Saturday September 10, 2011, 2:30 CST (BTN)
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| Ryan Field fansonly.com |
Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois.
Northwestern comes off its biggest non-conference road win in 16 years. Eastern, last week, won a stirring come-from-behind victory against rival Illinois State in the 100th playing of the Mid-America Classic. Eastern is the seventh current FCS team that NU has played; and the Cats are 6-1 in those games. Eastern and NU have never played.
It is generally very difficult to do an in depth preview of a game such as this. Generally, the goal is to show where mismatches may occur and discuss key player match-ups. But NU has so many mismatches in size, skill, and strength; it is difficult to narrow down the keys to the game. Rather this post will focus on Eastern’s strengths and the spots where NU may have problems if the Cats do not come out sharp on Saturday.
Injury Report
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| Mike Trumpy - doubtful |
Of course, Dan Persa is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game. It is highly unlikely that he will play. The big news, however, is that Mike Trumpy is doubtful for Saturday’s game after a concussion. EVR has yet to find where the concussion was suffered, but can only assume that it happened at practice. This will be something to keep an eye on. Cat fans will see a steady dose of Adonis Smith and Jacob Schmidt. Also, expect to be introduced formally to Treyvon Green tomorrow. As reported yesterday, Jack DiNardo is out with a leg injury. Collin Ellis remains out with his broken finger. Tony Jones, Roderick Goodlow, Brian Arnfelt, Jared Carpenter and Mike Bolden all were unavailable for BC with various injuries and are questionable for Eastern. Arnfelt is significant because he would have played tomorrow with DiNardo’s injury, leaving the Cats a little thin at DT.
Weather Report: The game-time forecast is mid-seventies with a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms. Check with the Weather Channel for updates on the weather.
Inside the Matchups
When NU has the ball, expect to see a heavy dose of running the football. NU was able to overpower the BC front seven for 227 yards last week. The Eastern front has some experience, but is small – especially on the outside. Eastern’s strength is at DT where they have two large tackles, in Jon Voytilla and Roosevelt Holliday. If they can absorb their blockers at the line of scrimmage, it could allow small, but speedy senior linebackers Cory Leman and Gordy Kickles to make some stops in the backfield. That said, Eastern gave up 152 yards rushing to ISU last week – recording only one tackle for a loss.
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| Kain Colter laketheposts.com |
NU is not going to have quite the size advantage on the outside that BC had against the Cats last weekend, but expect Colter to attack sophomore corner Tavares Crawford, who at 5’10” 169, will be dwarfed by Rashad Lawrence or especially Christian Jones. The key in the EIU secondary is senior rover Nick Martinez. A big and strong safety, Martinez had two key interceptions last week. He will be responsible for keeping NU from throwing the deep ball. EIU gave up 240 yards through the air against ISU.
When it comes down to it, even without Persa and Trumpy, the Cats should simply overpower the Panthers with their size advantages on offense. One other key mismatch to watch is Drake Dunsmore, who will have a huge size advantage if he is covered by one of the smaller Panther corners.
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| Jimmy Garoppolo bleacherreport.com |
When EIU has the ball, this is an offense that can move the ball through the air, which, of course, was a problem for the Cats against BC. Sophomore QB Jimmy Garoppolo went 25-34 for 305 yards and 3 TD’s last week against ISU. Coming off a week where NU gave up huge passing yardage to an otherwise overmatched Chase Rettig, this poses a potential problem. Garoppolo, like Rettig, is not a running quarterback, so pressure will be key to stopping him. Garoppolo was sacked twice last week.
The favorite Panther target is senior flanker Lorence Ricks, who brought in seven catches for 114 yards and a score in the ISU win. Ricks stands 6’1” but only 176 pounds, so he will need to find himself open as he does not have a weight advantage over either Mabin or Matthews. Eastern, like NU distributes the ball well in its spread offense. So the depth of NU’s secondary will be tested more than it was against the more traditional pro-style offense of BC. Junior split end Chris Wright and freshman tight end Sam Hendricks also pulled in scores for the Panthers in their week one victory.
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| Jake Walker collegepublisher.com |
EIU is not much of a running team and that will probably be the fatal flaw for the Panthers tomorrow. Starting tailback Jake Walker managed only 18 yards on eight carries last week. Actually, redshirt freshman AJ Woodson had a better game, managing 52 yards, but with only a long of 11 he is not a big play threat. The Panthers ran an equal number of runs and passes at 35 each last week. But with the Cats strength in the run defense, at least as exhibited last week, do not expect EIU to be as balanced tomorrow.
The Panther offensive line is small and starts two sophomores and freshman Collin Seibert. Senior Eric Zink is the smallest of the bunch – the right guard is only 264 and will be charged with blocking the likes of Niko Mafuli at 305 and Will Hampton at 285. The key for EIU is the opposite guard, Alex Pierce, who weighs in at a solid 307. As it often happens in these games, the differences in the trenches will be obvious – and NU vs. EIU tomorrow should be no different.
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| wordpress.com |
In the end, EIU’s passing game has to potential to make this game a little uncomfortable early. But NU should be able to move the ball very effectively on offense and will not get stopped much. Like most college games, this one will be decided in the trenches, and the Cats have a significant advantage in that area. Look for an improvement in the secondary over last week and a 37-10 Wildcat Victory.
Go Cats!
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