Northwestern football: Wildcats are Big Ten’s sneaky-good squad
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
Offense
If Northwestern wants to compete for the Big Ten title game and a major bowl, a lot of their success will hinge on one player. When he’s playing at his peak, Clayton Thorson is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. When he’s struggling, he hurts his team, and can completely break the offensive flow.
After a bit of a down season from Thorson last year, the Wildcats need him to improve in his senior season. There are no more excuses for Thorson to be as inconsistent as he has been. When Thorson is great, like he was against Michigan State, Bowling Green, Nevada and Illinois, the Wildcats win. When he’s bad, like he was against Penn State and Duke, they lose badly.
If the good games become the norm, Northwestern will be in a great place. Thorson doesn’t have to do it alone though. Despite the departure of running back Justin Jackson, his replacement, Jeremy Larkin, could be just as good. Larkin put up a whopping 510 yards on just 84 carries last year while backing Jackson up.
While Jackson was usually good for a decent gain, and could be trusted with a bunch of carries, Larkin’s ceiling seems far higher. He was the more explosive, and at times, the more efficient back last season. If that continues in 2018, Northwestern could have one of the best backfields in the conference.
Thorson will have quite a bit of help at receiver too. The top two receivers from last year return in Bennett Skowronek and Flynn Nagel, and there’s plenty of talent behind them. Riley Lees, Cameron Green, and Oregon transfer Jalen Brown make for a very nice group. Northwestern doesn’t like to pass a ton, but if there’s a good year to do it, it’s 2018.
For the second straight season, Northwestern returns four starting linemen. Brad North will need replaced at center, but outside of him, this group is extremely solid on paper. Right guard Tommy Doles was awesome last year, JB Butler and Blake Hance have 18 and 35 career starts, respectively. Rashawn Slater should be even better after a decent freshman year.
It’ll be hard to replace North, but Jared Thomas has been praised quite a bit this offseason. This unit has depth, talent, and should lead the way for a very good offense.
Déjà vu all over again?
Despite an extremely experienced offensive line last season, the Wildcats struggled early up front. A lack of chemistry and a ton of missed blocks were a big part of their 2-3 start, and while the line eventually started clicking, that start was concerning. It’s hard to predict, but it’s not implausible to think that may happen again this year.
With the way this schedule is set up, Northwestern can’t afford that. They need the line to be good from the first game to the last game if they want to compete with Wisconsin for the Big ten west.