Northwestern enters its game against Illinois after securing its sixth win of the season and earning bowl eligibility. It’s a huge accomplishment for NU, but the team is not satisfied and will look to
build on that momentum and bring home the HAT. Here are three keys for Saturday:
Preston Stone
Stone was phenomenal on Saturday against Minnesota and looked every bit like the quarterback NU fans hoped for entering the season. The SMU transfer went 25-of-30 with 305 yards and two touchdowns. He was perfect in the second half, finishing 15-of-15 with 174 yards and two passing touchdowns.
Even though the run game has been terrific all year, the team has often gone as Stone has gone. When he plays mistake free, Northwestern usually finds success. Saturday was probably as well as Stone can play, but if he continues anywhere near that level, the offense becomes dangerous. With a strong run game and a reliable offensive line, play action becomes almost unstoppable when Stone is accurate because defenses have no idea what’s coming.
Stone has consistently been able to find Griffin Wilde who had 11 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, but it was also encouraging to see Stone connect with Hayden Eligon II who had seven catches for 127 yards. This was easily the biggest game of Eligon’s career with his previous high being 80 yards earlier this season. He has shown incredibly strong hands and has stepped up in a major way, and it would be huge for Northwestern if he can emerge as the number two receiver for the final two games. Hunter Welcing also contributed with three catches for 29 yards last week and four catches for 81 the week before, and it has been great to see Northwestern diversify its passing attack.
Getting back to Stone though, he remains the key to every game and to the offense as a whole. The run game and offensive line are reliable. When Stone plays at a high level like he did last week, the entire unit takes a step forward. If he can continue that level of play against Illinois, Northwestern’s offense can be hard to defend.
Limit the passing game
The ‘Cats have struggled in pass defense over their last three games after looking terrific to start the season. Against USC, Jayden Maiava threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns. In the Michigan game, Bryce Underwood had 280 yards albeit with two interceptions. This past week against Minnesota, Drake Lindsey finished with 264 yards and four touchdowns. What was a major strength early in the year has turned into a weakness.
One player who has had a tougher stretch is Josh Fussell, who has been targeted often and has given up some big plays even when he has been in decent position. He was strong to begin the season, so it will be important for him to regain that form and settle the back end of the defense.
Illinois’ strength is its passing offense, and the team leans heavily on it. The Illini rank 44th nationally with 247.4 passing yards per game and 96th in rushing at 124.5 yards. Quarterback Luke Altmyer has thrown for 2,675 yards and 21 touchdowns with five interceptions and brings significant experience as a fifth-year player. Hank Beatty is the top receiver with 61 catches for 805 yards and three touchdowns. Collin Dixon and Hudson Clement round out the receiving corps with 31 catches for 485 yards and five touchdowns and 31 catches for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Illinois relies on its passing attack, and Northwestern will need to tighten its coverage and reverse the recent trend to keep the Illini in check.
Capitalize on the momentum
Both teams enter this matchup coming off very different results. The ‘Cats are riding an emotional and explosive offensive win that secured their sixth victory and locked in bowl eligibility. That matters because it guarantees extra practices and time together after Saturday. There were also questions from some fans about whether Coach Braun needed to reach six wins to keep his head coaching position next season, so reaching that mark is big for him, the staff and the future of the team. NU has plenty to play for this week, from winning back the Land of Lincoln Trophy to carrying positive momentum into a bowl game.
Illinois, on the other hand, is coming off a rough 27-10 loss at Wisconsin against a Badgers team that has struggled all season. The Illini looked out of sync in all phases, with four punts, three turnovers on downs and a missed field goal. They also gave up 209 rushing yards to a Wisconsin offense that ranks 105th nationally in rushing yards per game. The ‘Cats will look to take advantage of where both teams stand right now and close the regular season with a win.
