[NU Sports] No predictions?

[Tom Maycock]

I think NU has a very good chance to pull out a victory. 

Now that they are finally getting healthy, I think our D-line has a good chance of being very stout against the running game. If they can also get pressure on the QB, we should be able to keep the game close all the way. Wotton will be another month further along in his recovery, which can only help. 

With respect to the secondary, we know McManis can hang with (not dominate perhaps, but certainly hang with) NFL-caliber receivers. Mabin has shown flashes, but gave up a bunch of plays this year. How well Mabin plays will be a huge factor. 

But Smith's return should help immensely here. He's one of our best defenders, and allows Peters to work as the 5th DB, where he's been more effective at this stage in his career. A healed-up Phillips should help as well. 

Finally, our LBs have been playing well against both pass and run, and I think we have plenty of pure athleticism there. 

On offense, everything I've read suggests that our passing game matches up well--perhaps *very* well--against their pass D. If our O-line continues to improve its run-blocking, and if Kafka's leg is (and remains) 100%, we should be more multi-dimensional, making the passing game even more effective. 

I suspect other aspects more or less balance out. We've got a very good FG kicker, a good kickoff return game, shaky punting and kickoff game, etc. 

Yeah, there's a chance they have more raw talent/speed than we can hang with--too many degrees of separation between these teams to really have a feel for their relative capabilities. 

But I don't think that will be the case. 

And, except in cases where one team is completed dominated talent-wise, emotion and preparation seem to make the difference in most bowl games. NU looked *very* well-prepared for the bowl game last year. 

Having been a big fan of both Kafka and McManis since their freshman years, I'd love to see Kafka go nuts throwing and running in his final game, and then have Sherrick pull off one of his "how did he do that?" interceptions to seal a victory. 

And I think there's a very good chance we might see just that.  

Tom