2010 NCAA Football Preview: Northwestern
For many years the Northwesterm Wildcats Football program was stuck in the cellar of college football. Than out of nowhere in 1995 Gary Barnett led the Wildcats to their first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl.
Barnett has moved on, and the Wildcats have managed to field a number of good teams since. The last two seasons has seen the team go to back to back bowl games for only the second time in school history, both overtime losses.
Pat Fitzgerald is in charge of the program now and has been since 2006. Each year has seen the team get progressively better. His only losing season was his first one in 2006 when the team went 4-8. In the 2007 season they improved to 6-6. In 2008 the Wildcats improved to 9-4; and 2009 was another good season (8-5).
While the success he has seen is good, Fitzgerald and the Wildcat faithful are not satisfied. Two consecutive fourth place finishes in the conference have given the team a taste of success with real victory (a conference title) within sight but out of reach. There is a lot of tough competition in the Big Ten though, making anything better than another fourth place finish unlikely.
Offense
While there is inexperience in many of the skill positions, the team does have experience where it counts most, the offensive line. All five starters return on a line that was comprised of nothing but freshman and sophomores last season. That year of experience should translate into improved play for the line as a whole this year, and all five could potentially return in 2011 as well.
The inexperience behind center and in the backfield may not be as evident if the line can gel early and play better. Last season quarterback Mike Kafka had the most carries by far and was only a few yards away from leading the team in rushing (and he only had 299 yards). Pencilled in to start at running back is sophomore Arby Fields who led the team in rushing in 2009 with 302 yards. Many guys will likely get a chance to overtake him though and among the candidates are Scott Concannon, Jacob Schmidt, and Stephen Simmons.
Dan Persa will likely get the unenviable task of trying to make Northwestern fans forget about Kafka. Persa has not seen much game time yet, appearing mostly in mop up duty last season. He was a standout player in high school where he threw 45 touchdowns and only eight interceptions his last two years. He could end up being as accurate as Kafka and a better runner if his talents can translate from high school to a starter’s role this year.
Defense
The defense was not bad last year, but stands to be much improved if many of the returning starters can improve off their performances from last season.
At linebacker the team returns all three starters of a group that was pretty good overall. Senior Quentin Davie looks to lead the unit once again after making 90 tackles in 2009. Williams has been a consistent force the last two seasons with 66 tackles in 2008 and another 74 in 2009. Junior Ben Johnson is pencilled in as the starter, but he will likely share time with David Arnold; combined they accounted for 77 tackles on the year.
Where the unit will be tested will be on the front line and in the secondary. Last season the front four was pretty decent, ranking 34th in sacks and 41st in rush defense, but they will be without their best play maker this year in Corety Wootton. Coaches are hoping that either Vince Browne or Corbin Bryant may step up to fill the void. In the secondary the team has to replace three out of four starters. Luckily, the lone returning player, Jordan Maybin, has the potential to be one of the best cornerbacks in the conference.
There is enough talent to see Northwestern make a third straight bowl game for the first time in school history. However, the key will be in how fast the new starters, especially quarterback Persa, can get acclimated to their roles on the field.
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