[NU Sports] WILDCAT WRAP: NU 38, Ohio 14

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

It’s been a long time since a second half at Ryan
Field was both meaningless and enjoyable for the home
team and their fans. So many thrilling finishes in
recent years and an occasional blowout of NU may have
left Wildcat fans scratching their heads about the
last time a Northwestern team has so thoroughly
dominated an opponent (probably Illinois in 2000). The
result was a satisfying 38-14 win over Frank Solich’s
Ohio team in a game that was much more of a lopsided
affair than the score may indicate, as NU chose not to
run a halfback option pass to score in the second
half, instead playing plenty of second stringers and
turning it over twice at the goal line late.

It wasn’t a perfect opener – the lack of a running
game stuck out like a sore thumb, especially early,
and the secondary got beat deep a couple times – but
it was an encouraging opener for a team that has had a
flurry of question marks surrounding it since last
year.

Especially encouraging were noticeable improvements in
some key areas fans (including yours truly) have been
griping about for years. The opening kickoff was a
touchback (the crowd applauded heartily). The first
two Bobcat series were 3-and-outs and Ohio was
0-for-third down on the day. There were a couple sacks
and noticeable pressure. And the offense was much more
open in terms of throwing the ball downfield and
particularly in throwing the ball over the middle of
the field. We forced turnovers, didn’t commit stupid
penalties and didn’t blink when Ohio made a run after
we got an early lead. And maybe it’s the italicized
numbers talking (which, IMO, are far easier to read
and a great improvement), but the players looked
quicker and sharper – more focused.

After a first quarter that NU dominated defensively
but only had a 3-0 lead to show for it, the offense
came alive in the second half. Brett Basanez looked
about as sharp as I’ve seen an NU quarterback look in
the potent second quarter, reaching near perfection in
terms of passes caught, spreading the ball around, and
withstanding pressure to find open options. 

And it’s not too early to speculate that this may be
the best receiving corps in Wildcat history. There’s
no standout stud like D’Wayne Bates on the field, but
they all complement each other well, work together to
block and open one another up and run good routes to
keep the defense spinning downfield. Kim Thompson is
developing into a solid deep threat. Mark Philmore is
the workhorse of the group. Jonathan Fields still has
speed to burn and can turn a short pass into a
gamebreaker, and Shaun Herbert may be the MVP of the
group after today by proving he is the best “Middle
Man” to pick up those tough yards over the middle of
the field that NU has had since Brian Musso. They were
making blocks for each other, celebrating each other’s
success and grabbing everything that was in their
vicinity.

Not all was perfect on offense, however, as the
running game took a long time to get going. The
backfield is to be expected with the changes, but the
O line needs to handle a MAC defense batter than they
did – even if they are selling out at times to stop
the run as Ohio was most of the day. We improved on
sweeps in the second quarter as the pass opened up the
run, but you still need to be able to convert 3rd and
short against a MAC team with a Big Ten offensive
line. And some of the deep balls Baz threw should have
been clear TDs but weren’t in stride and the wideout
had to wait (his zips over the middle were on target
and tight, though). But the offensive explosion in the
second quarter put NU up 31-7 at the half and the game
was never really in doubt.

As for those 7 points at the half from Ohio, they were
not given up by the defense – they came off a poorly
executed option play where the Bobcats intercepted the
pitch and ran it in. So the defense essentially
pitched a shutout,  with the late score coming in
garbage time and Ohio unable to mount a sustained
drive all day. The no-name front line did a nice job
getting pressure and the secondary was improved but
had a couple lapses that reminded fans how much the
losses in the offseason hurt. As always, though, the
Cats are led by their linebackers, and Tim McGarrigle
and Nick Roach may rank up there with the Wildcats’
impressive alums at the position by the time the
season is over.

As for special teams, the opening touchback proved to
be the only one of the day and two field goals were
missed (though both clearly had the distance to be
good from 50+ and one bounced off the upright) 
 but
even they seemed markedly improved. Despite the
long-range misses during third quarter kicking
practice, Joel Howells had a great day – making a
couple jaw-rocking tackles on kickoff coverage to save
big returns and recovering a fumble.

Am I ready to make plans for the holidays yet? Not
quite – we still have a brutal schedule, some
inexperience at key positions and desperately need to
put together a consistent running game to complement
Baz and the wideouts. But what I did see today at Ryan
Field was encouraging in that it looks like this team
was only made stronger by the off-season injuries and
trials. They are spirited, spunky and fun to watch.
They have worked on some problems from last year and
while conditions may present new challenges this year,
they look to be a group with solid leadership from #14
and #41 on both sides of the ball who will fight
together and be in more games than not this year.

Perfect weather, a rousing opening day win and lots to
build on for the future. The competition takes a big
step up each of the next two weeks, so there's a rough
road ahead - but for now, sit back and enjoy it
Northwestern fans. We're 1-0, and that's all that
matters.

SjT GAME BALLS
==============
* Shaun Herbert -- The Middle Man is The Man for the
Cats this year. All the wideouts played well, but
Herbert was fearless across the middle and snagged
everything in his vicinity for some key grabs. Give
Kim Thompson an extra credit point for some dazzling
catches as well -- the entire WR corps looked good.
* Brett Basanez -- A slow start, but a nearly flawless
second quarter showed promises of big things this
season. He was picking apart the secondary, staying
cool and getting everyone involved ... signs of a true
leader.
* The front seven -- Yeah, we had a few lapses in the
secondary, but the bottom line is that Ohio didn't
convert a third down all day and never got a drive
going to mount a threat. The only TD the D gave up
came in garbage time and we had pressure and stud play
from the linebackers to lead the group. Lots of spirit
and energy as well - keep it up! Kicker Howells gets
an extra mention as well for those solid hits on
kickoff coverage - our tackling as a team was much,
much better.

THINGS TO WORK ON
=================
* The running game - Sutton and Conteh showed promise
in the second, but we still couldn't ram it down the
throats of Ohio ... how will that work when you add
the "State" on the end of that yet alone against other
Big Ten teams?
* Deep coverage - Some nice hustle on the last play of
the first half kept one gaffe from going the distance,
but there were a couple times our guys let a Bobcat
slip past the safety unnoticed.
* A better start - The D was dominant in the first
quarter and we started nearly every possession from
midfield or beyond, yet we only had 3 points to show
for it. We can't waste those opportunities to go up
early against the rest of the schedule.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
=================
* Guess those rumors about the Cheese Spread offense
at Wisconsin a few years ago were true after all –
Barry’s boys look like the Cats of 2000 in winning a
wild one with the BUGS. 56-42? That's a basketball
score in Madison!
* Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa are three of the six
best teams in the country and each looked solid in the
opener. The Wolverines and Bucks will get tested at
home next week, but we still have the short end of the
stick with facing all three in a row!
* Maybe it is good that Minnesota is off the schedule
- Barber was looking like the second coming of Bo
Jackson that first quarter in Tulsa! The league
clearly has a Big Three, but the Gophers and Boilers
(with that easy sked) are solid bowl teams as well and
I think PSU and MSU make it to the postseason as well.
So that's seven before we even get to the Badgers or
Cats, who may be too inconsistent to make the cut but
still could be capable of making a run and pulling a
few upsets.
* Not much news elsewhere ... Illinois' comeback was a
good start for Zook and PSU was a bit sluggish, but
we'll know a lot more about the league after next
weekend.

A good weekend and a good opener -- not as magical as
the opener 10 years ago:), but still a solid win and a
1-0 start to the season ... LOVE to see college
football back!

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!

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