The big question. Will Tyrell be back at full strength for Iowa?Never in a million years would I ever imagine that a 4-0 start to the season would feel so meh! LTP is recovering from no internet access for essentially three days and thankfully I had time to sleep on yesterday's performance. Who knew that a third of the way through the season the hallmark of the 2008 team would be a lockdown defense? Wow. The 16-8 endurance win over Ohio yesterday moved the Cats to 4-0 for the first time since 1962, but it opened up a can of question marks for the Northwestern offense that seems to be moving in the wrong direction.
Video Highlights from Northwestern vs Ohio 9/20/08
Let's break it down...
The Great
Defense. Defense. Defense. Hats off to Mike Hankwitz for developing this unit in ways we can see them grow by leaps and bounds on a weekly basis. The Cats set a school record for rushing yards, yielding only four - FOUR! - on 28 carries. As a unit, the "D" notched 5 sacks, grabbed 2 INTs, recovered 2 fumbles and blocked two field goals - and we needed every one of them.
Vince Browne was a manchild out there, completely man-handling the Ohio line and racking-up two sacks, forcing a fumble and blocking a field goal. #94 was everywhere on Saturday and we needed it. Malcolm Arrington was swarming as well tallying 11 tackles, one sack and forcing a fumble. Brad Phillips and Jordan Mabin each had a pick and John Gill blocked a FG and recovered the crucial fumble on Ohio's potential game-tying drive (nice strip Jordan!). The Cats "D" was on the field a ton, as Ohio won the TOP game by nearly 10 minutes (34:17 to 25:43).
Amado Villarreal continued his perfect play scoring FGs of 33, 46 and 23 yards moving him to 8-for-8 for the season.
Tyrell Sutton was the obvious difference in the game as his 1st half performance of 76 rushing yards on 9 carries and 27 receiving yards were the only momentum we seemed to sustain on offense. His electrifying 31-yard second-effort run late in the 2nd resulted in a lower leg injury that ended his day and sent shivers through Cats fans. Without Sutton, our offense stalled time and time again in the second half. Based on his teammates' comments after the game, they expect to see Tyrell next week.
The Good
This game was pretty much feast or famine. The defense was great, the offense was..well, not. Our punt coverage was good as was punter Stefan Demos, whose net 35.4 avg again doesn't reflect field position.
Eric Peterman. Yes he fumbled a PR, but Eric seemed to be more consistent on his receptions this week, including a spectacular grab in the 4th on a ball thrown way over his head. He has yet to have the break out game we're all hoping for, but there is always Iowa!
Winning Ugly. If you look at the NU offensive stat line, blindfold me and ask me if we won or lost, I would've said "L" - by a lot. Yes, we have issues. Yes, our offense is a concern. But, we're winning. There is something to be said for simply finding a way to win a game.
The Disappointing
CJ Bacher - CJ had his worst game as a starter, but give him credit. He injured his fingers early in the game, but made no excuses about the injury in the postgame. After going 11 consecutive quarters without an INT, CJ tossed 4 in one game. He was off all day - usually high as he missed Ebert several times, including a potential TD by going 3 feet over his head. CJ's stat line 18-35-4-133 with no TDs is downright un-CJ. He made some gutsy option keeper runs in the final drive to help chew-up some clock on a day when he knew nothing was going right. Let's hope CJ has a short memory and can rebound bigtime next week at Iowa.
Omar Conteh - Omar never got going in relief of CJ. The flow of the offense never enabled Omar to find seems as he seemed to be in trouble in the backfield on nearly every hand-off. He did score a TD on a nice pitch from CJ, but his 16 carries for 35 yards kind of sums up the productivity.
Red Zone TD conversions - The Cats inability to turn red zone opportunities into TDs is the lone hangover from the 2007 season. Last year it was more pronounced based on the sheer number of yards we racked-up. This year it is simply frustrating. Thank God for Amado Villarreal!
Let's break it down...
The Great
Defense. Defense. Defense. Hats off to Mike Hankwitz for developing this unit in ways we can see them grow by leaps and bounds on a weekly basis. The Cats set a school record for rushing yards, yielding only four - FOUR! - on 28 carries. As a unit, the "D" notched 5 sacks, grabbed 2 INTs, recovered 2 fumbles and blocked two field goals - and we needed every one of them.
Vince Browne was a manchild out there, completely man-handling the Ohio line and racking-up two sacks, forcing a fumble and blocking a field goal. #94 was everywhere on Saturday and we needed it. Malcolm Arrington was swarming as well tallying 11 tackles, one sack and forcing a fumble. Brad Phillips and Jordan Mabin each had a pick and John Gill blocked a FG and recovered the crucial fumble on Ohio's potential game-tying drive (nice strip Jordan!). The Cats "D" was on the field a ton, as Ohio won the TOP game by nearly 10 minutes (34:17 to 25:43).
Amado Villarreal continued his perfect play scoring FGs of 33, 46 and 23 yards moving him to 8-for-8 for the season.
Tyrell Sutton was the obvious difference in the game as his 1st half performance of 76 rushing yards on 9 carries and 27 receiving yards were the only momentum we seemed to sustain on offense. His electrifying 31-yard second-effort run late in the 2nd resulted in a lower leg injury that ended his day and sent shivers through Cats fans. Without Sutton, our offense stalled time and time again in the second half. Based on his teammates' comments after the game, they expect to see Tyrell next week.
The Good
This game was pretty much feast or famine. The defense was great, the offense was..well, not. Our punt coverage was good as was punter Stefan Demos, whose net 35.4 avg again doesn't reflect field position.
Eric Peterman. Yes he fumbled a PR, but Eric seemed to be more consistent on his receptions this week, including a spectacular grab in the 4th on a ball thrown way over his head. He has yet to have the break out game we're all hoping for, but there is always Iowa!
Winning Ugly. If you look at the NU offensive stat line, blindfold me and ask me if we won or lost, I would've said "L" - by a lot. Yes, we have issues. Yes, our offense is a concern. But, we're winning. There is something to be said for simply finding a way to win a game.
The Disappointing
CJ Bacher - CJ had his worst game as a starter, but give him credit. He injured his fingers early in the game, but made no excuses about the injury in the postgame. After going 11 consecutive quarters without an INT, CJ tossed 4 in one game. He was off all day - usually high as he missed Ebert several times, including a potential TD by going 3 feet over his head. CJ's stat line 18-35-4-133 with no TDs is downright un-CJ. He made some gutsy option keeper runs in the final drive to help chew-up some clock on a day when he knew nothing was going right. Let's hope CJ has a short memory and can rebound bigtime next week at Iowa.
Omar Conteh - Omar never got going in relief of CJ. The flow of the offense never enabled Omar to find seems as he seemed to be in trouble in the backfield on nearly every hand-off. He did score a TD on a nice pitch from CJ, but his 16 carries for 35 yards kind of sums up the productivity.
Red Zone TD conversions - The Cats inability to turn red zone opportunities into TDs is the lone hangover from the 2007 season. Last year it was more pronounced based on the sheer number of yards we racked-up. This year it is simply frustrating. Thank God for Amado Villarreal!
Protecting the Rock - The Cats had five turnovers and were lucky it wasn't more like seven. There were several fumbles right after the whistle on both rushes and catches. We cannot win Big Ten games if we lose the turnover battle.
Lots more to come as we prep for the Big Ten opener at Iowa next Saturday.
Big Ten Round-up
Pitt 21 Iowa 20 - As feared the Hawkeyes let the conference down in this Big East - Big Ten battle. I wanted the Hawkeyes to win this one to setup a battle of 4-0s, but you know, despite this loss, we'll have our hands full next week. Shonn Greene has emerged as a true star this season at Iowa as he posted another big day with 147 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Michigan State 23 Notre Dame 7 -
Javon Ringer's stats continue to be mind-boggling as he racked-up another 39 carries for 201 rushing yards an two more TDs in a methodical beatdown of the Irish. Ringer now has 11 rushing TDs - more than half the teams in the nation. The Ringer vs Cats D line is shaping up to be a great showdown.
Purdue 32 Central Michigan 25
Joe Tiller set the school record for wins and Kory Sheets had the highlight of the day with a turn-your-ankle shake-n'-bake for the game winning TD in the final minute of the game. This game had upset city written all over it, but kudos to Purdue for shaking off the Oregon loss with a win over the best the MAC has to offer.
Ohio State 28 Troy 10
The Terrelle Pryor era has officially begun after a 4 TD passing day to complement a 66-yard rushing day. Cats fans may have been happier if the Buckeyes beat USC to ensure Boeckman was going to get more time. Pryor is simply problems for any defense with his amazing dual-threat capabilities.
Penn State 45 Temple 3
No one really knows what Penn State has as they predictably beat up on Temple to move to 4-0 as fan favorite Stephfon Green blitzed the Owls for 167 yards rushing.
Minnesota 37 Florida Atlantic 3
To me, the surprise of the day. I actually predicted a Minnesota LOSS in this game, but the Minnesota secondary came-up huge with four picks to bolster the Gophers who move to 4-0 after going just 1-11 last year.
Ball State 42 Indiana 20
The loss to Ball State isn't a surprise to me, but the margin of victory was shocking. Also, when you consider Ball State's star WR, Dante Love, the nation's leading receiver (144 ypg) left the game on a stretcher in the 2nd quarter, it makes the win even more convincing.
Rear View Mirror Games
Syracuse 30 Northeastern 21
Curtis Brinkley paved the way with 145 yards rushing against a winless FCS Northeastern Huskies team that had nearly 300 yards passing against the 'Cuse. It is bad - really bad, in Orangeland.
Duke & Southern Illinois
Both Duke and SIU were off yesterday with a bye and return to action next Saturday. Duke plays Virginia while SIU hosts Northern Iowa.
Lots more to come as we prep for the Big Ten opener at Iowa next Saturday.
Big Ten Round-up
Pitt 21 Iowa 20 - As feared the Hawkeyes let the conference down in this Big East - Big Ten battle. I wanted the Hawkeyes to win this one to setup a battle of 4-0s, but you know, despite this loss, we'll have our hands full next week. Shonn Greene has emerged as a true star this season at Iowa as he posted another big day with 147 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Michigan State 23 Notre Dame 7 -
Javon Ringer's stats continue to be mind-boggling as he racked-up another 39 carries for 201 rushing yards an two more TDs in a methodical beatdown of the Irish. Ringer now has 11 rushing TDs - more than half the teams in the nation. The Ringer vs Cats D line is shaping up to be a great showdown.
Purdue 32 Central Michigan 25
Joe Tiller set the school record for wins and Kory Sheets had the highlight of the day with a turn-your-ankle shake-n'-bake for the game winning TD in the final minute of the game. This game had upset city written all over it, but kudos to Purdue for shaking off the Oregon loss with a win over the best the MAC has to offer.
Ohio State 28 Troy 10
The Terrelle Pryor era has officially begun after a 4 TD passing day to complement a 66-yard rushing day. Cats fans may have been happier if the Buckeyes beat USC to ensure Boeckman was going to get more time. Pryor is simply problems for any defense with his amazing dual-threat capabilities.
Penn State 45 Temple 3
No one really knows what Penn State has as they predictably beat up on Temple to move to 4-0 as fan favorite Stephfon Green blitzed the Owls for 167 yards rushing.
Minnesota 37 Florida Atlantic 3
To me, the surprise of the day. I actually predicted a Minnesota LOSS in this game, but the Minnesota secondary came-up huge with four picks to bolster the Gophers who move to 4-0 after going just 1-11 last year.
Ball State 42 Indiana 20
The loss to Ball State isn't a surprise to me, but the margin of victory was shocking. Also, when you consider Ball State's star WR, Dante Love, the nation's leading receiver (144 ypg) left the game on a stretcher in the 2nd quarter, it makes the win even more convincing.
Rear View Mirror Games
Syracuse 30 Northeastern 21
Curtis Brinkley paved the way with 145 yards rushing against a winless FCS Northeastern Huskies team that had nearly 300 yards passing against the 'Cuse. It is bad - really bad, in Orangeland.
Duke & Southern Illinois
Both Duke and SIU were off yesterday with a bye and return to action next Saturday. Duke plays Virginia while SIU hosts Northern Iowa.
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