Coming off a tough loss against Nebraska in Lincoln last Saturday, Northwestern football earns an extra week to rest up before hitting the road again to take on USC in Los Angeles in a Friday night game
under the lights. With a daunting schedule still awaiting them and bowl eligibility not yet secured, the ‘Cats have a few things to focus on for both their matchup against the Trojans and the rest of the season as a whole.
Capitalize on Early Opportunities
No. 23 USC, No. 21 Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. That’ll be the gauntlet for head coach David Braun and the Wildcats, who currently sit at 5-3 and are looking for that coveted sixth win somewhere in those final four games. Northwestern will most likely be underdogs in three of its final four games — we’ll see where things stand come the Nov. 22 matchup against the Golden Gophers — and could potentially have to face three ranked opponents, assuming USC and Michigan hold and the Fighting Illini get back on track. When you’re playing as the little guy, one big thing needs to happen: making big plays, early.
Momentum is everything in the sport of college football, so for Northwestern to have a puncher’s chance for a full 60 minutes, it will need to find ways to get creative and hit its opponents square in the mouth from the get-go. The ‘Cats struggled to do so last week against the Cornhuskers, allowing an opening drive touchdown and settling for two field goals after getting inside the Nebraska 25-yard-line both times. Not capitalizing on those given opportunities eventually swung the pendulum, and a couple of big plays later, Nebraska was suddenly up 21-6. Despite a ferocious comeback, NU eventually fell short, in large part due to getting down so much and not making the most of early chances to score or get off the field. Rather, the blueprint should be one more similar to the Penn State game, in which the Wildcats just wouldn’t go away and put the pressure on the Nittany Lions, not the other way around.
Controlling Time of Possession
On a similar vein, a big point of emphasis for this offense especially will be staying under control. The ‘Cats, led by quarterback Preston Stone, will have to be smart with the football, not giving up any costly turnovers (Northwestern is undefeated in games Stone hasn’t thrown two or more interceptions) and avoiding quick three-and-outs that get opposing defenses off the hook.
Keeping the offense on the field will, by the transitive property, help the defense too. With NU set to play against a few potent offenses like USC and Illinois, giving its defense time to rest and reset on the sideline will go a long way in helping get stops and ultimately keep Northwestern in these football games.
Protecting and Pressuring the Quarterback
Northwestern has had quite an up-and-down season, on both sides of the ball, when it comes to the pass rush. On the offensive side, the Wildcats’ offensive line has been quietly one of the best in the Big Ten. Northwestern is 27th in the country in sacks allowed per game, with Caleb Tiernan and Evan Beernsten leading the group as the standouts for the big boys up front. Against upcoming defensive fronts like that of Michigan, NU will have to ensure Stone is protected and has time in the pocket.
Defensively, Northwestern’s front seven got off to a bit of a slow start this year. After all the hype surrounding Anto Saka in the offseason, he hadn’t been putting up numbers that quite matched what many fans had been expecting. But as the season has progressed, so too has this defensive line. Northwestern is led by Saka (three sacks), with fellow disruptors Aidan Hubbard (3.5 sacks) and Michael Kilbane (2.5 sacks) right alongside him. With talented dual-threat quarterbacks like Jayden Maiava (USC), Bryce Underwood (Michigan) and Luke Altmyer (Illinois) to come, forcing pressure and disrupting the pocket will be a huge point of emphasis to cause some havoc on the defensive side.
