Attention is turning more towards basketball in many sections of the NU community, but the fact is the Wildcats also play a big football game this weekend against Indiana. If the Wildcats win they will most likely play in some bowl game. If the Hoosiers win, it is likely they will play in a bowl game instead of the Wildcats.
Northwestern is the favorite according to the betters, but the fact is Indiana has a very good chance of winning this game. Injuries have seriously reduced NU’s collection of playmakers and the Wildcats depth is not that great. If NU is to win, they will need big games from the playmakers they have available such as Quentin Davie on defense and Mike Kafka on offense.
Reading the discussion on fan websites and the like, I have to admit the observation that NU football is short on playmakers is probably right on the money. NU has some individual stars, but with many of them hurt, NU just isn’t at full strength. Also, some of NU’s frontline players are not the athletes their opponents are. In fact, at times NU plays four walk-ons out of 11 offensive players. Although one of those walk-ons, Zeke Markshausen, leads the Big Ten in receptions, the fact is it is hard to beat quality division one opponents when almost 40% of your offense didn’t originally get Division one scholarship offers. NU can pull upsets and get a win Saturday, but I believe in order to do so Mick McCall is going to have to turn the page on his playbook and open things up. Indiana has topflight athletes on defense, especially on the D-line, and if NU doesn’t get creative Mike Kafka is going to get smashed as Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton attack NU’s offensive line which may have two former walk-ons and one red-shirt freshman starting.
On the other hand, right now Northwestern’s basketball team has more guys with play making ability than the historical powerhouse Indiana men’s basketball team (though the Hoosiers do have a nice freshmen group). In fact, I think NU has more potential play makers than several Big Ten teams. Most notably, of course, the ‘Cats have Kevin Coble who can drop 30+ on a team at anytime. He’s not the only playmaker Coach Carmody has, though. Michael “Juice” Thompson has the range to hit from anywhere in the gym, and he has shown a clutch time leadership ability the ‘Cats need without departed star Craig Moore. Even Juice isn’t the end of the hoop ‘Cats playmakers, though. Both John Shurna and Jeremy Nash showed the ability to change games last season. Nash played remarkable defense and drove NU’s opponents insane as they tried to pass around him atop the 1-3-1. He also got down in the paint and blocked the shots of big men. Nash might not light up the scoreboard, but he makes plays on D.
John Shurna, on the other hand, might light up the scoreboard a bunch this year. He played on the USA U-19 team this summer and reportedly really worked on his jump shot. He also is NU’s best rebounder so he ought to be able to grab some put back points. He also looks bigger and stronger and that should help as well.
Aside from those four, NU also has potential playmakers in center Luka Mirkovic and guard Drew Crawford. Mirkovic showed flashes last year of being a true Princeton Offense center who can score 10 points and dish out 6 assists and get 6 rebounds on any night. Crawford is allegedly already slamming down alley-op passes from Juice in practice. If he really is that athletic, he’ll change how teams defend NU and that’ll open up shots and for guys like Luka.
Bottom line, I can’t remember a Northwestern basketball squad with so many potential game changing players. If NU is to be successful as they can, though, they must avoid major injuries. More than anything, it has been the MASH unit which NU has needed for their defense which has truly hampered NU’s football success this fall.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Men's Basketball: Mail From A New Season Ticket Holder
Editor’s Note: I’d like to thank Lake the Posts for pointing out an error in the original headline of this story. I wrote the story fast and didn’t proofread. To some it’s not a huge deal, but the fact is I should have seen it and known better. – The WRR Management.
I got an e-mail recently from an individual who was rather upset. Thankfully, he wasn’t upset at me, but at NU’s ticket office. It seems this gentleman wanted to buy two season tickets for this upcoming basketball season. He was excited at all the good press for NU and wanted to, “go from attending five games to attending fifteen.” NU actually has 20 home games this year, but you get the point. This guy wanted to become a season ticket holder. In addition, he said that he had hoped to get season tickets somewhere in the lower section of Welsh-Ryan. Apparently, he believed this wouldn’t be a problem given that at the games he attended last season, he saw a ton of empty seats in the lower sections. However, it turned out he was unable to get the seats he desired. He was told that despite the fact those sections are never full, they are sold. This individual did purchase two tickets in the upper level of the purple section, but he said he was disappointed that as somebody who planned to attend every game, he couldn’t get a better seat than somebody who only attends a few.
The fact is I’ve heard versions of this story repeatedly. We all have taken a look around Welsh-Ryan and seen a ton of empty seats in good sections. These seats are in fact sold. I believe in many cases they are sold to corporations that simply don’t use them very often. Now, while I’m not really in favor of pulling the tickets of corporations which have been long time season ticket holders, I’d like to hold them to some standard of support. I believe NU should start monitoring the use of these tickets, especially in the premium lower-level purple seats. Other schools do this by either filming the crowd at games, or by having ushers know who actually owns each seat. If NU finds that certain corporations are using their seats less than 50% of the time, or are giving those seats to opposing fans, I think those corporations seats should be moved to a less desirable location. Maybe NU could create a section for corporate season tickets. It’d be recognizable as the entirely empty lower section when NU plays Central Connecticut State.
As the mail I’ve gotten show, plenty of NU fans and alums exist who would attend every game, support the ‘Cats, and feel thankful to have good seats. Now, I know to some this might be controversial, some readers might even be high ranking members of the corporations whose seats I want to move, but the fact is NU needs NU fans in the good seats every single game. There just aren’t enough NU basketball fans in general. Those who really want to commit to showing up at Welsh-Ryan shouldn’t have to sit above empty seats. The other thing is that as much as I love NU basketball, I can’t possibly think of any corporation that would think tickets to an NU basketball game was a really good way to reward a top employee or a real treat for a client unless that person was an NU fan or NU is using some product they want a client to see. If the people who get the corporate seats are NU fans, they can buy NU tickets on their own at some point, and they shouldn’t mind if fans who attend every NU home game have better seats. If they are viewing some product NU is using they don’t have to view that product from some of the best seats in the arena. I suspect the truth is many of corporations hold on to NU season tickets to give to clients who are fans of other Big Ten schools to which its impossible to get tickets for. For example, Wisconsin fans who make the trek from Madison or who live the Chicago area and can’t get a seat in Madison or worse Illini fans that can’t make it to Champaign. This needs to stop. So I’m asking NU’s Athletic Department, please make good seats available to good fans.
I got an e-mail recently from an individual who was rather upset. Thankfully, he wasn’t upset at me, but at NU’s ticket office. It seems this gentleman wanted to buy two season tickets for this upcoming basketball season. He was excited at all the good press for NU and wanted to, “go from attending five games to attending fifteen.” NU actually has 20 home games this year, but you get the point. This guy wanted to become a season ticket holder. In addition, he said that he had hoped to get season tickets somewhere in the lower section of Welsh-Ryan. Apparently, he believed this wouldn’t be a problem given that at the games he attended last season, he saw a ton of empty seats in the lower sections. However, it turned out he was unable to get the seats he desired. He was told that despite the fact those sections are never full, they are sold. This individual did purchase two tickets in the upper level of the purple section, but he said he was disappointed that as somebody who planned to attend every game, he couldn’t get a better seat than somebody who only attends a few.
The fact is I’ve heard versions of this story repeatedly. We all have taken a look around Welsh-Ryan and seen a ton of empty seats in good sections. These seats are in fact sold. I believe in many cases they are sold to corporations that simply don’t use them very often. Now, while I’m not really in favor of pulling the tickets of corporations which have been long time season ticket holders, I’d like to hold them to some standard of support. I believe NU should start monitoring the use of these tickets, especially in the premium lower-level purple seats. Other schools do this by either filming the crowd at games, or by having ushers know who actually owns each seat. If NU finds that certain corporations are using their seats less than 50% of the time, or are giving those seats to opposing fans, I think those corporations seats should be moved to a less desirable location. Maybe NU could create a section for corporate season tickets. It’d be recognizable as the entirely empty lower section when NU plays Central Connecticut State.
As the mail I’ve gotten show, plenty of NU fans and alums exist who would attend every game, support the ‘Cats, and feel thankful to have good seats. Now, I know to some this might be controversial, some readers might even be high ranking members of the corporations whose seats I want to move, but the fact is NU needs NU fans in the good seats every single game. There just aren’t enough NU basketball fans in general. Those who really want to commit to showing up at Welsh-Ryan shouldn’t have to sit above empty seats. The other thing is that as much as I love NU basketball, I can’t possibly think of any corporation that would think tickets to an NU basketball game was a really good way to reward a top employee or a real treat for a client unless that person was an NU fan or NU is using some product they want a client to see. If the people who get the corporate seats are NU fans, they can buy NU tickets on their own at some point, and they shouldn’t mind if fans who attend every NU home game have better seats. If they are viewing some product NU is using they don’t have to view that product from some of the best seats in the arena. I suspect the truth is many of corporations hold on to NU season tickets to give to clients who are fans of other Big Ten schools to which its impossible to get tickets for. For example, Wisconsin fans who make the trek from Madison or who live the Chicago area and can’t get a seat in Madison or worse Illini fans that can’t make it to Champaign. This needs to stop. So I’m asking NU’s Athletic Department, please make good seats available to good fans.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Let’s Get Over Football with Talk about Basketball
So I’ve gotten a couple e-mails urging me to post basketball news since practice has started. I’ll try to do as we approach the Wildcats first and only exhibition contest on November 4th against Robert Morris (can NU get revenge for last season?), but I still feel the need to share my thoughts on football. After all, while those of us who live NU basketball are totally diehards, I mean we have to be, that fact is though it’s a small fan base compared to other Big Ten schools NU’s football fan base is wider. Therefore, I want to keep football fans visiting the site to read as well. Maybe, though, they’ll also get interested in hoops with this and other preseason posts.
One of the questions which showed up in my mailbox was something along the lines of, “Who is going to shoot clutch free throws now that Craig Moore is gone?” Well, I could just offer my thoughts on that, but I thought I’d do something a little different. I’ve taken a look at the NU roster and the various skills involved in playing basketball and below I have my assessment of who is the most skilled Wildcat in each area. I think will be interesting considering a recent debate I saw on Rivals.com about who might be NU’s best players and most indispensible players.
Free Throw Shooting (General): Kevin Coble and John Shurna. Yes, I’ve taken the easy way out and listed two guys in the first category. I defend myself in this way, although Coble has shown over his career that he is a good free throw shooter, I think Shurna might actually be better. Plus, I expect Shurna to get to the line more often this year as he has added a little bulk which should help his already excellent ability to offensive rebounds.
Free Throw Shooting (Clutch): Juice Thompson. Sure, Thompson isn’t a 70% free throw shooter generally, but he is the guy who is going to get the ball against the late press. Therefore, he is going to be the guy NU sends to the line late in games. Based on his ability to knock down his throws at MSU last season I think he’ll be fine. Also, I think Thompson is NU’s best clutch player based on his ability to pull NU out of the dumper in situations like when the Wildcats got down and were teetering on the brink of collapse in their home win over Iowa last season.
Best Shooter: Juice Thompson. I’m sticking with Thompson here as well. He’s a guy who makes over 40% of his threes and has the ability to toss up a soft floater for two in the paint. With Craig Moore gone I think it’ll be Juice who is knocking down threes when NU comes out of timeouts. He’s also got a pretty quick release off the dribble which I’ve heard is even quicker after working on that skill over the summer.
Best Ball Handler: Juice Thompson. I will pick guys other than Thompson in future categories, but you can’t pick against a guy who averaged 3.7 assists and only 1.7 turnovers when it comes to ball handling. You especially can’t pick against him when he played virtually ever relevant minute he could. Basically, unless he has foul trouble Juice runs NU’s team and NU is lucky to have him.
Best Passer: Juice Thompson and Luka Mirkovic. Yes, I picked Thompson again, but I’m giving him some company. NU’s center has to throw a lot of passes from the high post and no doubt exists in my mind that Luka can do so effectively. He did so last year at times and work on mastering the Princeton Offense in the offseason can only help.
Best Rebounder: John Shurna. I seriously considered Jeremy Nash for this category, but while Nash had some nice rebounds, Shurna put up bigger numbers. Kevin Coble actually had the most boards for the ‘Cats, but I don’t think that’ll be the case this year. A stronger Shurna will be use his nose for the ball to pull down at least 5 a game.
Best Defender: Jeremy Nash. No surprise here to anybody who watched a game last season. Nash gets his hands on passes at the top of NU’s 1-3-1 and makes life tough for opposing teams to enter the ball. He also is probably NU’s best defender when they do play man.
Best Offensive Player: Kevin Coble. Coble is a guy who at times is just amazing. He might not be the best shooter on the team, or the best rebounder, or the biggest post player, but he is just a flat out scorer. He can hit a turnaround with multiple guys draped on him. He can draw a foul on a drive. He can knock down the three. If NU is going to go to the NCAA tournament, Kevin Coble will have to show his multi-skilled offensive game night in and night out.
Well, that’s all I got for now. I’d make a predication about NU’s best freshman or best bench player, but I don’t think we really know enough yet. I mean I’m totally hyped to see Drew Crawford, but Alex Marcotullio actually might fit NU’s more immediate needs right now. As to a bench guy, let’s first figure out five starters.
One of the questions which showed up in my mailbox was something along the lines of, “Who is going to shoot clutch free throws now that Craig Moore is gone?” Well, I could just offer my thoughts on that, but I thought I’d do something a little different. I’ve taken a look at the NU roster and the various skills involved in playing basketball and below I have my assessment of who is the most skilled Wildcat in each area. I think will be interesting considering a recent debate I saw on Rivals.com about who might be NU’s best players and most indispensible players.
Free Throw Shooting (General): Kevin Coble and John Shurna. Yes, I’ve taken the easy way out and listed two guys in the first category. I defend myself in this way, although Coble has shown over his career that he is a good free throw shooter, I think Shurna might actually be better. Plus, I expect Shurna to get to the line more often this year as he has added a little bulk which should help his already excellent ability to offensive rebounds.
Free Throw Shooting (Clutch): Juice Thompson. Sure, Thompson isn’t a 70% free throw shooter generally, but he is the guy who is going to get the ball against the late press. Therefore, he is going to be the guy NU sends to the line late in games. Based on his ability to knock down his throws at MSU last season I think he’ll be fine. Also, I think Thompson is NU’s best clutch player based on his ability to pull NU out of the dumper in situations like when the Wildcats got down and were teetering on the brink of collapse in their home win over Iowa last season.
Best Shooter: Juice Thompson. I’m sticking with Thompson here as well. He’s a guy who makes over 40% of his threes and has the ability to toss up a soft floater for two in the paint. With Craig Moore gone I think it’ll be Juice who is knocking down threes when NU comes out of timeouts. He’s also got a pretty quick release off the dribble which I’ve heard is even quicker after working on that skill over the summer.
Best Ball Handler: Juice Thompson. I will pick guys other than Thompson in future categories, but you can’t pick against a guy who averaged 3.7 assists and only 1.7 turnovers when it comes to ball handling. You especially can’t pick against him when he played virtually ever relevant minute he could. Basically, unless he has foul trouble Juice runs NU’s team and NU is lucky to have him.
Best Passer: Juice Thompson and Luka Mirkovic. Yes, I picked Thompson again, but I’m giving him some company. NU’s center has to throw a lot of passes from the high post and no doubt exists in my mind that Luka can do so effectively. He did so last year at times and work on mastering the Princeton Offense in the offseason can only help.
Best Rebounder: John Shurna. I seriously considered Jeremy Nash for this category, but while Nash had some nice rebounds, Shurna put up bigger numbers. Kevin Coble actually had the most boards for the ‘Cats, but I don’t think that’ll be the case this year. A stronger Shurna will be use his nose for the ball to pull down at least 5 a game.
Best Defender: Jeremy Nash. No surprise here to anybody who watched a game last season. Nash gets his hands on passes at the top of NU’s 1-3-1 and makes life tough for opposing teams to enter the ball. He also is probably NU’s best defender when they do play man.
Best Offensive Player: Kevin Coble. Coble is a guy who at times is just amazing. He might not be the best shooter on the team, or the best rebounder, or the biggest post player, but he is just a flat out scorer. He can hit a turnaround with multiple guys draped on him. He can draw a foul on a drive. He can knock down the three. If NU is going to go to the NCAA tournament, Kevin Coble will have to show his multi-skilled offensive game night in and night out.
Well, that’s all I got for now. I’d make a predication about NU’s best freshman or best bench player, but I don’t think we really know enough yet. I mean I’m totally hyped to see Drew Crawford, but Alex Marcotullio actually might fit NU’s more immediate needs right now. As to a bench guy, let’s first figure out five starters.
Stupid Football, Injuries, and Some Decent Play by Michigan State Results in a Wildcat Loss
I was wrong. I predicated a Northwestern win and I predicted the ‘Cats offense would play well. To modify a quote from former NU coach Dennis Green, Northwestern is not the team I thought they were. The offensive line is terrible, the running backs aren’t that quick (though the offensive line makes them look way worse), the defense is a shell of its former self (mostly due to injuries), and the offensive playing lacks any imagination what so ever. Optimistic as I am, if NU doesn’t beat Indiana next week I don’t see them even getting to visit Detroit this winter.
The worst thing Northwestern does is just play stupid. They make dumb turnovers and get ridiculous penalties. At least Mike Kafka avoided interceptions today, but there were still several times when he could have made plays with his feet and instead tried to force a pass. He just got lucky they weren’t picked. I also am starting to think that while Kafka is very accurate in the short passing game he isn’t as comfortable over 15 yards as he missed several receivers for what might have been big gains. Now, overall I still think Kafka has played well and he certainly isn’t helped by the poor line play, but I’d still like to see more of Dan Persa, especially if NU doesn’t win next week. Kafka first year starter problems might be avoidable for Persa if he sees more time this year.
NU also cost itself big time with two fumbles. Jeravin Matthews dropping a kickoff and Drake Dunsmore fumbling away an NU drive which had momentum. The Dunsmore call was questionable as he looked as if his forward progress was stopped, but Matthews has no excuse. I could catch a short kickoff without a problem. Also, Matthews for some reason doesn’t look like he runs full speed on returns. I don’t get that. I also think NU was really lucky Hunter Bates got his fumble back, but I put the punt return problems on the fact nobody in that group apparently knows how to block.
At least the Wildcat defense played okay. They were put in a couple tough situations due to turnovers and injuries have sure hurt. MSU got their first TD because two reserve DBs didn’t make a makeable play. I’d like to think Phillips and Smith would have. Also, Corey Wotton is a shell of his former self. At this point I think he’s better not playing at all. All that can happen now is he can get hurt worse and completely ruin his NFL future. Finally, great as Sherrick McManis has been to date, he got toasted regularly today on play action. It reminded me of Iowa a few years back. Ugh.
On the positive side NU started basketball practice last night and I should probably write about that since that’s what this site is supposed to be about. Unfortunately, I’m too focused on NU’s massively under achieving football team right now. NU needs to beat Indiana next week to even consider a trip to the Motor City Bowl. I guess I hope Illinois wins tonight and IU is really down in the dumps, but who knows. It’s not as if NU will get any home crowd advantage, so maybe the psychological aspects aren’t even worth thinking about.
Congrats to Purdue for the win over OSU. I knew the Boilers were too good not to get some wins, but I didn’t really expect OSU to be their first victim. What that wins does show is the Big Ten is pretty even, but I’m not sure that helps NU’s bowl hopes unless the ‘Cats can actually scratch out 7 wins and not just 6.
It that possible? Sure, Purdue just beat OSU, but something needs to change on offense. Could Mick McCall be any less imaginative? One nice looking option to Matthews was as creative as McCall got today. McCall needs to use the zone read more and take some more chances downfield. If Kafka can’t throw those passes than Persa needs to get another chance. Once MSU started getting tight on the NU receivers and taking away the dinks the NU pass offense really suffered. Also, with the way teams pursue NU, a reverse more than once every three weeks might be nice. Finally, this isn’t a McCall issue, but his a Fitz team ever faked a punt. I think they’ve faked a FG, but I can’t remember a Fitz team faking a punt. Can anyone?
The worst thing Northwestern does is just play stupid. They make dumb turnovers and get ridiculous penalties. At least Mike Kafka avoided interceptions today, but there were still several times when he could have made plays with his feet and instead tried to force a pass. He just got lucky they weren’t picked. I also am starting to think that while Kafka is very accurate in the short passing game he isn’t as comfortable over 15 yards as he missed several receivers for what might have been big gains. Now, overall I still think Kafka has played well and he certainly isn’t helped by the poor line play, but I’d still like to see more of Dan Persa, especially if NU doesn’t win next week. Kafka first year starter problems might be avoidable for Persa if he sees more time this year.
NU also cost itself big time with two fumbles. Jeravin Matthews dropping a kickoff and Drake Dunsmore fumbling away an NU drive which had momentum. The Dunsmore call was questionable as he looked as if his forward progress was stopped, but Matthews has no excuse. I could catch a short kickoff without a problem. Also, Matthews for some reason doesn’t look like he runs full speed on returns. I don’t get that. I also think NU was really lucky Hunter Bates got his fumble back, but I put the punt return problems on the fact nobody in that group apparently knows how to block.
At least the Wildcat defense played okay. They were put in a couple tough situations due to turnovers and injuries have sure hurt. MSU got their first TD because two reserve DBs didn’t make a makeable play. I’d like to think Phillips and Smith would have. Also, Corey Wotton is a shell of his former self. At this point I think he’s better not playing at all. All that can happen now is he can get hurt worse and completely ruin his NFL future. Finally, great as Sherrick McManis has been to date, he got toasted regularly today on play action. It reminded me of Iowa a few years back. Ugh.
On the positive side NU started basketball practice last night and I should probably write about that since that’s what this site is supposed to be about. Unfortunately, I’m too focused on NU’s massively under achieving football team right now. NU needs to beat Indiana next week to even consider a trip to the Motor City Bowl. I guess I hope Illinois wins tonight and IU is really down in the dumps, but who knows. It’s not as if NU will get any home crowd advantage, so maybe the psychological aspects aren’t even worth thinking about.
Congrats to Purdue for the win over OSU. I knew the Boilers were too good not to get some wins, but I didn’t really expect OSU to be their first victim. What that wins does show is the Big Ten is pretty even, but I’m not sure that helps NU’s bowl hopes unless the ‘Cats can actually scratch out 7 wins and not just 6.
It that possible? Sure, Purdue just beat OSU, but something needs to change on offense. Could Mick McCall be any less imaginative? One nice looking option to Matthews was as creative as McCall got today. McCall needs to use the zone read more and take some more chances downfield. If Kafka can’t throw those passes than Persa needs to get another chance. Once MSU started getting tight on the NU receivers and taking away the dinks the NU pass offense really suffered. Also, with the way teams pursue NU, a reverse more than once every three weeks might be nice. Finally, this isn’t a McCall issue, but his a Fitz team ever faked a punt. I think they’ve faked a FG, but I can’t remember a Fitz team faking a punt. Can anyone?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
What Are Northwestern’s Realistic Bowl Chances?
I love my fellow Northwestern fans, but it seems many times those of us purple faithful take a view of our teams which is either overly pessimistic or overly optimistic. After the win on Saturday I’ve heard many people talking about how that could be the last win of the year if the O-Line doesn’t shape up. On the other hand, I’ve heard people say that now that the defense is back the ‘Cats will dominate from here to Pasadena. I have to say I don’t think either group is correct. Therefore, I want to look at the rest of the season to realistically assess what might happen to the Wildcats at Holiday time.
I tend not to be a big fan of trying to predict games several weeks out since a lot can happen in terms of intangibles in a week of football, but I’ll make an exception this time.
Week 7 @ Michigan State: Before Saturday I thought this was a good matchup for Northwestern. A less than stellar MSU pass defense versus the Big Ten’s best percentage passer. On Saturday, though, Mike Kafka struggled and MSU’s pass defense held Illinois’s two QBs to a 9-for-28 day passing. The good news, though, was that in those 9 completions the Illini made some big plays. Also, Juice Williams missed several open receivers, as he does tend to do. Therefore, I think the game will turn on whether Kafka can play well and not make mistakes for 60 minutes. I think he can and I think NU can win in a classic Wildcat shootout. Northwestern, 38 Michigan State, 30
Week 8 vs Indiana: I think Illinois will beat Indiana this week and I think NU will beat MSU. Therefore, this will be a game which features two teams going in opposite directions. Also, while Ryan Field won’t be packed, I think NU will get a nice homecoming crowd and get revenge for last season. I have to admit, though, I am a bit scared of IU’s D-line and think they’ll prevent a blowout. Northwestern, 29 Indiana, 24
Week 9 vs Penn State: Penn State is not real strong on offense. They are real strong on defense. Barring a massive change in NU’s ability to run the ball, I don’t see this game going real well for the Wildcats. I hope I’m massively wrong on this one, but I think Joe Pa gets an easy win. Penn State, 24 Northwestern, 10
Week 10 @ Iowa: I’m sure people will jump on me for this pick, but I think NU can win this game. Some of that might be homerism or the desire to see Iowa fans melt down like they do every time they lose to Northwestern, but I like the ‘Cats in this one if their defense continues to produce TOs. Ricky Stanzi has shown a tendency to make the ill-advised pass and Sherrick McManis is looking like a serious ball hawk. Also, if Coach Fitz lets Kafka show his wheels I believe Michigan showed Iowa had some weaknesses against the mobile QB. So if NU plays and coaches to its potential I like the ‘Cats. Northwestern, 27 Iowa, 24. If Fitz gets wussy and forces Kafka to stay in the pocket or the defense forgets how to tackle again I say reverse the score to Iowa, 27 Northwestern, 24.
Week 11 @ Illinois: Things are going south in Champaign rapidly. By week 12 I imagine things will be located somewhere around Caracas. I don’t think it’ll happen, but if U of I drops the game to IU this week I even wonder if Ron Zook will be coaching in Week 12. Any how, I think a 6-4 or 5-5 Northwestern team will be far more motivated in Week 11 than an Illinois team with between 3-5 wins. Therefore I say Northwestern, 34 Illinois, 21
Week 12 vs Wisconsin: I like the Badgers. I know they looked less than spectacular against Ohio State, but I’m also afraid they’ll have the home field advantage even in Evanston and I think they could make a difference in what I expect to be a close game. NU can win if Wisconsin has ball handling issues like they did last week, but overall I think Wisconsin’s running game will be stronger than NU’s run defense. Wisconsin, 21 Northwestern, 17 (I know many will say this a more likely win than Iowa. I disagree, but I’ll be happy if NU wins it)
So there you have it. I’m on record now with those predications. If things work out the way I see it NU should for sure go to a bowl. Probably the Insight, Champs Sports, or the Motor City Bowl (or Little Caesars Pizza Bowl if that’s what they want to be called now).
I tend not to be a big fan of trying to predict games several weeks out since a lot can happen in terms of intangibles in a week of football, but I’ll make an exception this time.
Week 7 @ Michigan State: Before Saturday I thought this was a good matchup for Northwestern. A less than stellar MSU pass defense versus the Big Ten’s best percentage passer. On Saturday, though, Mike Kafka struggled and MSU’s pass defense held Illinois’s two QBs to a 9-for-28 day passing. The good news, though, was that in those 9 completions the Illini made some big plays. Also, Juice Williams missed several open receivers, as he does tend to do. Therefore, I think the game will turn on whether Kafka can play well and not make mistakes for 60 minutes. I think he can and I think NU can win in a classic Wildcat shootout. Northwestern, 38 Michigan State, 30
Week 8 vs Indiana: I think Illinois will beat Indiana this week and I think NU will beat MSU. Therefore, this will be a game which features two teams going in opposite directions. Also, while Ryan Field won’t be packed, I think NU will get a nice homecoming crowd and get revenge for last season. I have to admit, though, I am a bit scared of IU’s D-line and think they’ll prevent a blowout. Northwestern, 29 Indiana, 24
Week 9 vs Penn State: Penn State is not real strong on offense. They are real strong on defense. Barring a massive change in NU’s ability to run the ball, I don’t see this game going real well for the Wildcats. I hope I’m massively wrong on this one, but I think Joe Pa gets an easy win. Penn State, 24 Northwestern, 10
Week 10 @ Iowa: I’m sure people will jump on me for this pick, but I think NU can win this game. Some of that might be homerism or the desire to see Iowa fans melt down like they do every time they lose to Northwestern, but I like the ‘Cats in this one if their defense continues to produce TOs. Ricky Stanzi has shown a tendency to make the ill-advised pass and Sherrick McManis is looking like a serious ball hawk. Also, if Coach Fitz lets Kafka show his wheels I believe Michigan showed Iowa had some weaknesses against the mobile QB. So if NU plays and coaches to its potential I like the ‘Cats. Northwestern, 27 Iowa, 24. If Fitz gets wussy and forces Kafka to stay in the pocket or the defense forgets how to tackle again I say reverse the score to Iowa, 27 Northwestern, 24.
Week 11 @ Illinois: Things are going south in Champaign rapidly. By week 12 I imagine things will be located somewhere around Caracas. I don’t think it’ll happen, but if U of I drops the game to IU this week I even wonder if Ron Zook will be coaching in Week 12. Any how, I think a 6-4 or 5-5 Northwestern team will be far more motivated in Week 11 than an Illinois team with between 3-5 wins. Therefore I say Northwestern, 34 Illinois, 21
Week 12 vs Wisconsin: I like the Badgers. I know they looked less than spectacular against Ohio State, but I’m also afraid they’ll have the home field advantage even in Evanston and I think they could make a difference in what I expect to be a close game. NU can win if Wisconsin has ball handling issues like they did last week, but overall I think Wisconsin’s running game will be stronger than NU’s run defense. Wisconsin, 21 Northwestern, 17 (I know many will say this a more likely win than Iowa. I disagree, but I’ll be happy if NU wins it)
So there you have it. I’m on record now with those predications. If things work out the way I see it NU should for sure go to a bowl. Probably the Insight, Champs Sports, or the Motor City Bowl (or Little Caesars Pizza Bowl if that’s what they want to be called now).
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Miami Advice: What NU Can NU Take From Beating the RedHawks?
Yesterday Northwestern beat College Football’s second best Miami by the score of 16-6. On the face of it the game seemed mostly useful as a cure for insomnia, but I think (or at least hope) that NU learned some lessons.
The first major lesson NU needs to take away from this contest is that right now their best running back is actually quarterback Mike Kafka. Jacob Schmidt’s eight yard run in the game's last moments was NU’s longest carry by a running back, but Mike Kafka turned in a couple 10-plus yard runs. I don’t actually put all of the failings of the running game on Schmidt and his fellow back Arby Fields because I think NU’s offensive line has been underwhelming all season. However, it seems that NU runs better with Kafka. Perhaps that’s because Kafka is quicker than Schmidt or has better vision than Fields. Maybe it’s because the QB runs are easier to block. I don’t really know. What I do know is that if NU wants to beat Michigan State it would be a good idea to run Kafka at least 15-20 times.
Another lesson from the win over Miami seems to be that NU’s defense needs to produce turnovers to help NU win. For the second week in a row NU used a series of opponent turnovers to achieve victory. Now, some would point to Purdue and Miami being really bad and say NU can’t count on this strategy to be successful in the Big Ten, but I actually think the turnovers are a signal of NU’s defense improving. Very few of the TO’s from the last two weeks have been due to terrible mistakes by the offense. NU has actually taken the ball away. Also, even some of the Big Ten’s best teams (like Iowa) have been turnover prone, so if NU’s defense can consistently cause TO’s the Wildcats can be in position to win a lot of games down the stretch.
On another note, I must say I was encouraged to see NU’s defense actually put pressure on the quarterback. At times it did seem NU took forever to reach the pocket, but overall getting seven sacks for itself. David Arnold is without a doubt a difference maker. He seems to an overall better player than Ben Johnson at this point when you factor in both rushing the QB and tackling in the run game.
Lastly, I still think NU needs massive work in the return game. Especially punt return. NU’s returners seem almost defenseless as if nobody is blocking for them. When you consider how a game can change on special teams, it is very important NU find blockers from their return people because Smith, Brewer and Matthews are fast enough to make big plays.
The first major lesson NU needs to take away from this contest is that right now their best running back is actually quarterback Mike Kafka. Jacob Schmidt’s eight yard run in the game's last moments was NU’s longest carry by a running back, but Mike Kafka turned in a couple 10-plus yard runs. I don’t actually put all of the failings of the running game on Schmidt and his fellow back Arby Fields because I think NU’s offensive line has been underwhelming all season. However, it seems that NU runs better with Kafka. Perhaps that’s because Kafka is quicker than Schmidt or has better vision than Fields. Maybe it’s because the QB runs are easier to block. I don’t really know. What I do know is that if NU wants to beat Michigan State it would be a good idea to run Kafka at least 15-20 times.
Another lesson from the win over Miami seems to be that NU’s defense needs to produce turnovers to help NU win. For the second week in a row NU used a series of opponent turnovers to achieve victory. Now, some would point to Purdue and Miami being really bad and say NU can’t count on this strategy to be successful in the Big Ten, but I actually think the turnovers are a signal of NU’s defense improving. Very few of the TO’s from the last two weeks have been due to terrible mistakes by the offense. NU has actually taken the ball away. Also, even some of the Big Ten’s best teams (like Iowa) have been turnover prone, so if NU’s defense can consistently cause TO’s the Wildcats can be in position to win a lot of games down the stretch.
On another note, I must say I was encouraged to see NU’s defense actually put pressure on the quarterback. At times it did seem NU took forever to reach the pocket, but overall getting seven sacks for itself. David Arnold is without a doubt a difference maker. He seems to an overall better player than Ben Johnson at this point when you factor in both rushing the QB and tackling in the run game.
Lastly, I still think NU needs massive work in the return game. Especially punt return. NU’s returners seem almost defenseless as if nobody is blocking for them. When you consider how a game can change on special teams, it is very important NU find blockers from their return people because Smith, Brewer and Matthews are fast enough to make big plays.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Follow this link (http://twitpic.com/kljyt) for the team picture for the 2009-10 NU Men's Basketball team. The Wildcats have new uniforms which for the picture I'm not sure if I like or not. I'll have to see them up close to know for sure. I do know that Drew Crawford looks like he's actually strong which is rare for an NU freshman. Also, NU added walk-on Reggie Hearn to the roster who is the picture wearing #11.
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