Northwestern Wildcats Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction
After five straight bowl games, Pat Fitzgerald and his Northwestern Wildcats missed the postseason two straight years. Can they snap the skid this year?
Northwestern was America’s favorite Cinderella story after they beat Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl three seasons ago to win the school’s first bowl game in 64 years but the last two years has seen the program stall out and regress. Can head coach Pat Fitzgerald get his Wildcats back to the postseason and fix the offense this year?
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Offensive Outlook
Northwestern has had good offenses in years past with dual-threat quarterbacks and a strong run game but neither was the case last year for an offense that finished 78th in passing and 103rd in rushing last year. The Wildcats ranked 10th in total offense in the Big Ten and enter the year with a new starting quarterback. Sophomore Matt Alviti and redshirt freshmen Clayton Thorson finished spring practice at the top of the depth chart and both share similar traits to former Northwestern quarterbacks who can run and pass.
Whoever wins the job will have one of the conference’s best running backs in Justin Jackson who was one of the best freshmen backs last year when he rushed for 1,187 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was fourth among Power 5 freshmen with 98.9 yards per game. He should be the focal point of the Wildcat offensive attack this year and lessen the pressure on the first-year starting quarterbacks.
Also helping out the quarterback is the return of Christian Jones who led the team in receiving in 2012 and 2013, provided he shows no ill effects of the ACL surgery last year and cartilage surgery in March. At 6-3, he’s an imposing target as are super backs Dan Vitale and Garrett Dickerson so they should create mismatches wherever they line up, but the Cats have to be more explosive and make the big play.
Defensive Outlook
Defensively, Northwestern finished 48th in the nation in scoring defense which was good for seventh best in the Big Ten. So even though the unit was solid, it was middle-of-the-pack compared to their league mates. The loss of senior linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo will be tough to replace after he led the team in tackles and the loss of Ibraheim Campbell and his team-leading three interceptions opens the door for players to play big roles on this unit.
The two players tasked with replacing them are Anthony Walker and Godwin Igwebuike who made waves as redshirt freshmen a year ago. The two both had 51 tackles, Igwebuike tied Campbell for the team lead with three picks and Walker led the team with nine tackles for loss.
Walker and Igwebuike should take big steps this year but they won’t be alone on this defense with defensive backs Nick VanHoose, Traveon Henry and Matthew Harris combining with Igwebuike forming what can be a nice secondary. Defensive end Dean Lowry has to improve on his four-sack season for a defense that was last in the Big Ten with 17 sacks and Ifeadi Odenigbo has to be better as a junior. Sean McEvilly and Greg Kuhar have to return to top health after battling injuries because there isn’t much depth behind them.
Prediction
The schedule is a mixed bag for Northwestern who avoid Michigan State and Ohio State this year but have a home game with Stanford in the opener and a road date to Duke as part of the non-conference schedule. Their three toughest Big Ten games are on the road with trips to Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin so Northwestern will have to play exceptional at Ryan Field.
Home games vs non-conference foes Eastern Illinois and Ball State are must-wins. Minnesota and Penn State are potential upset alerts and getting Iowa, Purdue and the neutral site game against Illinois should be manageable for Fitzgerald’s team to win six games and get back to a bowl game. The defense is really talented and the offense has a star in Jackson so if they get average play from Alviti or Thorson, there’s potential for a seven-win season in Evanston.
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