ll find out where they are in a hurry.

 

“In terms of wins, I’ll say nine, but the expectation is for them to be in the hunt in the Big Ten West. I think this is the year they could do that.”

 

https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/spring-opponent-review-northwestern

 

Athlon Sports: Northwestern 2017 Preview and Prediction

Wildcats rank No. 41 in Athlon’s Top 130 for 2017

 

Northwestern finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten West last season, but the Wildcats could challenge for the top spot thanks to a mix of experience and depth. The offense will be led by one of the conference’s better backfields and a veteran offensive line, but some reliable targets will need to emerge. The defense has the potential to open some eyes, but that’s only if some dependable linebackers emerge to support a deep front and back end. Northwestern’s schedule isn’t that daunting, so this could be the season Pat Fitzgerald’s team takes a step or two forward in the division standings.

 

Final Analysis

After recording multiple 10-win seasons and multiple bowl wins since 2012, Northwestern now hopes to contend in the Big Ten West. The return of 15 starters and a fairly favorable schedule (no Ohio State nor Michigan) suggests that this is the season to make a move. But a larger indicator, according to Fitzgerald, is how many starters will be pushed or displaced by others. Northwestern must show it can handle inevitable injuries as well as underperforming play better than it did early last season.

 

Consecutive games against West Division winner Wisconsin (road) and league champion Penn State (home) on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7 should show whether Northwestern is for real or not.

 

National Ranking: 41

 

Big Ten West Prediction: 2

 

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/northwestern-football-2017-wildcats-preview-and-prediction

 

SBNation: Northwestern is closer than you think to a Big Ten West title run

With just a couple answers, this can be Pat Fitzgerald’s best team yet.

 

Coaching college football is playing chess with pieces that don’t cooperate. You come up with your plan of attack, and sometimes the knight moves in the wrong direction. You could have the best plan in the world, but its execution still relies on 18- to 22-year-old males.

 

Building a program is the same thing, only at a macro level. You address one weakness, and two more form. Fix those, and another cracks open. Very few coaches get all the pieces pointed in the right direction at the same time, and when they do, it’s brief.

 

Pat Fitzgerald’s slow build at Northwestern has been impressive by any measure. The former Wildcat linebacker took over as head coach earlier than anybody intended; he was a 31-year-old linebackers coach when head man Randy Walker passed away of a heart attack. He was given patience (he was 10-14 in his first two seasons), and both he and the school have been rewarded.

 

2016 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-6 (49th)

Projected 2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-5 (37th)

Biggest strength: Running back Justin Jackson is dynamite, and he’s got a seasoned line and veteran quarterback.

Biggest question mark: Can the run defense avoid a drop without Anthony Walker Jr.? The secondary should improve quite a bit, but that only matters if the front seven doesn’t regress much.

Biggest 2017 game: Beating Maryland in College Station (Oct. 13) could be huge. The Wildcats will likely start conference play 0-2, but every game from Maryland on is either a tossup or a likely win, and winning them all could mean the Wildcats’ first Big Ten West title.

 

Summary: Northwestern has star power and experience and is basically two pieces — a No. 1 receiver and a middle linebacker — away from a division title run.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/6/27/15864518/northwestern-football-2017-preview-schedule-roster

More to come...

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The Northwestern series has been an interesting one. No one wants to make the home crowd happy for the most part.

 

Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

Some taking them for granted but mostly sloppy play imo.

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The Northwestern series has been an interesting one. No one wants to make the home crowd happy for the most part.

 

Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

Some taking them for granted but mostly sloppy play imo.

 

Sloppy play has cost us more games than I can remember the past 14 years or so..... We truly are our own worst enemy.

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Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

 

Not trying to dis Northwestern but the results of the games are significantly more about us playing poorly than them playing well.

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Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

Not trying to dis Northwestern but the results of the games are significantly more about us playing poorly than them playing well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Figured I'd start a Thorson discussion here instead of in the Athlon preview.

 

I see NW getting love b/c of Thorson (and he'll be a 3 year starter this year). How good is he?

 

2015 - 51% comp 5.2 ypa 7/9 td/int 95.9 rating

2016 - 59% comp 6.7 ypa 22/9 td/int 125.9 rating

 

Compare that to Armstrong

2013 - 52% comp 7.4 ypa 9/8 td/int 124.3 rating

2014 - 53% comp 7.8 ypa 22/12 td/int 133.0 rating

2015 - 55% comp 7.5 ypa 22/16 td/int 128.6 rating

2016 - 51% comp 7.4 ypa 14/8 td/int 123.9 rating

 

Thorson threw for a fairly high percentage last year, but his yards/attempt were pretty pedestrian. His QB rating was basically the career average for Tommy. He showed marked improvement from 15 to 16. If you think that trend will continue, then he might be the best QB in the west. If he has plateaued or regresses...

 

Either way, I fully expect Thorson to have another 40+ yard run while our D chases him looking like we are running in slow motion.

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1. The next Trubisky?

 

Around this time last year, the odds-on favorite to be the top quarterback taken in the 2017 NFL Draft was probably Clemson's Deshaun Watson or Miami's Brad Kaaya. Maybe you'd catch some projection buzz for Deshone Kizer or some intrigue about Patrick Mahomes. What you wouldn't catch was a word about Mitch Trubisky and yet one year later, the Chicago Bears traded up to make the one-year starter the first quarterback off the board.

 

This year there are a host of names that are generating buzz as the potential first quarterback taken. USC's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Wyoming's Josh Allen are all popular picks. Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph and Washington State's Luke Falk have some believers. There's even darkhorse talk about Auburn's Jarrett Stidham. But there's one guy with the upside and pure ability to be drafted above all those guys who is rarely mentioned: Northwestern's Clayton Thorson, who I rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 5 pro-style QB in the class of 2014.

 

Unlike Trubisky, Thorson heads into his redshirt junior season already with two years of starting experience under his belt. As a redshirt freshman, Thorson was part of a 10-3 season but he was surviving more than anything else. He threw for just over 1,500 yards and only seven touchdowns to his nine interceptions. But he was big (6-foot-4), he was athletic (397 rush yards) and he could make all the throws. The ability was there.

 

247

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

The Northwestern series has been an interesting one. No one wants to make the home crowd happy for the most part.

 

Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

Some taking them for granted but mostly sloppy play imo.

 

Taking them for granted? How about Pat Fitzgerald just knows how to put a competitive group on the field? Christ almighty, taking them for granted would be something a great team does. Literally nothing Nebraska has accomplished warrants that mindset. It's time for the fans to stop using that as an excuse.

 

If you have a loss to Purdue in the last 10 years. You can't take anyone for granted. Or else you're an idiot.

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Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

 

Not trying to dis Northwestern but the results of the games are significantly more about us playing poorly than them playing well.

 

They could say the same thing. It's a matter of perception.

 

That's the way Oregon views itself vs NU last year. How many of you would be willing to attest to that?

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Any guesses why the Huskers have not had much luck at home with these guys? (Taking them for granted, sloppy performance, them being fired up?)

 

Not trying to dis Northwestern but the results of the games are significantly more about us playing poorly than them playing well.

 

They could say the same thing. It's a matter of perception.

 

That's the way Oregon views itself vs NU last year. How many of you would be willing to attest to that?

 

Northwestern is a well-coached team that isn't going to out-talent many teams, but takes advantage of opponents' mistakes to win close games. That's how come they have records between 5-7 and 9-3 every year.

 

Oregon probably had way more talent than NU last year, and had more talent than a lot of their opponents last year. But, they weren't a well-coached team and that got their coach fired. It will be interesting how Taggart is able to improve Oregon's sloppiness and game mistakes going forward.

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