#55 Northwestern Wildcats Preview

  #55 – Northwestern Wildcats 7-5 SU; 7-5 ATS   

 Fargo’s Take  There isn’t a more difficult preview to write than that of the Wildcats as football doesn’t mean a whole lot right now. The sudden death of head coach Randy Walker sent shockwaves across the nation and absolutely stunned the Northwestern community. Obviously the team needs to move on, as Walker would no doubt want it that way, and in some sense he is going to be with the team the whole time. Enter Pat Fitzgerald, one of Walker’s closest friends, as the new head coach of the Wildcats. At 31, he's the youngest coach in Division I-A and he has never called a play, managed a staff or coached a roster so it will be interesting to see how thing pan out in Evanston. One thing is for sure, the Wildcats are going to have a very emotional season and anyone out there not rooting for the Northwestern players, coaches and family simply doesn’t know what is important.

 Returning Starters on Offense – 7  The spread offense that Walker instituted at Northwestern has had great success over the years and shouldn’t miss a beat despite losing an integral part. Record-breaking quarterback Brett Basanez has moved on, leaving the job wide open but it looks like it’s going to go to sophomore C.J. Bacher who comes in with the most experience of the three candidates currently fighting for the job. The strength of the Wildcats this year will be the running portion of the spread offense as running back Tyrell Sutton, who amassed 1,474 yards on 5.9 ypc last season, returns. He will be bolstered by the return of four starters from the offensive line which no doubt helps the quarterback situation as well. The receivers are deep and experienced so whoever does win the quarterback job and can grasp the system has a very good upside for success.

 Returning Starters on Defense – 7  Northwestern won seven games despite having the worse defense in the country, allowing a ghastly 480.4 ypg. The Wildcats scored 34 or more points in seven of those victories and thankfully outscored the opposition. The unit allowed 48 or more points four times and the defense finished 101st or worse in all four major statistical categories. The front four is extremely young and is going to have to step up somehow as last season it allowed 218.1 ypg on the ground and finished 119th in tackles for losses and 115th in sacks. The linebackers are the strength but they can’t do it all seeing that the secondary is also a work in progress. Northwestern was 101st in passing defense last year but a more respectable 70th in passing efficiency defense as the 20 interceptions helped to equal out the 20 touchdown passes allowed.

 Schedule  Starting the season with games against Miami (Ohio) and New Hampshire normally don’t mean much, but they are going to pack a punch with Northwestern. The opener at Miami just so happens to be the school where Walker came over from and emotions will be running high on both sidelines, the field and in the stands. Northwestern then welcomes New Hampshire for its home opener and I don’t have to explain what that is going to be like. The remainder of the non-conference schedule features a home game against Eastern Michigan and a road game at Nevada. The Big Ten schedule is a beast with games at Penn St. and Wisconsin to start out with games at Michigan and Iowa down the road. Ohio St. is the toughest home contest and the worst part is that the Wildcats miss Indiana all together.

 You can bet on…  It’s eerily fitting that the Wildcats start the season on Thursday in one of the very first games of the season against the team that Walker coached with last. The Northwestern players are going to do everything in their hearts to win that opener and should be able to take care of the rebuilding RedHawks. The Wildcats are 11-6 ATS as a home dog over the last four seasons and we should see them in that role once Big Ten action gets underway. To start the season, they will be favored at home where they are just 2-9 ATS over the last five years. Eastern Michigan is the opponent that follows the game against New Hampshire and if Northwestern has anything left in the tank, it will be fairly surprising.

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