Confidence in Kenosha; Superbacks; Michigan and Iowa Preview

The first week of Northwestern football practice is in the books with no major news out of Evanston.  The team arrived in Kenosha Saturday night ready for their annual week of training camp.  Reviewing the papers from the past week, there is one common thread – this is a confident Wildcat team.  This week in Kenosha will go a long way to determining how that confidence will translate to on the field performance.  EVR will also preview the Superback position and the Michigan and Iowa games.

thesportsbank.net

Everyone wants to know how Dan Persa did in his first week of practice, including Tina, Teddy, and Lindsey, who all wrote feature stories on Persa this week.  Dan was happy to be out with his Wildcat teammates, but admitted that it felt “weird” – it was after all his first football activity in nine months.  Reports are that Dan was able to handle dropping back and passing fairly well, while throwing the ball very accurately.  But he was hesitant and somewhat less confident with running and cutting.  Of course many wonder whether this will lead to a change in the game plan.  Depends on who you ask.  Fitz maintains that the Cats will do what they need to do to win.  While OC Mick McCall suggested that Dan would pass from the pocket more in 2011 even if he had not been injured.  Whether it is by design or by necessity, EVR expects the Cats to try to use the RBs to control the running game – at least to start the season – and only utilize Persa as a runner if it is not working.

One Wildcat has made clear that he expects to be on the field this year, and that is back-up QB Kain Colter.  In fact, in a Tribune interview, Kain suggested that he would be pressing Dan Persa for his job.  While it is hard to read this without snickering, you have to like the confidence that Kain Colter emits.  Fitz hits the nail on the head when he says that he would prefer that Kain act prepare as though he is going to be the starter – as opposed to simply waiting on the sideline for his turn.  Hopefully, Cat fans will not need to worry about a Dan Persa injury.  But if necessary, the Cats will need to see a better performance than the end of last season.  Either way, Fitz suggests that we will see Kain on the field in 2011.  As he showed last season, he is a heck of an athlete and needs to have the ball in his hands.

nusports.com

While the QB news makes the sports page news, the most significant story coming out of Evanston week was the news of moving Ben Burkett to right guard.  Burkett has started every game over the last three years at center.  Right guard is also the only spot on the offensive line where the Cats do not return a starter.  The O-Line was a spotty group in 2010; giving up too many sacks and producing too few rushing yards.  So adjustment is welcome.  The move appears to be designed to give redshirt freshman Brandon Vitabile an opportunity to start at center.  Brandon was one of NU’s highest rated recruits of the 2010 class.  For more on this decision, check out Skip’s Saturday blog posting.  This is a development that EVR will follow closely over the next three weeks.

On NU defender who has finally found confidence on the field is starting cornerback Jeravin Matthews.  Matthews, a senior, has seen time at running back, wide receiver, kick returner, and generally on special teams. He tells Tina Akouris that this is the first time he has reported to Kenosha at the same position as the year before.  Jeravin recorded 15 tackles as a backup last season and has impressed the coaching staff enough to be given the starting job out of spring football.  The front seven of the NU defense will need to spend the first few weeks finding its identity – and that will place a lot of pressure on the secondary.  The emergence of Venric Mark as a return man will allow Jeravin to focus on his defensive tasks for 2011.

This post is all about developing player confidence into performance.  And this team is brimming with confidence – as can be seen by Skip Myslenski’s blog post.  Fitz suggests that this is rooted in the failures of this senior class in the previous years:

·         But we were not very pleased with the way we finished a year ago. We've moved on from it, but still. It's like when you get your tail whipped; you remember who whipped your tail. Those memories, they stick with you as motivation if you use them the right way and that's kind of the way we've approached this off-season.

Senior Superback Drake Dunsmore created a little bulletin board material earlier in the week by stating:

·         I honestly think this is the year that we win the Big Ten championship and we get a major bowl game."

Senior Wideout Jeremy Ebert added his sentiment:

blogspot.com

I haven't been around a team like this. The confidence we have going into the season is unlike any other since I've been here. Yeah. We're ready to play some football. . . I think we just know we can get the job done this year. . . We have a little fire in our stomachs from how we left off last season and where we thought it was going to go. So we have a lot of unfinished business this year. . . We have something to prove this year.

Senior QB Dan Persa followed suit:

·         Yeah. I think it's just confidence. I think we got a lot of confidence last year working through the things we worked through and we know we can play with anybody. That's the biggest thing.  I think it's been like that since the senior class has been here.  It's always struck some of the guys that we weren't getting respected as much as we thought we should be.

And Senior tackle Al Netter summed the whole thing up:

·         I think that we've been through so much here at Northwestern and now we feel we're on the verge of being something special.  We all feel this is the special year. We have a lot of leadership. We have a lot of guys with playing experience. So I think there is a special buzz and we all feel it

College football is defined by leadership, confidence, and emotion.  These guys are speaking unlike any Northwestern senior class before.  They will be the ones responsible for translating their swagger to on the field performance.

Also of note, apparently the team is having a mustache growing contest.

Superback Preview

As anyone who is reading this blog knows, the NU superback position is a hybrid position that is part fullback and part tight end – and at times part slot receiver as well.  Based on a little bit of research, it appears that NU is the only team that uses the Superback title for this role.  This basically means that Drake Dunsmore is the best Superback in the country.

thesportsbank.net

Dunsmore will continue to be one of the most important cogs in the Northwestern offense.  And more importantly, he arrives in August completely healthy for the first time in his tenure at NU.  Speaking of confidence, Dunsmore says in an interview with Skip, that the Wildcat seniors talk about winning the Big Ten Championship “all the time.”  Dunsmore is on the John Mackey Award watch list and for good reason.  He has 98 career catches for more than 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns.  Drake has a lot of strength (for those of you who remember this) and has great hands.  His frame makes him difficult to cover, but is large enough to take on a linebacker in a blocking assignment.  This makes him perfect for the Superback role.  But his health is important as the depth at this position is not great – primarily because of a lack of experience.

The depth chart lists Sophomore John Plasencia as the backup to Dunsmore.  John is taller and heavier than Drake, so one has to wonder whether he will have the same ability to excel in the passing game – although he did catch 40 passes in his final two years in high school.  His size, however, is perfect for a blocking end or fullback.  He appeared in four games last year but did not record any stats.

The superback position is rounded out by Junior Brett Nagle and redshirt freshman Mark Szott.  Nagle has appeared in two games in two years.  He has one career reception, against Rice last season.  Szott is likely to redshirt, although Fitz has spoken highly of his route running during interviews.

Michigan – October 8, 2011 – Ryan Field.  Michigan makes its first trip to Evanston since 2007, a heartbreaker for Northwestern, who lost a fourth quarter lead in that game.  Since then the two programs have been on opposite ends of the spectrum.  NU has had, maybe, the best three year stretch in program history.  Michigan, probably its worst.  By the time they get to Evanston, Michigan will have had a good chance to kick the tires on its new system under coach Hoke.  This will be Michigan’s first road game after five weeks at home – with Notre Dame its only truly challenging opponent.

foxsports.com

Michigan’s offense begins and ends, of course, with Heisman Trophy candidate Denard Robinson.  NU will get a decent warm-up the week before with Nathan Scheelhaase, but even the Illini QB cannot match the speed and field awareness of Robinson on the run.  This will be the biggest test of the NU run defense, as they will be best served forcing Robinson to throw.   The rest of Michigan’s offense is very experienced, as they bring seven more seniors and only one sophomore to the party.  Michael Shaw is their leading rusher from the running back position, but he only had 75 carries so it remains to be seen whether he can carry the load that Michigan will ask of him.  Roy Roundtree returns as Robinson’s favorite target.  The O-Line has three seniors.  But the key to the offense may be sophomore (albeit returning starter) LT Taylor Lewan protecting Robinson’s blind side.

But everyone knows that Michigan cannot win football games without a significant increase in their defensive production.  Last season, Big Blue gave up 34 points or more nine times.  Nine!  Michigan looks to employ a 3-4 defense in 2011 and brings three seniors to the front.  But the secondary is what will need to improve the most.  This unit was consistently out of position in 2010 and gave up big play after big play.  Unfortunately, they expect to start two sophomores at safety, where they are already thin.  Moving linebacker Thomas Gordan to safety is an effort to provide depth to this unit.

The battle for the middle of the Legends Division will be fierce, and the winner of this game will go a long way towards ending up on the higher end, and actually competing for the division.

hawkeyesgameday.com

Iowa – October 15, 2011 – Iowa City, IA.  No team in the Legends Division is replacing more important players than Iowa.  Compare this to the fact that NU is returning more players than anyone else in the Division – and NU’s recent success against the Hawkeyes.  But the night game in Iowa City will be intimidating and the Cats will be playing a battle-tested team in Iowa, having already faced Iowa State, Pitt and Penn State.

Offensively, it will finally be James’ Vandenberg’s turn to control the offense.  Vandenberg is no stranger to the Cats as he was forced into action against NU in 2009.  He does have the advantage of starting a handful of games, which will be a major plus (think about how Kafka and Persa benefitted from the same).  Sophomore Marcus Coker will be the starter in a depleted running back corps.  He had over 600 yards rushing in 2010 and averaged a strong 5.5 yards per carry.  If he can avoid the Iowa jinx of the last few years, he has the opportunity to be a workhorse for the Hawks.  Marvin McNutt returns as one of the best receivers in the Big Ten.  If the relatively young offensive line and keep Vandenberg protected, McNutt will be a major threat, again.

On defense the Hawkeyes are a mix of experience and youth.  While there are a lot of solid seniors, they expect to start three sophomores, including two at the linebacker level.  Senior Tyler Neilsen will need to lead these two if the unit wants to develop into a traditional Iowa defense.  The Senior-laden defensive line will need to be in better condition this season, as it faltered down the stretch in a few games in 2010 – especially against NU.

Go Cats!

Game Preview: Illinois (5-5) (3-4) at Northwestern (7-3) (3-3)

Saturday November 20, 2010; 2:30 CST (ESPNU; ESPN3 online)

Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois



Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune.com

Safety First: In a shocking bit of news that came across the internet around 11:00 EST, the end zone shown above will be reserved for touchbacks, defensive and special teams touchdowns, and safeties.  It appears that after assuring the public that both sides had agreed to the layout of the field, someone balked after viewing the stadium first-hand.  There will be finger-pointing and questions unanswered, and this will undoubtedly add to the unique nature of this very unique game.  Hopefully, the special adjusted Big Ten Rules, which were announced this morning, will only affect the view of the game, and not the outcome.

This development certainly has the ability to affect fan enjoyment of the game.  Especially for those fans in the “right field” seats, who had better hope for a defensive struggle if they want to get their money’s worth out of their admission.  But in the end, just like at a Cubs home game, the seats on the first and third base lines will be premium viewing locations for most, if not all, of the scoring.  Those hoping to catch a special edition football that sails over the right field wall will be disappointed – as even the strongest wind is unlikely to carry a kickoff onto Addison.  Here’s hoping that the oddity of the special rules do not detract from what is surely an important game for both schools.

Northwestern, like it has done in the previous two Novembers, revived its season after a brutal loss by beating #13 Iowa 21-17 last weekend.  In doing so, All-Big Ten candidate Dan Persa rekindled the fire of the Cardiac Cats, which seemed to have dwindled this season.  Meanwhile, Illinois is coming off two gut-wrenching losses: a 67-65 triple-overtime track meet against Michigan, and a horrible loss to a Minnesota team that had lost nine straight.  Illinois combined scores over the last two games is 99-105; so take that for what it is worth.

This is the second year that the in-state rivals will play for the Land of Lincoln Trophy – currently held by Northwestern.  Illinois leads the all-time series by a count of 52-46-5; although NU leads 10-5 during the Expect Victory Era.  Illinois won the only previous game played between the two at Wrigley Field (then Cubs Park); a 29-0 shutout lead by the legendary Red Grange.  This is a series that has had very few surprises in the past, as the team with the better record entering the game has won 11 straight, and 16 out of the last 17 meetings.

Injury Report: Other than the obvious Dan Persa injury, the sheet reads the same as last week.  Backup OL Doug Bartels (Shoulder) and ?^th-string running back Jacob Schmidt (Ankle) are both listed as questionable.  For Illinois, backup CB Terry Hawthorne (Foot) is questionable.  LB Evan Frierson was dismissed from the team due to his trouble with the law.  Thanks to Collegeinjuryreport.com for the update.

Weather Report: Cold but dry.  High of 44, low of 38, which we may see once the sun goes down after halftime.  Light winds up to 12 mph coming in from center field.  See Weather.com for details, and dress warm.

When Northwestern has the ball:

Players to Watch

Evan Watkins: What to think about this?  Evan Watkins is a big kid.  At 6’6”, 245, he is 10 pounds heavier than Terrell Pryor and 5 pounds lighter than Cam Newton (at the same height as both).  He can run, but not fast.  So expect to see more Tim Tebow than what we have been used to with Danny.  His arm is very strong and he should be able to open up the offense a little more than Persa could if he is given time to throw.  Expect the Illini defense to put a lot of pressure on Evan early, especially on passing downs.  A big question is whether the Cats will keep up their offensive tempo, or slow down for the benefit of Evan.  The Cats ran 82 plays last week, the second most ever by NU in a regulation game.  I would expect to see less, especially with the modified sideline sharing.

Corey Liuget (DT): Liuget is a big quick dude at 6’3” 285.  He leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and is ninth in the Big Ten in both sacks and tackles for loss.  His 11 tackles against Michigan State was the highest total by an Illinois DT in 14 years.  In a position not generally known for racking up the stats, Liuget is a big force as a run-stopper.  The Cats will need to account for him in the middle if it wants to get the run game going – as the loss of Persa’s speed will limit the ability to run the option outside.

Drake Dunsmore: There was a Drake Dunsmore sighting last week in Evanston.  The Cats’ Superback, who has suffered through most of the season with injured ribs and tight coverage found his way open for 8 catches and 65 yards and surpassed 1000 yards for his career at NU.  Drake will see a lot of coverage from Senior LB Nate Bussey, who will be a far greater challenge than Iowa’s freshman LB last week.  Dunsmore’s short routes and ability to run after the catch will be an important outlet for Evan as he gets his feet wet.

In the trenches: NU’s line played very well against Iowa’s front four last week, eventually wearing them down to the point of being completely ineffective.  They will not be able to afford to wait that long on Saturday.  It will be time to pride-up and protect their young signal-caller.  Illinois has a freshman and a sophomore on its D-Line, which has been shredded in the last two weeks.  But NU will have to focus its attention on Liuget and Senior DE Clay Nurse.

Overall Impression: An actual quote from the Illinois SID game notes: “Illini defense has history of shutting down high powered offenses”.  The first bullet point then goes on to boast about holding Denard Robinson to just 62 yards.  No mention of the 67 points that they gave up in that game.  NU has scored the first touchdown in each of its 10 games, and I would expect a scripted first series designed to do the same.  But from that point on Evan will need to do the heavy lifting.  I would expect one big mistake and two little ones from Evan – it will be how the team responds that will make the difference.

When Illinois has the ball:

Nathan Scheelhaase (QB): Scheelhaase is a contender for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and for good reason.  This was an Illinois team that was not expected to do much, and after a slow start, Scheelhaase lead the team to solid wins over PSU and Purdue, two teams that beat Northwestern.  Illinois does not throw the ball much; it has passed for more than 200 yards only four times this year, but in each of the last three games.  The run-pass ratio is often 2-1.  But Scheelhaase runs an efficient offense: they score off turnovers, convert third downs, and when they make mistakes, they are not big ones.  NU’s goal needs to be to force Scheelhaase to beat them with his arm.

NU Linebackers: The bottom line is that if NU wants to win this game, they are going to need to stop the Illini running game.  And that means the linebacker corps are going to need to step up.  Quentin Davie and Nate Williams are playing their last game in front of a friendly crowd, and they need to put on a show.  Putting pressure on the run game and keeping contain on the short passes.  A failure in this department means an NU loss.

Mikel Leshoure (RB): Leshoure, even more than Scheelhaase, has been the biggest surprise for the Illini this season.  He has six 100-yard games, and is 2^nd in the Big Ten, 14^th Nationally in rushing yards.  He is a fast and powerful runner – much like what the Cats saw out of Adam Robinson last week.  The Cats would be well served trying to be aggressive against Leshoure, because he can get 4-6 yard gains all day.

In the Trenches: Illinois O-Line is significantly larger than what the Cats faced against Iowa last week, so the NU line is going to need to put on its Big Boy pants tomorrow.  They are the primary reason for the Illini rushing attack.  NU’s D-Linemen will need to keep the Illini from getting their blockers to the second level and breaking big gains for Leshoure.  In passing situation, NU should be able to create trouble for Scheelhaase, but need to contain, for he is a running threat as well.

Overall Impression: Lost in the Illini defense giving up 105 points over the last 14 days is the fact that the offense scored 99 points in the same two games.  It is doubtful that Illinois has the firepower to hang 40 on the Cats, but 28-35 points are not out of the question if the Cats cannot stop the run.  With a rookie QB, the Cats cannot afford a shootout.

Intangibles: The Cats are playing for Persa and to protect their new guy, Evan.  The Illini are playing for their bowl eligibility and to protect their coach, Zook.  This will be a circus atmosphere, and each team will need to contain their emotion and focus on the game.  The team that remembers that the field is still 100 yards long, just like the gym back in Hickory, will be the team that will prevail.

Bottom Line:  The Cats game plan from last week, to wear down the defense will not work tomorrow.  They cannot afford to rely on Evan to lead a comeback.  Everyone will need to step up and do their part for the Cats – Watkins can afford a few mistakes – but no one else can.  The Illini need to avoid the meltdown that everyone expects to happen.  Something has to give, but the Cats prevail – in a close one. 

Cats win 23-20.

Go Cats!

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Sunday Morning Superback

Defense Leads the Way as Cats Cruise to Victory

Photo credit: chicagotribune.com

On a day where the Big Ten was involved in a number of close games, it was good to be on the Ohio State and Penn State side of the ledger – rather than going down to the wire like Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and MSU.  This was due to defense that was a suffocating as the Texas heat, and an efficient offense that, at least in the second half, continued to write the legend of Dan Persa.

The Cats are 3-0 for just the third time in the Expect Victory Era (2001, 2008) and look to continue their solid start against Central Michigan next Saturday.  The reports that I have read say that the online streaming was awful.  But CBS College sports has a highlight package to watch (although the second half highlights are from field level).

I usually start with the offense in my analysis, but in fairness to how the ‘D’ played last night, I will give them their accolades first.

Quentin Davie played one of the best games of his career.  He finished with 10 tackles, two for loss and a half-sack.  He also recorded the pick-six that finally blew the game open for the Wildcats.  In a game such as this, where the offense is sputtering, the defense often needs a leader to step forward and keep the team on its toes.  Davie filled that role with an emotion-filled performance.  The Cats will need Davie to repeat this level of play during the Big Ten season, so it is good to see that he is capable.

Vince Browne finished with seven tackles and a sack deep in Rice territory.  This is indicative of how the Cats played the field position game all night, which was also a good sign.  Important to know that, especially with NU’s new-found talent at punter, the defense can hold teams deep, which allows the offense to (eventually) capitalize.  Browne also forced the fumble that lead to Demos’ second field goal.

Hunter Bates was a last second starter at safety in the place of Jared Carpenter.  Bates had a great game, not only in the secondary, but returning punts.  The “other number 7” recorded his first career interception late in the game.  He also ran back the longest NU punt return in a few years with his 33 yarder that set up the third-quarter TD pass to Ebert.  It is very good to see that even with Arnold and Carpenter out, the secondary play is strong.

Stefan Demos got back on track last night, connecting on all six of his kicks.  Maybe it was the Outback Bowl hangover; maybe it was the highly competitive long-snapper position battle, but in either event, it is good to have you back Stefan.  Demos’ average kickoff was inside the five, a nice touch.

Dan Persa had a rather pedestrian first half, where he threw more incompletions than he had all season.  But after a 9-10 second half, we learned not only that Dan’s efficiency is here to stay, but also that he is mentally capable of overcoming a slow start.  Given that the running game continues to suck, Persa becomes more and more important to the offense.  At this point, he is officially a Big Ten POY candidate. 

The Offensive Line was business as usual, which is not necessarily a good thing.  The pass protection was very good at giving Persa time, although gave up three sacks – very much like the Vandy game.  The run blocking continued to struggle as the entire running game averaged 3.2 yards per carry – again.  Cat fans can officially be worried as NU failed to run the ball against another weak defense.

Drake Dunsmore once again lead the team in receptions, although failed to get into the end zone for the first time this year.  Jeremy Ebert broke free on a nice third quarter TD catch and run.  Persa said that he knew Ebert would score as soon as he threw it.  Demetrius Fields also finished with six receptions.  The beauty of this Wildcat offense is the ability to spread the ball around.  Eight receivers caught balls last night.

Arby Fields and the running game had another disappointing game.  Fields had the opportunity to finish strong, but fumbled at the goal line, a move which is sure to earn the ire of Coach Fitz.  The Wildcats won eight games with no running game, but if they want to survive the Big Ten schedule in ’10, it has to at least be competent.  It is not there yet.

A few other odds and ends: Carpenter’s injury was listed as a back strain; hopefully it is not too serious.  Demetrius Dugar left the game with a head injury.  Dan Persa missed a few plays in the second quarter when he had the wind knocked out of him.  NU held human-highlight-real Sam McGuffie to 78 yards from scrimmage.  NU is now 94-90 in the Expect Victory Era.

Go Cats!

Sunday Morning Superback (Part I)

Cats Eat Birds; NU wins 37-3

Northwestern was solid on both sides of the ball against an inferior opponent Saturday.  And in a season that has now had for FCS teams beat FBS programs, this was exactly what the doctor ordered.

I have not yet seen the game recording as I missed the BTN replay today; but I am recording it tomorrow and will watch it then.  But I do have a few comments about the game based on what I have seen and read.  It is very difficult to judge ability against an inferior opponent.  But execution can be measured.  And NU executed all over the field.  

Beginning of course with Dan Persa.  Is this guy ever going to throw an incomplete pass?  Persa is now 38-44 for the season.  38-44!!!  He is the undisputed leader of this offense; he has weapons that trust him; and most important, he has the confidence necessary for the team to make a nice run.  Every game will not be like the first two for him.  But there is one thing that Cat fans can be certain of, Persa is not afraid to throw the ball.  He currently leads the nation in passing efficiency and completion percentage.

Drake Dunsmore is not the largest Tight End in the country, but he might be one of the biggest mismatches in the Big Ten.  Teams will have to find ways cover him in different ways, and that will open up the rest of the offense.  His three touchdowns are tops in the nation for Tight Ends.

The running game was at the very least proficient, which again, is not much more than a confidence booster against ISU.  It was also nice to see Arby Fields get 22 carries, which shows that he has the stamina to be a feature back.  Hopefully, he will keep showing fans the game that he talked about in the pre-season, and not the one that he demonstrated in Nashville.  The downside is that the Cats still only managed 3.2 yards per carry.

The defense, obviously, put on a show.  Four turnovers, including two by Quentin Davie; three sacks, including two by Vince Browne lead the team to almost a shutout.  The playmakers are making plays and that is good to see, because they did not last weekend.  We must consider the opponent, but the Redbirds put up 55 points in week one.  Dominance is dominance. 

Special teams was spotty again.  Demos pegged a nice 39 yard FG and Williams averaged 42 yards per punt.  The Redbirds managed only 9 yards on the nine punt returns.  But there were two more missed kicks.  This cannot continue if the Cats want to win close games.

All in all, there is very little you can bring from this game that will demonstrate how the Wildcats will play against other teams.  But there is a lot of confidence that the Wildcats can take from this game and the fan base should be able to breath a little easier this week.

There are a couple early week injury updates.  Niko Mafuli, David Arnold, and Bryce McNaul are all listed as questionable for the Rice game.  Backup offensive lineman Keegan Grant is also questionable with an unspecified injury that has kept him out of all three games so far.  Looking forward to seeing you guys back on the field.

Once again, I will post a little more once I have had the opportunity to review the game tape. 

Go Cats