Wildcats Roll 42-21; Yet Questions Remain

chicagotribune.com

Northwestern was in control of Saturday’s game from the fourth play of the game when Bryce McNaul stepped in front of a Jimmy Garoppolo pass and gained Northwestern’s first possession of the game.  What resulted was the first of six touchdowns – each of which was either scored, or set up in part, by sophomore sensation Kain Colter.  In fact, Colter’s play prompted EIU coach Bob Spoo to say "I don't know how good Persa is, but this kid is unstoppable."

The Cats don September 11 memorial helmets
chicagotribune.com

Now, a little levity here – NU dominated a team that it should have been able to push around.  It played a solid game with no turnovers – albeit two recovered fumbles.  The Cats accomplished their goal of surviving another game without Dan Persa – who was in pads on Saturday.  But there are a few concerns that are scattered among the positives from this game.

NU’s running game is clearly far beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations.  The team has almost 550 yards rushing in two games – spread over five primary runners, who each have over 50 yards.  Kain Colter leads the team with 180 yards, but needs to learn to protect himself a little more.  The Cats need him to survive at least one more week for the Dan Persa rehab project to work properly.  If NU can turn the team over to Dan in time for the Illinois game on October 1, then Kain has done his job.  But there is no question that he will be “the guy” in 2012 and beyond.  So in order to do this, the Cats will need him to take a game to learn how to protect the ball (he fumbled for the second time in two games) and more importantly protect his body.

True Freshman Treyvon Green
chicagotribune.com

True Freshman Treyvon Green saw significant action on Saturday after only one carry against BC.  And he made good use of it rushing 14 times for 70 yards and a second quarter touchdown.  As EVR suggested in its preview, Green will certainly be pressed into service because of NU’s lack of depth at tailback.  Mike Trumpy is still undergoing his concussion protocol and there is no word on his availability for Army.  Adonis Smith left the game with a leg injury – there have been no reports yet, but it looked as though it was serious enough to cause him to miss time.  Green looked good carrying the ball, averaging 5 yards per carry.  The offensive line continued to get great push, both for Green and the other ball carriers.  Whether this success will continue and translate to Big Ten opponents remains to be seen.

Cain Colter throws a pass

chicagotribune.com

The Cats did not need to throw the ball much Saturday. Colter was only 10 for 13 and Trevor Siemian only threw three more.  The Cats managed to spread the ball around still – to seven different receivers, including the first passing touchdown of the season to walk-on junior Tyris Jones.  The passing game is going to be the Cats secret weapon as they approach the Big Ten season.  While all of the publicity will be about the renewed running game, the efficiency of the air attack will be a key factor for the Wildcats – especially once Persa returns.

The Panthers Kenny Whitaker hauls in a touchdown pass
chicagotribune.com

Defensively, there are still major concerns with the pass defense, which is alarming considering the talent returning in that unit.  Jimmy Garoppolo was only 14-25 for 209 yards – 72 of which was on one play.  But the corners were giving the receivers a huge cushion, even on third and short.  And the long pass play was completely unacceptable.  This is going to need to tighten up.  The Cats have not yet seen a strong passing attack, but they have already given up more than 550 yards passing in two games.  It will not see much passing from Army, so it will need to get right on the practice field for the Illinois game in two weeks.

The NU defense celebrates
chicagotribune.com

The NU run defense has a similar line to the BC game.  They gave up one long run – a 76 yard scamper to Jimmy Lera, but otherwise allowed 2.2 yards per carry.  So while the general state of the run defense is vastly improved, the Cats still need to lock down the opponents’ opportunities for big plays.  One big play for the EIU Panthers might equate to three or four of them from a more proficient rushing attack like Illinois.  So while the Cats should be pleased with their progress, there is still work to do.

The special teams play was a mixed bag.  Jeff Budzien missed a 45-yard field goal – badly, short and right.  And the normally consistent foot of Brandon Williams shanked a 24 yarder as well.  But Venric Mark began to show signs of his skill, ripping off long kick returns of 49 and 63 yards.  Mark led the team with 127 all-purpose yards.

Overall, this was a solid performance by the Cats – nothing special.  There is still a tough Army team to play on Saturday before beginning the two-week preparation for an Illinois team that is already in mid-season form.  Hopefully the Cats can learn from their mistakes and put together another nice week of practice before facing the pesky Black Knights at West Point.

Go Cats!

Sunday Morning Superback: Colter, NU Linemen Strong in Cats’ 24-17 Win at Boston College

Pat Fitzgerald coached his team to one of the most significant wins of his young coaching career on Saturday – and the Cats did it in the most unlikely of ways.  All of the team’s questions were answered (although some new ones arose), in a sound win that, while coming down to the last play, never had the feeling that NU had lost control of the game.

For Fitz, this has to rank up there with the last three wins against Iowa and the 2009 Wisconsin game as the biggest wins of his career.  His team went on the road to a pretty good BCS opponent and punched them in the mouth.  The team was well-prepared and played with intensity throughout the game.  But for the ill-advised interception thrown by Colter and the touchdown overturned by a holding penalty – this game could have been a Cats blow out.

The key to the game on the offense was the offensive line.  While Colter’s play was nothing short of fantastic, the O-Line gave him plenty of time to throw and provided push for the running game on every play.  The big guys deserve a lot of credit as they paved the way for 227 rushing yards against a front seven that gave up less than 85 per game last season.  The Cats line appeared bigger, stronger, and in much better shape than an Eagle line that did not appear ready for Big Ten football.

Trumpy finds the end zone
trb.com

Trumpy lead the way with 15 carries for 85 yards.  And did so fairly quietly.  He had the long 34 yard run, but otherwise simply picked up 3 yards here; 5 yards there.  In the end he was at almost 6 yards per carry, well above his 2010 average.  Adonis Smith seemed to have re-earned his number two position with a solid 11 for 53 effort.  Smith continued his unlikely role as the run-up-the-middle guy and often was able to move piles and stretch for the extra yard.  True Frosh Treyvon Green also saw the field and got one carry.

Colter evades Kuechly
washingtonexaminer.com

Colter’s day on the ground was about what we expected, 23 carries for 71 yards.  There were a few more designed quarterback runs than the fans would have liked.  But Colter was much more effective when he pulled the ball down and scrambled.  He rarely looked like he was looking to run – as he would go through his progression or read the pass rush before tucking and burning.

But his passing game was the biggest treat.  17-24, 197 yards, and the one interception is a pretty solid debut. He was able to spread the ball to 8 different receivers – no small task when you only complete 17 balls.  This included 4 to Ebert and 2 to true freshman Christian Jones.  There were some balls thrown high, and a few just behind the receiver – but the clutch throw downfield to Ebert in the fourth quarter showed that he has the ability to make the big throw when necessary.  The interception was just a poorly thrown ball.  Most of all, fans in the stands were impressed with his composure and decision-making.  He never appeared rattled, even after the pick or the sacks.  Colter did get a precautionary x-ray after the game.  He was clearly limping after he scored his second quarter touchdown and was guarded in jogging on and off the field at halftime.  His mobility did not seem to be hampered in the second half; but the coaches also clearly called fewer quarterback runs.  Overall, Cat fans a relieved by the performance – both knowing that there is another solid QB in the queue, and that Persa can continue to rest up for the Big Ten season.

Defensively, yes this was the same unit that got thrashed by Illinois, Wisconsin, and Texas Tech last season.  While BC’s offense was not great last year, they had a competent running game and large big play receivers – all of which NU basically kept at bay.  After giving up the 69-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, NU gave up only 1.2 yards per carry the rest of the day.  And it was the defensive stand after that run which set the tone for the day.  NU made stop after stop – every time it was needed.  The D gave up a lot of yards – but often stalled out the BC drive around mid-field. 

Rettig arises while the Cats celebrate a sack
bcinterruption.com

One of the most noticeable changes in the defense was the amount of pressure that the Cats put on Chase Rettig.  For most of the game, Rettig was under pressure with well-timed blitzes and strong D-Line pressure.  The Cats recorded three sacks for Rettig as well.

The secondary was disappointing, primarily because they gave up some many yards to a quarterback that had accuracy problems all day.  But overall, this unit played decent and made some big plays when they were needed.  This is especially the case for Jordan Mabin, who made the Cats only turnover and broke up a key pass in the fourth quarter.

The only major weakness in the secondary was Jaravin Matthews – although you can hardly blame him for being unable to cover Momah, who stood 7 inches taller than him (and it certainly seemed like more in person).  Late in the fourth, NU moved Mabin over to cover Momah, and that appeared to neutralize him a little. 

The special teams were solid as expected.  Budzien drilled his only field goal attempt – and after seeing the BC kicker struggle, Cat fans were reminded how valuable a good kicker can be.  Mark never really had a good chance to make a big return, although brought his two returnable kicks to around the 25.  Brandon Williams was consistent as ever with turning the field around.

Adonis Smith into the end zone
bostonherald.com

The play-calling on offense was creating and really worked well.  Although there were a few too many designed Colter runs (especially given how proficient everything else was working), everyone knew that was going to be part of the gameplan.  BC really had problems with the hurry-up – especially in the drive at the end of the half.  And that was really where Colter showed his swagger.  At the end of the game on fourth-and-one, EVR would have preferred to see Adonis get the call – or for Colter to take the snap under center.  But overall, McCall called a winner.  Defensively, the Cats attacked throughout most of the game and kept pressure on Chase Rettig.  Would have like to see more pressure during the final drives, however.

Overall, there were far more positives than negatives to take away from this game.  And Cat fans should not underestimate the significance of this win.  BC is one of the most consistent programs in the country – ranking 15^th nationally in total wins over the last 8 years.  Obviously, they had some injuries that changed the tone of the game.  But NU still went on the road and beat a solid opponent.  Nice job Cats!

Go Cats!

Practice Begins; News and Notes; RBs; Army and Illinois

Wow, when you list all of today’s topics next to each other, it seems like a lot to cover in just one post – and it is.  But with less than four weeks until Boston College, EVR has a lot of previewing to do.  So you are going to have to bear with me here.

espn.com

First off, practice began today for the 2011 Northwestern Wildcats.  EVR will do its best to keep everyone apprised of news from Evanston and Kenosha as it comes.  Although, generally, news in summer practice means injuries – so hopefully there will be no news.  But certainly, if there are any updates to the depth chart, EVR will let you know.  Skip Myslenski does a nice piece featuring Mike Trumpy and Brian Peters and the family atmosphere as the team gets back to work in Evanston.  Otherwise, there was nothing to report from day one. 

The biggest news for the past week is the Big Ten’s announcement that it will expand to a nine-game conference schedule in 2017.  The schedule will allow three teams from each division to have five home conference games in 2017, and the others (including Northwestern) in 2018.  There is no question that this will make the competition in the league better by providing more matchups and more accurately defined division winners.  Considering division winners will be determined by overall conference record and not a team’s divisional mark, this is a positive move.  The big ten also announced that there will not be two protected rivalries, as was speculated by some.  To do so would have significantly increased the lag between playing the other four teams – e.g., NU would only play Ohio State at home every eight years.  Kudos for not going down that road.

This will, as many have noted, make it more difficult for mid-level teams to become bowl eligible.  If the NCAA maintains its 12-game schedule limit, a team will have to win, at minimum, three conference games to be bowl-eligible – currently, a 4-0 non-conference team can be bowl eligible at 2-6 (we’re talking to you Minnesota).  This is obviously a good thing as some awful 6-6 teams have made Bowl games over the years – but it is a fact that it will be more difficult. 

Also, schools like OSU, Michigan, and (this year) Illinois can say goodbye to eight-game home schedules.  With most of the big schools playing at least one away non-conference game every two years – for instance, Michigan’s Notre Dame series – they are faced with the option of moving down to seven games home schedules each year or alternative between eight and six home games.  Let’s hope that the temptation to get an eight game schedule more often does not result in a continual dumbing down of their schedules.

The USA Today Coaches Poll was released last week.  EVR has two issues with this poll.  First, is USA Today’s insistence on referring to it as the Coaches Poll, rather than the grammatically correct Coaches’ Poll.  Second is the utter ridiculousness of ranking teams any time before week four of the regular season.  A great deal of the disparity of college football could be alleviated with this simple fix.

But, for what it is worth, NU received 30 votes and is ranked “31^st”.  Other NU opponents receiving pre-season rankings include: Nebraska (11^th), Michigan State (17), Penn State (25), Iowa (30), and Michigan (34).

wgn.com

NU made a major move forward in its master plan last week by re-signing Athletic Director Jim Phillips through 2020.  The fact that his contract now matches coach Fitz’s is no coincidence as the school has now placed its officially stamp of approval on this marriage.  Prior ADs at Northwestern firmly established the school’s reputation in non-revenue sports such as Women’s Lacrosse, Swimming, Men’s Soccer, and Women’s Tennis.  With Phillips’ arrival, the school has seen an increased emphasis on bringing football as well as men’s and women’s basketball up to an appropriate level.  Having Philips on board demonstrates that the school wants this era to be more than a blip on the radar, but instead a trend into the future.

There was a little bit of recruiting news last week.  First off, four-star defensive end Faith Ekakitie has placed NU in his top five, according to Rivals.  Ekakitie is a Rivals100 ranked player.  Additionally, offensive tackle and class of 2013 offensive tackle Evan Lisle has named NU as part of his top-six, which also includes BC, Michigan, Notre Dame, OSU and UCLA.

Finally, Sun Times reporter Tina Akouris has been the busiest NU beat writer so far, with nice stories about Jordan Mabin – and the drive of the NU seniors for a memorable season – and Nebraska’s respect for the Persa-Ebert connection.  Great to see that the seniors on defense expressed so much anger for how they played down the stretch last season (now they know how the fans felt).  Also, interesting to see Nebraska’s feelings about the NU offensive threat.

Running Back Preview

Maybe the most maligned group from the 2010 Wildcats, along with the linebackers, was the running backs.  Beginning with Arby Fields’ failed attempt as the starter and finishing with Mike Trumpy’s wrist injury in the Illinois game, there was generally no good news from the running backs.  And they will be the focus of attention again in 2011 as the team will need more production from the RBs in order to take the next step offensively.

espn.com

Mike Trumpy has emerged as the starter and deservedly so.  Even though he led the team with a meager 530 yards, he did so with only 116 carries.  With a normal healthy workload of 20 carries per game, his yards per carry should put him well over 1,000 yards.  Mike shows a great ability to mix power with modest speed.  He won the job from Arby Fields primarily because of his willingness to hit the hole rather than trying to break outside.  But he also broke an 80 yard run against a pretty solid Illinois defense.  Trumpy is also one of four returning players with more than 20 receptions, so he is very versatile.  If Mike plays 12 full games at the rate he played in 2010, he should have a breakout year.  But he will need help.

The running back position is a stressful position in the spread offense.  Not only does he touch the ball more than the rest of the team, but the pace of the offense takes its toll on the guy who is forced to run the ball, run a route, or block on every play.  Thus the importance of Adonis Smith.  Adonis lost his red-shirt midway through 2010, and immediately demonstrated his talent.  Adonis actually had a higher yards per carry than Trumpy with 4.8.  His tall skinny frame is deceptive as he is much stronger than he appears, yet is a touch slower than we would expect.  Big Ten defenders who are lazy and try to tackle him high will not be rewarded.  Look for Adonis to play a major role as a compliment to Trumpy.

Finally, Cat fans will again see a lot of work from Senior Jacob Schmidt.  Jacob missed some time last year due to an ankle injury.  We should see Jacob quite a bit on long yardage situations as his biggest asset is as a blocker and a receiver in the flat.

The transfer of Arby Fields will be felt the most in the lack of depth at this position.  Trumpy, Smith, and Schmidt are the only Wildcats on the roster with a carry in college.  Given the amount that the Cats plan to use all three, this poses a problem in the event of injury.  Look to see redshirters Tyris Jones and Tim Hanrahan if the Cats get into mop-up time (either giving or receiving) in order to protect the red-shirts of Jordan Perkins and Treyvon Green.  But if someone gets injured, one of the two freshmen will probably need to step up.

cstv.com

Army – September 17, 2011 – West Point, NY.  In the 2012 edition of Webster’s dictionary, next to “Trap Game”, is the box score from this game.  Service Academy – check; road game – check; quirky offense – check; before a bye week leading up to a rivalry/revenge game – check and check.  By all rights, NU should manhandle this team.  The offensive line averages a meager 270 and the depth chart currently has one (that’s “1”) defensive lineman.  But everyone knows that this game will be far more difficult on the field.

The Black Knights run their own version of the triple option.  This will be a mighty test for a linebacker corps that was consistently out of position last season.  The NU LBs will need to have their heads on straight for Army because RBs Malcolm Brown and Raymond Maples will certainly be ready.   Army QB Trent Steelman is a true double threat with 721 rushing yards in 2010.  While they do not pass much, Steelman threw just over 11 passes per game last season, his completion percentage was over 50% and he threw seven TDs to only 3 picks.  The Army offense is efficient and chock full of precision.  The Cats will need to be on their game.

The Navy defense is far less impressive and is not at all deep.  NU should be able to get its running game going early.  Army lost both of its starting DEs to injury, which will really hurt their pass rushing ability as well.  The Army defense held only three teams to under 20 points in 2010 (North Texas, VMI, and SMU).

Army is coming off a nice bowl win against SMU.  But their six-win season was not against the toughest schedule as their best win was probably at Tulane.  Army will warm up for the Cats with games against Northern Illinois and San Diego State – two teams coming off great season, but returning with new coaches.  NU will be the most put together team that Army will face.

Illinois – October 1, 2011 – Champaign, IL.  NU gets two weeks to prepare to make up for the embarrassing loss to the Illini at Wrigley Field.  Illinois will play its fifth home game to start the season against the Cats, a streak which will include a very tough visitor in Arizona State.  If either NU or Illinois comes into this game with a loss, it will be critical to win this conference opener.

thesportsbank.net

The Illinois offense will once again be led by Nathan Scheelhaase, who impressed everyone last year and will only continue to improve.  Jason Ford will step into some big shoes at running back, although the senior already has over 1,000 yards on fewer than 200 carries over the last two seasons.  The Offensive line is stocked with two seniors and three juniors and averages a stout 308 across the board.

The defense will return some good talent from a squad that held five teams to under 14 points – of course, the defense also gave up 67 points to Michigan and 38 to lowly Minnesota.  There will be two holes in the defense that sophomores Akeem Spence and Jonathan Brown will attempt to fill.  Their ability to mesh with the defense will be key for the Illini, especially in defending the run.  The secondary should be the strength of this unit, with experience at all four spots.

Illinois has managed to disappoint throughout most of the Ron Zook era, but they started to turn the corner in 2010.  This will be a make-or-break year for a program searching for an identity.  This will probably be NU’s second toughest road game (sorry Iowa), and a huge opportunity to steal a win from a team that may have equal talent.

Go Cats!

Game Preview: Northwestern (5-2) (1-2) at Indiana (4-3) (0-3)

Saturday, October 30, 2010 11:00 CST (Big Ten Network)

Photo Credit: iub.edu

Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

Northwestern is coming off a heartbreaking loss, but also its best performance of the season.  The team enters tomorrow’s game with a great deal of confidence after playing so well against one of the best teams in the nation.  IU is coming off a humbling 43-13 loss to Illinois, which left the team looking for answers.  Northwestern is 43-34-1 all time against Indiana, including 8-3 in the Expect Victory Era.  The only losses came in 1999, 2001, and 2008 – all in Bloomington.  Both teams bring very talented quarterbacks to the game; but NU has a major advantage on the defensive side of the ball.  IU is not known for packing their stadium, so there could be a very low attendance figure tomorrow.  If NU sends a contingent the size of what went to Nashville, it could be a pretty vocal group.

Injury Report: Jacob Schmidt is listed as questionable with the ankle injury that took him out of the MSU game last week.  He was still listed as the starter on the two-deep released on Tuesday.  But all signs point to Trumpy and Adonis Smith getting most of the carries again. 

Indiana has had a rash of injuries, maybe not as prominent as Purdue, but probably more devastating.  First, Darius Willis (RB) was injured a few weeks back and is out for the season.  Willis took over the first quarter of the IU-NU game last year on the way to opening up a 28-3 lead.  Nick Turner (RB) is one of the backs seeing time in his absence but is questionable with a concussion that forced him to sit out the Illinois game.  The Hoosiers will be down to their third-string right tackle after the Knee injury to Josh Hager (OT), who is now out for the season.  Junior DB Lenyatta Kiles is questionable with a groin injury.  TE Max Desmond is out with a knee injury.  Thanks to College Injury Report.com for the injury report.

Weather Report: Beautiful day for fall football.  High of 57, with just a light wind. Keep up to date with Weather.com

When Northwestern has the Ball:

Players to watch…

Dan Persa: MSU began to unlock the mystery of Dan Persa in the fourth quarter last week – and how teams are able to copy this defense, and more importantly how NU responds, will be the key to the rest of NU’s season.  After Persa had a pretty good first three quarters (16-22), MSU switched to a zero down-lineman set, instead lining up five blitzing linebackers and six DBs.  The pressure coming from all angles took the Cats by surprise and on the last three drives, the Cats had no answer.  Teams cannot run this set when the run is a possibility, because the O-Line would steamroll a bunch of linebackers starting from a standing position.  So getting the lead and keeping it will help to avoid this fate.  Also, keeping a back in the backfield to both threaten the run, and to help block, will keep this set at bay as well.  Moreso, if Persa can audible into a QB draw even when there are five wide, he could break a huge run against this set.  I would expect IU to try to employ this against Persa at least a few times, but I also think that NU will have made its adjustments as well.

Tyler Replogle (LB): This senior co-captain is making his 18^th career start for the Hoosiers, which is second only to his brother, Adam, an IU defensive lineman.  So the defense is pretty inexperienced.  But Replogle can be a force on the strong side.  He leads the team with 50 tackles but has no sacks.  He may be called upon to pick up Dunsmore on occasion, and does have one pick on the season.  More than anything Tyler is going to need to be a leader of a defense that has a lot of seniors (nine starting) but not a lot of experience.

Adonis Smith: The Adonis Smith Era began in Evanston last week, as this freshman back made good headway against a stingy MSU run defense.  IU is pretty strong against the run as well, statistically.  But Smith’s size and speed should enable him to make some headway.  Fitz has played pretty close to the cuff on how he intends to use his back this Saturday.  But it is hard to believe that Smith is not going to see at least the carries that he saw last week, if not more.

In the trenches: Indiana has two rather short defensive ends (Darius Johnson 6’0” and Terrance Thomas 6’1”), which should play a major advantage against NU’s rather large tackles.  But the interior line of Indiana is pretty large and powerful and has contributed to IU’s success against the run.  IU only has eight sacks so far this season, and that includes some pretty weak non-conference opponents.  That should be a nice reprieve for an NU offensive line that has been abused the last two games.

Overall impression: NU has scored first in all seven of its games.  The offense certainly operates better when it can control the tempo and play calling, as opposed to when game situations force them to throw.  IU’s defense has given up 34 points or more in each of the last four games, including Arkansas State.  NU, for once, has an experience edge on offense and should be able to use that to its advantage.

When Indiana has the Ball:

Players to watch…

Ben Chappell (QB): Chappell is IU’s all everything quarterback, who is approaching all-time team records in any number of categories.  He is smart and accurate and is fourth in the country in passing yards per game.  If he can channel his inner Kirk Cousins, he will be a nightmare for an NU secondary that got absolutely wasted by the MSU receivers last week.  Chappell will need to have a big game in order for IU to win, but if the IU line can give him time to throw, there is no reason to think that he will not have a big game.

Bryce McNaul: McNaul had a great game against MSU last week, recording 10 tackles and career highs in basically everything else.  Bryce forced the fumble which was MSU’s only turnover of the game.  He missed a lot of time in the first half of the season because of injury, but is really coming on as a playmaker for the defense.  He will need to be responsible for putting a lot of the pressure on Chappell, as well as shutting down the already sputtering IU running game.

Tandon Doss (WR): Every good quarterback needs a stud receiver and Tandon Doss is that guy.  Doss leads the nation in all-purpose-yards per game, which includes his yards as a very dangerous kick and punt returner.  NU will be well-suited to put Jordan Mabin on Doss regardless of where he lines up, as this guy has the ability to absolutely school Vaughn and Bolden.  Doss keeps me up at night.

In the trenches: NU somehow managed to contain the MSU rushing attack, which is primarily the reason that the Cats stayed in the game so long.  IU’s offensive line is a good size, not overly impressive, but has only given up seven sacks this year.  Chappell is shifty, but not a running quarterback.  So NU should be able to get some pressure on him with some blitzes.  But I would not expect the IU running game to be a factor.

Overall Impression: NU goes back to defending the spread offense which has given them fits this year.  Chappell will need to have a great game, however, and avoid costly turnovers.  IU will throw the ball A LOT – I would expect 50-60 throws.  So the NU secondary better eat its breakfast; this could be a shootout.

Intangibles: I would be remiss if I did not talk about the return game here.  As mentioned, Tandon Doss is one of the most dangerous in the nation and could break one at any time.  NU has announced that Venric Mark has earned the starting job (officially this time) as both kick and punt returner.  While a track meet between these two would be exciting, it is hardly what NU wants out of this game.  But I would not be surprised if one or both of them found themselves in the end zone on a special teams touchdown.

Bottom Line: Persa scores another large game this week as he will have more time to pass and an inexperienced secondary to pick apart.  Adonis Smith, Venric Mark, T.J. Jones, and Rashad Lawrence are all picking up the offense at just the right time as they should be able to flash their speed against a defense that will be a step slower than they have seen in the last few weeks.  Indiana will score some points, but the lack of a legitimate rushing threat will be their un-doing.

Cats win 37-21.

Go Cats! 

johnknublog@gmail.com
www.twitter.com/expectvictoryrt
http://expectvictoryright.blogspot.com