2008 Preview: Northwestern

2007: 6-6 (3-5), No bowl bid given.

As we researched the usually forgettable Northwestern Wildcats, we found some pretty interesting stuff. For one thing, over the last 13 years, only 4 Big11Ten teams (Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan) have winning records against Northwestern. We were surprised by this until we remembered that Northwestern is in the Big11Ten, and they’ve had to contend with the likes of Minnesota and Indiana the last 13 years.

Also, Northwestern had the fantastic distinction of being 10th in the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense last year. Normally that would be a recipe for disaster, but they managed to finish 6-6, even though they didn’t get a bowl bid. What does this all mean? We don’t really know.

What we do know is that Northwestern is known for its academics far more than for its football prowess. To illustrate, check out some of its rowdy fans:

NU fans prepare for the upcoming game.

Despite this, we feel Northwestern still has the pieces to put together a decent team. On the offensive side, 3rd year coach Pat Fitzgerald loves to chuck the ball around, and 5th year senior quarterback C.J. Bacher complied with his coach’s wishes last year, to the tune of 304 yards passing per game. So while we were running the draw for a two-yard gain, Bacher quietly led the conference in passing and was 10th in the nation.

As if that weren’t enough, Bacher has a host of weapons this year as well. Five of the team’s six leading receivers from last year are back, including senior Eric Peterman who, despite his unfortunate last name, led the team with 66 receptions for 744 yards. Ross Lane returns as the big play man (13.2 yards per catch, 7 touchdowns) and Rasheed Ward should make an impact as well.

At running back, Tyrell Sutton returns for his senior season, after missing 5 games last year with a leg injury. Sutton is the Big11Ten’s active leading rusher with 2,996 yards, and he’s also a receiving threat, as he caught 30 balls last year in only 7 games. Omar Conteh had 479 yards as the backup last year, and he’ll need to be ready to go again if Sutton goes down.

As far as the offensive line goes, things look a little bleak. The line returns only two starters, Senior guard Joel Belding and junior tackle Kurt Mattes and will have to make due with younger players at center, left guard and left tackle. The line could be among the weakest in the conference and is the one thing that could stop the offense from being incredibly potent.

Things are much better on the defensive line, however, as the Wildcats return all four starters from last year’s squad, led by senior tackle John Gill. However, the line combined for only 18 sacks last year and must make more plays this year for the team to make noise in the Big11Ten. Senior linebacker Prince Kwateng and junior safeties Brad Phillips and Brad Smith are the other returning starters on defense for the Wildcats.

Northwestern doesn’t quite have all the pieces in place for a run at the Big11Ten title, but they will be able to shoot it out with a lot of teams this year. Their schedule may be their biggest ally, as they face such powerhouse teams such as Duke, Southern Illinois and Ohio before they open conference play against the hapless Iowa Hawkeyes. And of course, those rowdy fans are already scrambling for tickets to the home opener against Syracuse:

Fans line up outside the Northwestern ticket office.

The Wildcats better start strong though, because they finish their season against Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois. We think Northwestern will bomb their opponents enough early to have a respectable finish and get to a low-level bowl game.

Our prediction for Northwestern this season: 7-5 (3-5 Big11Ten).