First Quarter Grades for the Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats are at the quarter pole of the season, and Cat fans know a little more about the 2010 version of the team than we did four weeks ago. But the difficult part of reaching this point is the realization of just how short the season is, and how far this team still has to go.

So with that in mind, I have given some mid-term grades in a variety of areas. I have also tried to gauge whether there is enough room for improvement in the allotted time, i.e. the next ten weeks. The hope is that this will provide the proper context for what to look for during the next three games, all of which are critical wins to set the table for the second half of the season.

On offense, the passing game is obviously beyond the wildest expectations of even the most positive-minded Cat fan. The fact that Persa's first half against Rice was considered a lousy stretch is testament to how well he has played. But it is not just his accuracy and decision-making; the receiving corps deserves its props as well. They have run crisp routes, placed themselves in great positions, and made the catches look easy. The start was so close to perfect for this unit, it would be difficult to see improvement. But it will eventually be tested by a solid pass defense, and will need to be even better.
Midterm grade: A

The running game is performing exactly as expected, which is not a good thing. Having only seen one game straight through, it is really hard to gauge whether it is more the fault of the backs or the line. Against Vandy, it was a bit of both, and the 'Dores have a solid run D. But against ISU and Rice, NU should have been able to do better than 3.2 yards per carry. Fortunately having a bad running game is not like having no passing attack. With the latter, the D can stack the box and dare you to throw. The opposite is not true. Teams will still need to keep at least 5 guys home, maybe 6, to guard the run or Arby would run right through them. So while this unit does not look like it will ever tear up the world, it will certainly keep defenses honest for Persa and his crew.
Midterm grade: C-

The Cats pass defense has been very impressive, but there are some worries. The front seven have put great deal of pressure on opposing QBs, and there have been an impressive number of interceptions (6)
through the three games. A lot of the pass yardage against ISU and Rice was late in the game when they were passing exclusively against a lot of Wildcat reserves. But there is still a lot of concern about how well a super star receiver will be able to run free in the NU defensive backfield. Also, the injury bug may hurt this unit as well. Recall that a lot of the reason for the Syracuse and Minnesota losses last year was the decimated secondary. At the same time, Hunter Bates did a great job covering for Carpenter at the last minute. Getting David Arnold will give the secondary an added level of intensity.
Midterm grade: B

The run defense was pretty sloppy against Vandy, but has steadily improved over the last two weeks. It was not that the defense was missing assignments in Nashville, they we simply not making tackles. That comes with intensity and focus and that falls on the coaches. Until the Cats see another legit running attack (and yes, I consider Vandy legit) the jury will still be out on the ability to stop the run. This could really be a strong element of this team if they can maintain the focus necessary to make the big stop and avoid the big
gain.
Midterm grade: B-

NU's opponents were not expected to show much in these first three weeks. Vandy, however has been surprisingly stout, and has the potential to actually win some games in a significantly diminished SEC east. Right now they may beat Tennessee, Kentucky, and possibly even Georgia on a good day. A nice story in Nashville could really be a boom for NU. Rice played solid for part of the game against Texas, but their week two victim North Texas had a horrible loss last week to Army. Rice won't win many games, bug might surprise a few more teams and at the very least improve upon its two win 2009.
Midterm grade: C+

The fans have been a really nice surprise so far. Whether it be the team's success, the marketing efforts, or some other reason, the Cat fans are already building up their next bowl game resume. I would guess there were 4000 fans in purple in Nashville, and some estimated that close to half of the 15,000 in Houston were NU faithful. But most important was the impressive showing of 25,000 against ISU on a rainy Saturday -- almost double the attendance of 2009's Towson game. Evanston Day this Saturday looks like it will be a success and the Wrigley game is officially sold out. Apparently season tickets are up by quite a bit as well. It will still be some time before Dyche returns to 95-96 levels of attendance, but beating Purdue and starting
6-0 will make homecoming a hot ticket.
Midterm grade: B+

The coaching has been pretty strong so far. There was a little lack of preparedness for Vandy, but overall, the focus and the play calling has been on point regardless of the results. Most fans would have liked to see the offense open up a little more in the second half against ISU, but it is hard to blame the coaches for that. Overall, there has been very little to complain about, and that is one of the best compliments you can give a coaching staff.
Midterm grade: A-

Overall, there is very little regret about the first three games, which is far more than anyone could say through three games last year -- and 2009 was a stronger team "on paper". But this squad has some nice chemistry and is performing at a very high level, most importantly, from whistle to gun. Especially if Vandy continues to play well, fans will look back on these first three games as a great success. There is a lot of work to be done and NU is nowhere close to the real meat of the schedule, but Fitz has made his mark by producing teams that get better as the season goes on, and if that holds to form, there is the outside potential for a special season. I hold to my prediction of 8 wins right now, but am close to saying the Cats could knock off an MSU or a PSU. Only time will tell.

Go Cats!!