Northwestern vs. Central Michigan Recap

I haven't posted on the blog in a while, but that is not because i have been completely neglecting it. The only reason I didn't post a preview is because i had wi-fi issues Friday night. In fact, I actually had some stuff written up that I just couldn't post. In short, here was my prediction: NU would win in a tough, nerve-racking four-point game. Well, I was close on the score as the 'Cats won by 5, but the game never made me as nervous as I anticipated. Despite the fact that the game was tied at halftime, and the 'Cats never ran away with the game, I never felt terribly nervous. I always had a feeling the game was well-in hand. Now, let's take our point-by-point look at the game.

• The Attendance: Again, I was very pleased. We drew a solid 30,000+ for a non-conference game. Granted, we were a long way from a sellout, but we could only dream about having the stands so full in any of our non-conference games last year. Looks like the marketing campaign might actually be working. 
• The Officiating: Oh boy this was bad. Penalty flags were flying all over the place, many of which were for illegal substitutions. I'm all for calling this penalty in obvious situations, such as 12 men in the huddle, but on multiple occasions yesterday, the referees called penalties for seemingly innocuous situations such as a player entering the field and leaving without participating. Players do this frequently and are very rarely penalized for it. This really should not be a penalty. Furthermore, the refs missed innumerable obvious calls that had to be overturned by official reviews. This interrupted the flow of the game, and was completely inexcusable. One of my favorite moments of the game involved a situation where the refs spotted Jeremy Ebert a couple yards short of where the ball should, in fact, have been spotted and short of the first down. The offense, shocked at the call, did not leave the field, and Sidney Stewart came over to the sideline to encourage the fans to chant "bulls***" even louder than they already were (which, believe me, was pretty loud).
• Persa: Persa had another very good, maybe even great, game but for the first time looked human. He threw an ugly interception and often looked flustered in the pocket. That being said, his upside was much better than his downside, completing 23 of 30 passes for 280 yards and 2 TDs, without once throwing the ball in the fourth quarter. On top of that he rushed the ball 17 times (4 were sacks) for 43 yards. Persa is again on top of the QB rating leader board, tied with Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State with a 186.3, and he remains the best in completion percentage, completing 80.2% of his passes. 
• Running Backs: Again, Arby disappointed. He put up only 16 yards on 7 carries, while his longest run of the day went for a measly 5 yards. He also had a key fumble on a drive that looked as if it would put us up 37-13. But due to this mess, the redshirt freshman Mike Trumpy got to see playing time. He performed well, putting up 53 yards on 12 carries and generally looking the way a running back should look. I would expect to see him start against Minnesota on Saturday. Jacob Schmidt also played fairly well, putting up 32 yards on 6 carries with two touchdowns. 
• The Receiving Corp: Minus a couple drops by Dunsmore and Fields, our receivers again had very good performances. The passes were spread out quite well, with Ebert and Stewart each getting 5 catches, Fields getting 4, and Dunsmore getting 3. Schmidt also had a successful role in the passing game, making 4 catches out of the backfield. Both of our passing touchdowns went to Ebert. 
• The Offensive Line: This continues to be a weak point of the offense. I have to blame some of the lack of success in the running game to the guys up front, and a guy as agile as Persa should not get sacked 4 times in a game. 
• The Defensive Line: This line, on the other hand, has been one of the strongest units on the team. The defensive line consistently got good pushes up front and both Quentin Williams and Corbin Bryant got sacks. Williams also added an interception, our second interception by a lineman this season. 
• The Linebackers: Quentin Davie was not as dominant Saturday, but nonetheless looked good. He only had two tackles, but one was a huge sack, and he covered the field well, disrupting the Chippewa running game. Ben Johnson also played a smaller-than-average role, making only two tackles. Nate Williams had arguably the best game of all our linebackers, with 6 tackles. Bryce McNaul also contributed with 3 tackles, as did David Nwabuisi, who had two tackles and an interception. 
• The Secondary: There were some problems here. Cornerback remains our worst position, from my point of view. And there are injury problems at safety. Jared Carpenter is injured, and David Arnold remains out, forcing Hunter Bates to step into the full-time safety role with Peters. It was obvious the Chippewas were picking on Bates, as they kept throwing to his side of the field, and he was beat early and often. If Carpenter or Arnold is not back soon, we may be in serious trouble, as we faced 347 passing yards against us. Don't read too much into my criticism of Bates though. I like him a lot if he's playing his standard special teams or nickelback role, but he simply is not cut out to be a strong safety. 
• Special Teams:  Well, there were continued issues with Demos, but we've heard all that before, so let's focus on the positives. Minus one shanked punt early, Williams again looked good, and best of all, we blocked two kicks. That is not something I'm used to from the 'Cats. 

Well, we are a solid 4-0, and are sure to be favorites in our next two games. Can we really get to bowl eligibility without losing a single game? It's certainly possible, and at this point I will remain cautiously optimistic. With that, I will leave you with the highlight real of the game, courtesy of NUBears.

Northwestern @ Rice Recap

Good news, 'Cat fans! We are half way to bowl eligibility. Of course, our competition has not been great, but 3-0 is never a bad thing, and there was a lot to like about this week's performance. So let's break down the game.

• The Feed: Well, this was an unmitigated disaster. Our only means of watching the game was a crappy feed of the Owls' jumbotron that spent more time buffering than actually working. And our means of listening to the game was WGN radio, which was way behind the video and also prone to failure. I didn't even attempt to watch the second half (instead traveling to Six Flags). So disclaimer for the rest of my recap: My analysis is based primarily on radio, highlights, and statistics, and thus should be taken with a grain of salt. 
• The Attendance: Ouch. Rice has a 70,000+ person stadium. However, many seats are covered; so it holds around 40,000. Even with this modification, the stadium looked just about empty. The official attendance was 15,562 fans, a large percentage of which were 'Cats fans. Again, Rice, ouch.
• Dan Persa: Continues to impress. A career-high 24 completions on 32 attempts for a career-high 307 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 9 times for 34 yards including a big 18 yard touchdown run. His second half was especially great: 9-10 for 159 yards. While he dropped to number 3 in the country in QB rating, his completion percentage remains number 1. Persa is looking like the ideal spread offense quarterback.
• Running Backs: Still bad. Our best performance was a mere 55 yards on 17 carries for Arby, and he never got a carry that went for more than 9 yards. I really don't know what else I can say. 
• Drake Dunsmore: A solid game for him. 6 catches for 87 yards. He also had a play reminiscent of his famous play in the Outback Bowl, looking completely untacklable. 
• Jeremy Ebert: Same ol' Ebert. It seems any catch he makes goes for a lot of yards. In this game, he had 4 grabs for 82 yards and a touchdown. His 20.7 yards per catch on the year is 18th best in the nation.
• Rush Defense: Here was the rush defense I expected from NU. The Owls picked up only 86 yards on the ground, and were forced to pass more than I am sure they hoped. And while the Rice pass game did manage 291 yards, they never seemed terribly threatening. 
• Quentin Davie: What a beast. 10 tackles, a sack, and an interception returned for a TD (his third pick of the year). He is really, really good. 
• Special Teams: The punt game continues to be good, Bates looked very good on returns, and, best of all, Demos finally had a perfect game. Much of this, I believe can be attributed to the fact that we have supposedly switched long snappers, although I am not sure who now has the duties. 

And with that I will leave you with the highlight video. Props to NUBears for making a great reel out a crappy feed.  

Northwestern @ Rice Preview

It's gameday! And luckily it's not a home game because this weather sucks. This game, all-in-all, is very much in our favor. Rice, quite frankly, is not a good team. People often point to the fact that they held tight with Texas at the beginning of their week 1 game as evidence that they are a much improved team. That, however can easily be attributed to week 1 jitters. It took only until the second quarter for Texas to start running away. Then the Owls only managed to beat North Texas by a point last week. Both Rice's pass and rush offenses have been weak, and teams have not had much difficulty passing against the Owls. Expect Persa to have a big game. Another player to watch is Alex Daniel. He is making a return from suspension and could potentially be a factor in tonight's game.

My prediction: Northwestern by 17

Recap: Illinois State @ Northwestern

Sorry I haven't written a blog post in a while. My soul has been possessed by band camp. Anyways, there's a lot I've wanted to write about, but I have no idea if I'll remember it all or if I'll be able to keep interest long enough to cover it all. We'll see.
There wasn't a whole lot to complain about in Saturday's game. Almost every part of Northwestern's game was clicking, and they took care of business. Granted, NU was expected to win by a substantial margin, but run-away wins are so rare for the Wildcats, I will go ahead and be excited. I'll again take a point-by-point look at the game.

• Pregame Excitement: Northwestern has introduced some new routines for the team's pregame entrance, including a new tunnel, a new video, and coolest of all, some pyrotechnics. A video of it all can be seen here. I'm a fan.
• The Weather: The day started out with a monsoon, but the precipitation thankfully was mostly stopped by kickoff. The field, however, remained basically a swamp. It was fairly unclear how much this affected the players' performance. 
• The Crowd: I am not sure about the official numbers, but I am fairly certain we beat last years' average attendance. Against an FCS opponent. In a downpour. Before classes even start. Let's keep that up. 
• The Marching Band: It is fairly obligatory that I mention this, this being our first performance and all. I promise I'll get to real football analysis after this. But I need to give my fellow NUMBers their props. The conditions were terrible. The field was about as slippery as an ice rink, and my sax was so waterlogged I could only play a couple notes, but despite this, everyone did a pretty good job, especially the newcomers. Great job guys!
• Dan Persa: Persa continued to be a beast, going 19-23 for 240 yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions in just over 2 quarters of play. On the year he has the single best qb rating in the country with a 212.1. To put that in perspective, the best qb rating at the end of the '09 season was Tim Tebow's with a 164.2,  and the single season record belongs to Colt Brennan with a 186.0. I'm not saying Persa will break that record or anything, don't get me wrong, but it does show that he is off to an extremely good start. Persa is also leading the nation in completion percentage with an 86.4. The next closest is Nick Foles of Arizona with an 83.1, and beyond that, there is a big jump down to Blaine Gabbert of Missouri with a 75.9. Absolutely no complaints about Persa's performance this week.
• Arby: Arby reminded me why I still occasionally have faith in him. When he could hit holes, he made good moves and looked like a very good running back. He managed 96 yards, almost ending our drought without a 100 yard rushing performance dating back to Tyrell Sutton's performance in the Alamo Bowl of the '08-'09 bowl season. 
• Receivers: Ebert again looked very good, pulling in 3 catches for 67 yards. He is averaging over 20 yards per reception on the year. Stewart looked like the same old Stewart. He dropped a sure touchdown pass, but he also brought in an insanely acrobatic grab. He can make the impossible look easy. Drake Dunsmore is establishing himself as a sure-fire short yardage threat. He is a big target who will go low over the middle to make a catch, and he scored two touchdowns in this manner. I'm not sure how teams can defend him. He'll outrun linebackers and beat up on corners. Rashad Lawrence got his first catch of the year, a beautiful 50-yarder. 
• Venric Mark: I'm listing him separately from the receivers because he contributed in many different ways. He seemed to be able to beat corners at will, he was an effective decoy, a pretty good gunner in the punting game, and he had a surprisingly exciting 7-yard punt return. The more I see of this guy, the more I like him. I hope the coaching staff continues to use him and that they find inventive ways to do so. I fully believe he could play a role similar to that of Percy Harvin for the '06 Gators. 
• The Cornerbacks: This was the one area that scared me a bit. Our guys often got beat by the ISU receivers, something that simply should not happen against a team like this. The linebackers and safeties did a good job covering, however. 
• Brian Peters: HOLY CRAP HOW DID YOU NOT KILL THAT GUY!!?? Allow me to clarify: On one play, Peters essentially picked up a guy and threw him so he landed on his head. What a beast. 
• Punting: Continues to be awesome. Brandon Williams is doing a good job, and the coverage has been great. Thank our speedy gunners. 
• Kicking Game: Seriously, get better. I don't know whose fault it is, but missed extra points are unacceptable. Seriously. 
• Everybody Else: We played a ridiculous number of players in this game, and almost all of them successfully contributed. It's great to see such depth on the team. It was also a good opportunity to glimpse into the future of the team. 

There's a lot more I could say about the game, but, quite frankly, I'm tired, and this wasn't a terribly interesting game to write about. So I will leave it at that and end with a link to a highlight video of the game. 

Analysis: NU @ Vandy

If I were to say one thing about this game, it would be this: the 'Cats looked like the same old 'Cats. By this I mean they played at more or less exactly the level of their opponent. The fact is, we should have won this game by a lot more, but there was some good to be found. Let's break it down.
Persa: Overall, he was very good. He completed 19 of 21 passes for 222 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also carried the ball 17 times for 82 yards, and if you exclude his 3 sacks, he was even better. He threw the ball accurately, and he showed a good ability to work outside of the pocket. However, I have one complaint: He generally looked very uncomfortable within the pocket. Because of this fact, the 'Cats rarely used a conventional pocket in the second half, instead opting for moving pockets or bootlegs. It is fairly clear Persa will be a different type of quarterback than Kafka, running more option plays and spending far less time in the pocket.
The Running Backs: No improvement from last year. None. If anything, it was a regression; although I have trouble believing that's possible. Arby was awful, just mind-numbingly awful. I still have hope for him this year, but this kind of performance won't even come close to cutting it. He tended to try to make too much happen. If he could not find a hole, he attempted to reverse field, but, consequently, he lost yards. To his credit, I saw one play that displayed his potential. He made a couple moves to pull a six yard run out of seemingly nowhere, but that kind of play needs to be the norm. Schmidt was ok, but far from spectacular, carrying the ball 13 times for 44 yards. He never did anything great, but he at least consistently got positive yards. Simmons only got 3 carries for 14 yards, so he had too small a sample size to really analyze.
Ebert: Jeremy Ebert was the go-to receiver, and he was awesome. He made 5 catches for 99 yards, and a couple of those catches were not easy. On top of that he showed very good route running ability. He also had a 12 yard rush on a reverse. No complaints at all with his performance.
The Defense: Remember when I said that teams wouldn't be able to run against NU? Apparently I was very, very wrong. Vandy got 192 yards on the ground, 5.1 yards per play. They are not a bad running team, but 192 yards is unacceptable. Our defensive line and linebackers were simply dominated by their offensive line. However, even more discouraging is the fact that we allowed 240 passing yards. Vandy only managed 146.3 yrds/game last year. Our defense simply must improve.
Brandon Williams: In terms of punting, he appears to be a big step up from Demos, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, and  showing at least some ability to place the ball in the red zone effectively. He even boomed a 59 yarder. However, he failed in his holding role, fumbling the snap on a crucial PAT.
The Crowd: This may seem like an odd point of analysis, but I needed to make note of the extensive Northwestern support at the game. 3 sections of the stadium were more purple than gold, and these masses of purple did an exceptional job of cheering on their team. As one Vandy fan said about some of the Northwestern faithful, "They're damn vocal." Good job guys, but can you all please show up for home games?
The Stadium: Seriously Vandy, can't you keep your stuff working? The instant replay system broke in the first quarter, thus making official reviews impossible. Then later, the air horn they sound after scores and turnovers  would not turn off for several minutes. One of the less pleasant sounds I've ever had to endure.

The Personal Foul at the End of the Game: This was a serious point of contention. During Northwestern's final drive, Persa scrambled on third down and was stopped short of a first down. A Vandy player, however, was called for a personal foul helmet to helmet, giving the 'Cats the first down and the ability to down the ball to run down the clock. Vandy fans thought this was a bad call and were, to say the least, furious. However, after watching the replay 20-30 times, I believe the correct call was made. You can view the following screenshot and this video to decide for yourself.

Vanderbilt Preview

I am currently spending the night just outside of St. Louis before heading over to Nashville tomorrow for Northwestern's opening game! This game has a great deal of personal importance for me because, during my college application process, I could not decide between Northwestern and Vanderbilt, before deciding on NU at the last possible moment. A win here would further solidify my decision as the correct one. I would like to be able to provide a detailed preview of the game, but, the fact is, I don't know enough about Vandy's team to do so. Here's what I do know:

• Vandy is the NU of the SEC--a small, private institution in a conference full of large, state schools. Like us, they generally have to get by with players who are less-recruited than those of their competition.
• Vandy is typically near the bottom of their conference, and last year was no exception, as they went 2-10.  They won a bowl in '08, however, so they are capable of having a good season. 
• They have a new coach. Bobby Johnson retired from the position unexpectedly during the offseason. He was replaced by former offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell.  

My prediction: NU by 10

The Special Teams

Stephan J. Carrera

Anyone who followed NU football last year knows that the special teams basically sucked. Luckily, we are looking substantially better this year.
Punting: Stefan Demos had punting duties last year and was absolutely dreadful. He averaged a pitiful 35.0 yrds/punt, worst amongst qualifying punters. Much of the problem was that Demos was responsible for everything: punting, place kicking, and kickoff starting. Fortunately, Demos no longer has punting duties. The redshirt freshman Brandon Williams instead gets the job. He averaged 41.9 yrds/punt in high school. We'll see how that carries over.
Kicking: Demos had this job, as well, and did much better in this position. He had a very good year, with the exception of the Outback Bowl and the game against Illinois, making a pretty solid 72% of his kicks. He will be returning as kicker this year and is being named a Lou Groza Award candidate by some.
Kickoff Starting: Demos had this job as well, and I had no problem with his performance. He will hold the starting position again this year.
Long Snapper: This job will go to last year's starter, senior John Henry Pace, or redshirt freshman Pat hickey.
Holder: The holder on placekicks will be punter Brandon Williams.
Punt Return: Northwestern was pretty lousy on punt returns last year. Andrew Brewer and Brendan Smith usually got the job. Neither was very good, and I was often happy if they just managed to catch the ball. They averaged 6.3 yards per return, 93rd in the country. This year, the job will go to either Hunter Bates or true freshman Venric Mark. My vote is for Mark. The guy is a tiny (5'8) speedster (4.4 40-meter dash!) who seems proficient at making guys miss. From what I have seen of him, he looks a bit like a poor man's Percy Harvin. That is never a bad comparison, in less you are referring to injury resistance. It will no doubt be a pretty big adjustment to return punts in the Big 10, but I'm still excited. I have never seen anyone run like that in the purple and white.
Kick Return: We were pretty awful at this, too. Again, I often had no idea if our guys would even manage to catch the ball. Stephen Simmons got the most returns, and averaged an admittedly good 25.3 yards per return (39th best in the country). Everyone else failed in the role though. As a team, we averaged 20.6 yards per return (62nd). Simmons, thankfully is listed as the starter for this year, with Scott Concannon behind him. Both these people should be pretty good, but I would like to see Mark get an opportunity, as well.

The Defensive Secondary

Chris O'Meara- AP

In my linebacker analysis I said I didn't expect teams to have much success running the ball against Northwestern. The obvious implication is that teams will be passing a lot against Northwestern, and I fear that may not be a great thing. Both the cornerback and safety position could take a big step back this year.
At the cornerback position, we lose Sherrick McManis, who, in my opinion, was the best player on the team last year. Our other corner was Jordan Mabin, who fortunately is returning. Unfortunately, however, he failed to impress in pass defense last year. While he got an impressive number of tackles, he failed to defend many passes that went his way, with the notable exception of the interception that wrapped up the game against Wisconsin. The other corner this year will be Justan Vaughn, a senior. He has some experience starting but has suffered several injuries throughout his career. Jeravin Matthews, a junior former running back will be one backup. The other will be Demetrius Dugar, a sophomore who got one start last year replacing an injured McManis. Overall, this position does not look very good. These guys, particularly Mabin, really have to step up if we don't want our opponents to throw all over the place against us.
At safety, we lose last years' starters Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith. Nonetheless, I'm less concerned about this position than the corners. Brian Peters, a junior, will be one of this year's starters, and he will be just fine. He actually started 5 games last year subbing for an injured Smith. Despite being a backup on the depth chart he managed to be fifth on the team in tackles and second in interceptions (67 and 3 respectively). If you have any questions about his ability, just look at the picture at the top of this post. Yes, he made the grab, and, for the record, he had a cast on the other hand. The other safety will be the sophomore Jared Carpenter. He played a bit last year, but not enough for me to formulate much of an analysis. Hunter Bates, the sophomore special teams specialist, is one backup, and Mike Bolden, who is strangely listed as a corner on his bio, is listed as the other backup. David Arnold, the converted linebacker, is not on the depth chart due to injury. If he returns, do not be surprised to see him start. While this unit may not be an improvement from last year, it should not be terrible. I would however be more comfortable if Arnold could return.

The Linebackers

Getty Images

This unit will likely be the best for Northwestern this year, and it should have the best depth. Returning at one outside linebacker position will be the outstanding senior Quentin Davie. He racked up 90 tackles last year, 11.5 for loss, and is being named on most All Big 10, and even some All-American, watch lists. The middle linebacker position will be filled by Nate Williams. He is entering his senior year after having a very solid year last year, averaging 7.17 tackles per game last year, best on the team (he played one fewer game than Davie). The other outside linebacker position will be filled by Bryce McNaul. He is a junior who saw only moderate playing time due to injury last year but was named the team's most improved player coming out of spring. I am also pleased with the second-team linebackers. Backing up Davie will be Ben Johnson. He is a junior who started seven games last year, so expect him to see decent playing time. David Nwabuisi, a sophomore, will be returning as Williams's backup. The redshirt freshman Damien Proby will be backing up McNaul. Overall, expect great things from this unit. I don't expect much success running the ball for NU's opponents.

2-Deep Depth Chart Released!

It appears the starting lineups have been finalized. So let's take a look to see if my offensive predictions were right.
QB: No surprises here. Persa, followed by Watkins.
RB: I'm a bit disappointed. The depth chart is listed as Fields or Schmidt or Simmons. I was hoping to see a starter named by now. Perhaps we will be started with running-back-by committee again, but I certainly hope not.
WR: I still cannot say who will fill which role, but the starters are Ebert, Stewart, and Demetrius Fields. Their backups will be Moulton, and two people I didn't mention previously: Charles Brown and Venric Mark. Charles Brown is a junior slot receiver, and Mark is a tiny true freshman speedster who I am very excited about. Much more about him if I ever get a special teams post up.
SB: Dunsmore is listed as starter with Rooks as the backup. This doesn't mean a whole lot as Nagel will see playing time, just filling a different role.
OL: I was right on the tackle positions and center. Left guard will be Mulroe. Right Guard will be Bartels. The backups, from left to right, will be: Brian Smith, Evan Luxenburg, Colin Armstrong, Keegan Grant, and Neal Deiters.

Edit: I suppose I could have just made it easy for you all and myself by providing a link.

The Defensive Line

AP Photo/ Nam Y. Huh

Many Northwestern fans' first thought when thinking about the defensive line is probably, "Oh crap! We lost Wootton! We're freaking screwed!" Well, if this is you, you are somewhat justified in your opinion. It is easy to make a case for a healthy Wootton as the greatest player in Northwestern history. However, the fact is Wootton was anything but healthy last year. He did win us the Iowa game, (sorry, Stanzi) but, overall, he was merely a shadow of his former self. He only managed half the tackles he got in 2008 (21 to 42) and only 4 sacks compared to 10.  That being said, it was still nice to have him on the line, as he scared the other team, and he frequently was double teamed, meaning fewer blockers left for the other members of the line. Vince Browne played the other defensive end position as a sophomore. He did a very good job racking up 39 tackles, 8 for loss, and 5 sacks. Fortunately, he is returning next year. Kevin Watt, the junior, figures to fill Wootton's shoes, and has experience doing so, as he filled in for Wootton when he was unable to play due to injury. He did a decent job with 10 tackles and 2 sacks. The sophomore Quentin Williams also figures to see playing time. He managed 14 tackles and an interception last year, so he knows how to play the position. All things considered, the defensive end position looks pretty good, but I have trouble calling it an improvement simply because losing Wootton is a blow. 

One starting defensive tackle last year was the junior Corbin Bryant. He did a good job in the position with 30 tackles, and he will be returning for the role this season. The other defensive tackle position was just a mess, mostly due to injuries. So many people played it that I don't even know who to call a starter.. For this year, however, the starter will be Jack DiNardo, a junior. He saw some playing time last year but was badly slowed by injury. Overall I'm happy with how the DTs look, especially when compared to last year. They were probably the team's worst position last year, but simply having someone, anyone healthy next to Bryant should be a big improvement.