I just got back from the Wildcats' Men's Basketball home opener where they had an easy 71-45 victory over AR-Pine Bluff. Not the best test of our team's ability, but I think we'll have a good team this season. Now on to football.
Quarterbacks: What can be said about Dan Persa? He was great. Big Ten player of the week great. He went 32-43 with 2 touchdowns, along with 50 yards rushing on 18 carries. His one interception and at least 3 incompletions were due to solely bad drops by his receivers. Most astounding about Persa's game was the game winning drive he orchestrated, running the game at just the right tempo and always making the best decisions. And then, just our luck, he went down with a season-ending injury. Replacing him will be Evan Watkins, and no one knows with certainty what type of quarterback he will be, but we know this much: He is a 6-6, 240lb+ beast of a human being with a cannon of an arm (that may not be the most accurate) and above-average running ability. I expect him to be a Mike Kafka-type, but whether they use him as running-Kafka or passing-Kafka is beyond me.
Running Backs: Mike Trumpy was the running back against the Hawkeyes getting 15 of 19 non-Persa runs, picking up 51 yards in the process. I expect him to remain the feature back against the Illini, and he should have a good game due to Illinois's below-average run defense. However, I expect Adonis Smith to play more of a role in this game.
Defense: Overall, the run defense was outstanding. I have never seen a 'Cats defense make that many plays in the backfield. This was due in large part to Nate Williams's stellar game, and Quentin Davie certainly contributed. This rush defense will need to show up at Wrigley to stop Illinois top-notch running game.
Punting: Wow, teams simply cannot return punts against Northwestern. Obviously, credit needs to be given to the punter, Brandon Williams, but I give most of the credit to our outstanding gunners, particularly Jeravin Matthews. Wow, wow, wow.
Officiating: I have been regularly checking both Hawkeye and NU blogs since the game, and ridiculous claims have been made on both sides. Iowa fans have said NU only one because they held on every play. To this I would respond that I saw some extremely blatant holds by Iowa linemen that did not get called either. The refs apparently just decided holding would not be a penalty for the game. On the flip side, NU fans are up in arms about 3 different intentional grounding calls/no-calls. To this I would respond: watch the tape. At least one, maybe two of these were the right call, and the other call(s) were at least borderline. Chill out, everyone.
Fans: I have a lot to say on this topic. First, I was a little disappointed by the NU student section showing. That being said, the fans who were at the game were very loud and very supportive, and this was well-backed by the stadium DJ's music choices near the end of the game. As for the Iowa fans there, I know they do not represent all Hawkeye fans, but I was extremely disappointed. These were far-and-away the most classless fans I have ever had to deal with. I now see why so many people around Northwestern hate the Hawkeyes so much (the fact that they threw batteries at the band a few years back probably doesn't help). Again, I know enough good, classy Hawks fans and have lived in Iowa City long enough to know that this is not what all of the University of Iowa is like, but people seeing these drunken idiots have no choice but to use that as their image of Iowa City. Hawks fans, please represent our city with more class.
Overall this was a thrilling, albeit not entirely unexpected victory for the Wildcats. It was by far the best game NU has played yet, and hopefully they will bring that momentum into the end of the season. Now for the highlights:
And tomorrow, we play a highly-anticipated but unfortunately gimmicky game in Wrigley Field. While some recent decisions, including the goofy one-endzone decision, have ruined some people's perception of the game, the on-field action should still be exciting.
My prediction: Northwestern 28-Illinois 24
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Iowa @ NU Preview
Let me start by saying that I don't really hate Iowa the way I know many 'Cats fans do. I'm from Iowa City, and have a number of friends attending the U of I (take note, people from Illinois, U of I=Iowa). So, all else being equal, I don't tend to root against Iowa unless I'm feeling especially sadistic. That being said, there is little I enjoy more than beating the Hawkeyes, and I know many of our players feel the same. Hawks fans and bloggers tend to undervalue NU and their fans, which creates an extraordinarily frustrating situation. Fitz too has a well-known distaste for Iowa dating back to his playing days, and you know he has instilled this feeling in his players. It is largely for these reasons that NU has completely owned UI in recent years (or maybe it's because we intentionally injure their players /sarcasm), and it is for these reason that I think NU will win tomorrow. Now, I'm a realist. I know there are few, if any, statistical advantages the Wildcats have over the Hawkeyes, but sometimes the stats don't tell the whole story, especially with these two teams.
We all know by now that the 'Cats have been dreadful at finishing so far this year, but if their embarrassment last week isn't enough to get them inspired, playing their biggest rival in front of a full house better be. I have trouble expressing just how important this game is. I have been saying all year that anything less than 8-4 will be a disappointment for this team. A victory hear will put them in outstanding placement to reach that record. If they lose, I'm not sure they will win again, and Detroit may be waiting. Let me stress this again: If the 'Cats aren't fired up by this situation, I don't know what could possibly get them going.
Of course, Iowa is a big obstacle. They are a very good team (at least at times) with an extraordinary defense, and I think they finally realize Northwestern is a legitimate threat. They will not be looking past this game. Ultimately, this will be a hard-fought, emotional game, but I think it will go NU's way.
My Prediction: NU 38-UI 31
We all know by now that the 'Cats have been dreadful at finishing so far this year, but if their embarrassment last week isn't enough to get them inspired, playing their biggest rival in front of a full house better be. I have trouble expressing just how important this game is. I have been saying all year that anything less than 8-4 will be a disappointment for this team. A victory hear will put them in outstanding placement to reach that record. If they lose, I'm not sure they will win again, and Detroit may be waiting. Let me stress this again: If the 'Cats aren't fired up by this situation, I don't know what could possibly get them going.
Of course, Iowa is a big obstacle. They are a very good team (at least at times) with an extraordinary defense, and I think they finally realize Northwestern is a legitimate threat. They will not be looking past this game. Ultimately, this will be a hard-fought, emotional game, but I think it will go NU's way.
My Prediction: NU 38-UI 31
Penn State Recap
I really don't want to write about this game, but I basically promised people I wouldn't go another week without giving a recap, so I'll give it a try.
There is little that is more frustrating than rooting for a team that simply can't finish a football game. And that frustration is only magnified when you consider the fact that Northwestern would be 9-0 if only they could finish games. The fact is the team just has not shown the will to win that we've come to expect from Fitz-coached teams. Due to the fact that the 'Cats' biggest problem is evidently a mental one, a position-by-position breakdown may not tell the whole story, but we'll give it a shot.
Dan Persa: By this point in the season, I'm fairly confident everyone knows what to expect from Persa. Despite the fact that his numbers are not living up to the standard he set at the beginning of the season, he still is indescribably valuable to the team. He seemed to be the only player who was really fired up in the second half. Now he just needs to figure out how to use that emotion and will to inspire the rest of the players on the team. But he was really the only NU player who looked like a true leader in this game, especially during the third quarter. And don't get me wrong, his stats weren't bad, not even close. He ran for 109 yards (139, I believe, if you exclude sacks) and 2 touchdowns and passed for a decent 201 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough.
Jeremy Ebert: As always, no real complaints with Ebert either. 6 catches for 111 yards and made it look easy. No other receiver had much of a consistent presence throughout this game. It's great having Ebert out there.
Drake Dunsmore: Despite the fact that he hasn't been the consistent presence I expected him to be, he has proven to be the source of many exciting plays, and his catch in this game was the single greatest catch I've seen this year, bar none. And he's far from done with doing the incredible.
Running Back Situation: We finally found our running backs, as we only used Trumpy and Smith against PSU. Strangely, however, we barely used them. Trumpy got a reasonable 14 carries for 43 yards, but Smith got only 3 carries, and busted open a 15-yarder. I'd like to see him more.
Defense: One sentence should some up their day: Penn St. scored touchdowns on 5 consecutive possessions. The secondary looked awful, letting McGloin pick up 4 touchdowns through the air, and the rush defense may have been even worse as they let two different guys get 130+ rush yards. I really don't want to say any more about the defense, except this: I have full confidence they will never play a game that poorly again.
The Coaching: I think it's fitting that on the game we gave Joe Paterno his 400th victory, we simply got outcoached. The coaches simply must do a better job inspiring their players and making halftime adjustments. While Fitz may take some blame for the former issue, I'm looking primarily at position coaches.The fact is, their opponents just learned how to exploit their team's weaknesses and they did not adjust.
All in all, the game was awful, but we cannot dwell on it. Coming up is Iowa, and you know everyone wants that one.
There is little that is more frustrating than rooting for a team that simply can't finish a football game. And that frustration is only magnified when you consider the fact that Northwestern would be 9-0 if only they could finish games. The fact is the team just has not shown the will to win that we've come to expect from Fitz-coached teams. Due to the fact that the 'Cats' biggest problem is evidently a mental one, a position-by-position breakdown may not tell the whole story, but we'll give it a shot.
Dan Persa: By this point in the season, I'm fairly confident everyone knows what to expect from Persa. Despite the fact that his numbers are not living up to the standard he set at the beginning of the season, he still is indescribably valuable to the team. He seemed to be the only player who was really fired up in the second half. Now he just needs to figure out how to use that emotion and will to inspire the rest of the players on the team. But he was really the only NU player who looked like a true leader in this game, especially during the third quarter. And don't get me wrong, his stats weren't bad, not even close. He ran for 109 yards (139, I believe, if you exclude sacks) and 2 touchdowns and passed for a decent 201 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough.
Jeremy Ebert: As always, no real complaints with Ebert either. 6 catches for 111 yards and made it look easy. No other receiver had much of a consistent presence throughout this game. It's great having Ebert out there.
Drake Dunsmore: Despite the fact that he hasn't been the consistent presence I expected him to be, he has proven to be the source of many exciting plays, and his catch in this game was the single greatest catch I've seen this year, bar none. And he's far from done with doing the incredible.
Running Back Situation: We finally found our running backs, as we only used Trumpy and Smith against PSU. Strangely, however, we barely used them. Trumpy got a reasonable 14 carries for 43 yards, but Smith got only 3 carries, and busted open a 15-yarder. I'd like to see him more.
Defense: One sentence should some up their day: Penn St. scored touchdowns on 5 consecutive possessions. The secondary looked awful, letting McGloin pick up 4 touchdowns through the air, and the rush defense may have been even worse as they let two different guys get 130+ rush yards. I really don't want to say any more about the defense, except this: I have full confidence they will never play a game that poorly again.
The Coaching: I think it's fitting that on the game we gave Joe Paterno his 400th victory, we simply got outcoached. The coaches simply must do a better job inspiring their players and making halftime adjustments. While Fitz may take some blame for the former issue, I'm looking primarily at position coaches.The fact is, their opponents just learned how to exploit their team's weaknesses and they did not adjust.
All in all, the game was awful, but we cannot dwell on it. Coming up is Iowa, and you know everyone wants that one.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Indiana Recap
Guess who's back. Back again...
Sorry guys. I'll try to never take that big a hiatus ever again. I've just been trying really hard not to fail my midterms, but I'm basically done with them now, and I think it's mission accomplished.
Now before I get to a point-by-point breakdown, let me say something about the game: it was weird. For some reason, I found the game very discouraging, and, with a few exceptions, I have no idea why. Almost every unit played fairly well, but as a team, I felt we looked significantly worse than we did against Michigan State, a game we lost. Again, I can't explain it, but let's take a look at the breakdown to see if we can get some idea.
Dan Persa: Despite not being at his best, Dan Persa had a very good game. He showed his characteristic elusiveness,which seemed to be gone a bit against Michigan State due to injury, and showed an incredible ability to throw on the run. His run game was not at its best: 11 rushes for 19 yards (2 of those carries being sacks), but an 18-28, 212 yard, two touchdown game through the air is not too shabby. The one worrying incident was his concussion. He has been cleared to play against Penn St., however, and he shouldn't be suffering any noticeable consequences.
Mike Trumpy: I don't want to say he's the solution to our running woes, but he certainly is a start. He consistently looked good, spinning out of tackles, fighting for extra yards, and moving the pile. In other words, he looked the way a running back should, fighting for 110 yards on 21 carries, becoming our first 100 yard rusher since 2008. He also looked good in the passing game 54 yards on 3 catches, while running very smart routes.
Jeremy Ebert: Mr. clutch. 5 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, all on third downs. Those numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
Venric Mark: He finally has sole returner duties, and, boy does he look good doing it. The guy makes a 32 yard return look easy. I would be willing to bet quite a bit of money he'll bust open a return for a touchdown by the end of the year.
The Defense: I don't really have any individuals to point out on the defensive side of the ball, but the defense as a whole looked quite good. Ben Chappell did break break 300 yards, but it took him 54 attempts to do so, and the Indiana rushing attack was completely shut down for only 65 yards. My one real criticism is in regards to Indiana's last touchdown. Indiana was clearly going for the deep ball. They really had no other shot. How the safeties let a guy behind them is beyond me.
Stefan Demos: For the last two games, Demos has looked good. Everything has been dead-center and he nailed a 45 yarder against Indiana. There is reason to be optimistic.
Indiana Gameday Atmosphere: Boy was it depressing. The student section was almost empty (we have a much larger one, and we have a quarter as many undergrads) and many left by half. The stadium was almost empty by the time the Hoosiers scored their last touchdown, bringing the game within three. Not only that, but they really have no original traditions. It was seriously kind of sad. But I can now happily say with confidence Northwestern does not have the worst gameday atmosphere in the Big Ten. Not even close.
In other news, check out this picture of Wrigley Field from Lake the Posts:
Sorry guys. I'll try to never take that big a hiatus ever again. I've just been trying really hard not to fail my midterms, but I'm basically done with them now, and I think it's mission accomplished.
Now before I get to a point-by-point breakdown, let me say something about the game: it was weird. For some reason, I found the game very discouraging, and, with a few exceptions, I have no idea why. Almost every unit played fairly well, but as a team, I felt we looked significantly worse than we did against Michigan State, a game we lost. Again, I can't explain it, but let's take a look at the breakdown to see if we can get some idea.
Dan Persa: Despite not being at his best, Dan Persa had a very good game. He showed his characteristic elusiveness,which seemed to be gone a bit against Michigan State due to injury, and showed an incredible ability to throw on the run. His run game was not at its best: 11 rushes for 19 yards (2 of those carries being sacks), but an 18-28, 212 yard, two touchdown game through the air is not too shabby. The one worrying incident was his concussion. He has been cleared to play against Penn St., however, and he shouldn't be suffering any noticeable consequences.
Mike Trumpy: I don't want to say he's the solution to our running woes, but he certainly is a start. He consistently looked good, spinning out of tackles, fighting for extra yards, and moving the pile. In other words, he looked the way a running back should, fighting for 110 yards on 21 carries, becoming our first 100 yard rusher since 2008. He also looked good in the passing game 54 yards on 3 catches, while running very smart routes.
Jeremy Ebert: Mr. clutch. 5 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, all on third downs. Those numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
Venric Mark: He finally has sole returner duties, and, boy does he look good doing it. The guy makes a 32 yard return look easy. I would be willing to bet quite a bit of money he'll bust open a return for a touchdown by the end of the year.
The Defense: I don't really have any individuals to point out on the defensive side of the ball, but the defense as a whole looked quite good. Ben Chappell did break break 300 yards, but it took him 54 attempts to do so, and the Indiana rushing attack was completely shut down for only 65 yards. My one real criticism is in regards to Indiana's last touchdown. Indiana was clearly going for the deep ball. They really had no other shot. How the safeties let a guy behind them is beyond me.
Stefan Demos: For the last two games, Demos has looked good. Everything has been dead-center and he nailed a 45 yarder against Indiana. There is reason to be optimistic.
Indiana Gameday Atmosphere: Boy was it depressing. The student section was almost empty (we have a much larger one, and we have a quarter as many undergrads) and many left by half. The stadium was almost empty by the time the Hoosiers scored their last touchdown, bringing the game within three. Not only that, but they really have no original traditions. It was seriously kind of sad. But I can now happily say with confidence Northwestern does not have the worst gameday atmosphere in the Big Ten. Not even close.
In other news, check out this picture of Wrigley Field from Lake the Posts:
If that doesn't get you excited for the Wrigley game, I don't know what will.
And of course, the highlight reel:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)