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
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