Football
Big Ten Countdown - No. 7 Northwestern
By Tony Gerdeman

Predicted Finish 7-5 (3-5)

Two-Cent Overview

Northwestern returns 85.7 percent of its rushing yardage, 100 percent of its passing yardage and 67.5 percent of its receiving yardage. They also bring back three starting offensive linemen, all four defensive linemen, as well the starting secondary that ended the season last year. So there's plenty of experience coming back and head coach Pat Fitzgerald has now had a full year to implement his plan. Expect much better than the four wins from last season.

Schedule

Sept. 1 Northeastern (W)
Sept. 8 Nevada (W)
Sept. 15 Duke (W)
Sept. 22 at Ohio State (L)
Sept. 29 Michigan (L)
Oct. 6 at Michigan State (L)
Oct. 13 Minnesota (W)
Oct. 20 Eastern Michigan (Detroit) (W)
Oct. 27 at Purdue (L)
Nov. 3 Iowa (W)
Nov. 10 Indiana (W)
Nov. 17 at Illinois (L)

Goal

A bowl game. With their schedule, this is a very attainable goal. They should win all four of their non-conference games and they have three beatable opponents visiting Evanston.

Five Questions Looking For Answers

1. Will quarterback C.J. Bacher start to resemble past Northwestern quarterbacks this season?
2. Will the stability at quarterback finally allow running back Tyrell Sutton to run free again?
3. Are there any playmakers among the cookie-cutter receivers?
4. There is plenty of potential on defense, but will any of them emerge as stars?
5. Annually tough on the road, will Northwestern be able to steal any conference road games this year?

Something To Look For

The Northwestern offense you've come to know. Last season, the best quarterback on the team (C.J. Bacher) was out with an injury, so the Wildcats were forced to start the season with freshmen. They were not ready at all, and the entire offense suffered. Once Bacher was healthy and inserted in the lineup, the ball began moving again. During Bacher's absence for the first seven games of the season, Northwestern averaged 120 yards passing per game against the likes of New Hampshire and Eastern Michigan. When Bacher was finally able to start for the final five games of the season, they averaged 236 yards passing per game against the likes of Michigan and Ohio State.

Returning Starters

Eight on offense and nine on defense.

Best Player

Running back Tyrell Sutton. Yes, Sutton took a step back last year production-wise, but that was mostly because of the quarterback situation. With the renewed ability to pass the ball, defenses won't be able to focus solely on Sutton, which means he should be closer to the almost 1,500 yards he rushed for as a freshman in 2005.

Second Best Player

Defense End Corey Wooten. Wooten started twice as a true freshman in 2005, but was injured early in the season and was granted a medical redshirt. As a redshirt freshman last season, Wooten started all twelve games, recording 4.5 sacks, garnering honorable mention All Big Ten recognition. Wooten is big (6'7" 275) and active. In addition to his sack total, he also tallied two interceptions. This season, Wooten is expected to take the next step and remove the "honorable mention" from his resume.

Best Chance For a Big Loss

at Ohio State. The trip to Columbus will be the Wildcats' first road game of the season. It will also be their first quality opponent of the year. They won't really know where they stand until the Buckeyes let them know.

Most Important Game

Michigan. The Wolverines will come into Evanston one week after the Wildcats' game at Ohio State. If the Wildcats can not only recover from the week before, but somehow take Michigan to the wire, momentum may start to build for Northwestern. And as we've seen in years past, nobody rides momentum like Northwestern.

Best Road Game To Pack Up The Family Truckster And Travel To

at Ohio State. Unless you have DirecTV, this may be the only way you'll get to see the game.

Best Reason They Won't Be Undefeated

at Ohio State.

Best Reason They Will Be Undefeated

There is really only one unwinnable game on this schedule. Win that, and you've got a shot.

Game They Shouldn't Lose, But Could

Eastern Michigan. Last season, Northwestern lost their home opener to New Hampshire by 17 points. If you can lose to New Hampshire, then you can lose to Eastern Michigan. The game will be played in Detroit, so not only will the Northwestern players have to worry about their opponent, they'll also have to worry about having their locker room broken into.

Player People Are Expecting Too Much From

Middle linebacker Adam Kadela. Kadela led the team in tackles last season (80) and is the only returning starter at linebacker this season. A lot will be put on his shoulders, but don't expect his numbers to escalate too far beyond where they sit now. This will be Kadela's third year as a starter, so he knows where he needs to be on every play, but he sometimes has a problem actually getting there.

Player People Will Be Pleasantly Surprised By

Defensive tackle John Gill. Gill is a versatile player who can play any position on the defensive line. His size (6'3" 290) allows him to move back and forth depending on the situation. Last season, he started four games at defensive end and seven at defensive tackle. This allows Pat Fitzgerald to shift his defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4 at different times. The coaches have compared Gill to former first-rounder Luis Castillo and are expecting him to start performing like Castillo this season.

Best Newcomer

Defensive back Jordan Mabin. Mabin is dealing with some shoulder issues and probably won't be ready for full contact until the season starts. Mabin may not make any contributions until later in the season, but the staff fully expects him to be heard from. Mabin was an outstanding high school running back in Ohio but his slight build (5'11" 175) was the answer to the age old question: "Why no OSU offer?"

Game On The Schedule That Would Make Bret Bielema Jealous

Northeastern. Glen Mason would even feel bad about this one.

Something They Do Well

Move the ball. Once Bacher got into the lineup last season, the offense improved. The running game, however, didn't put the numbers up that it had been. Of course, that had more to do with playing three of the top five rushing defenses in the conference (Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois). They'll run and throw with equal success this season. The only question will be their redzone success, which tends to be a problem with newer quarterbacks in this system.

Something They Don't Do So Well

Return kicks. Sophomore Sherrick McManus, who will be an outstanding cornerback this season, led the team in kickoff returns last season, but only averaged 21.0 yards per return. And as a team, they only averaged 18 yards per kickoff return and only 7.5 per punt return. Given that Northwestern will be breaking in two new kicking specialists, the entire kicking game looks to be an area of concern in 2007.

What's Improved?

The passing game. As has been mentioned, the passing game nearly doubled in productivity once Bacher got involved. That stands to only get better this season as Northwestern returns six receivers with starting experience. This offense will look an awful lot like the latter years of the Brett Basanez era. Bacher has a good shot at approaching 3,000 yards passing this season.

What's Gotten Worse?

Quarterback mobility. Both of last year's "other quarterbacks" are much better runners than Bacher, but their ability to run led them to being impatient in the pocket last season. So while Bacher isn't the athlete that Mike Kafka and Andrew Brewer are, he's still mobile enough to gain a few yards in this offense. But his value comes in his ability to read defenses and complete passes. And with the passing game being a threat, the running game becomes a weapon again. And along with that comes the read-option that Northwestern does very well. However, last year, the quarterbacks kept the ball way too much. This season, Tyrell Sutton and back up Brandon Roberson will get the ball the majority of the time.

Anything Else We Should Know About?

This is the deepest defense Northwestern has had in many years.

Anything Else?

Even the deepest Northwestern defense is still just a Northwestern defense.

One Prediction

Tyrell Sutton will rush for over 100 yards against Michigan.

Did you know (Media Guide factoid)

Since the 2000 season, Northwestern has been a part of five ESPN "Instant Classic" football games. The latest victory "classic" was the 33-27 overtime win against Ohio State in 2004. At the time, that was ESPN2's most-viewed college football telecast.

Coach Speak

What Pat Fitzgerald says: "Having our first three games on the Big Ten Network gives us a great opportunity for some national exposure. At NU, we have to recruit the nation."

What Pat Fitzgerald means: "Having our first three games on the Big Ten Network gives us a great opportunity for some national exposure. At NU, we have to recruit players who have DirecTV or Buckeye Cable."

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