Northwestern made a statement with their fourth straight road win over the Rice Owls Saturday night. Our Wildcats dominated offensive play throughout the game, and defense made big stops when Northwestern needed them most. But how well did they do exactly? Check out this week’s Report Card to find out:
Offense: A-
Dan Persa led the team to a strong victory over the Owls, and he proved again why he has some of the best stats in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Persa threw a career-best 304 yards, completing 24/32 pass attempts. Wildcat wide receivers provided Persa with plenty of targets and four of them averaged double-digit yardage/catch. The only thing holding the offense from a well-deserved A+ is the rushing unit, who averaged a so-so 3.2 yds/carry. If Northwestern wants to continue making statement wins, especially once conference play starts, the offensive line will have to rush-block better than they’ve been thus far.
Defense: B+
The Northwestern defense held strong against the Rice Owls, extending their stingy play from the past two weeks. Before Rice scored their lone touchdown in the final seconds of the game, Northwestern went seven quarters without giving up a touchdown. Our eighth-best defense is giving up only 12.3 points/game, a stat that will serve us well once we face-off against some of the stronger teams on our schedule. Senior linebacker Quentin Davie picked off Rice’s quarterback for Northwestern’s sixth interception of the season, Davie’s third. His play this week earned him his first career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor. The Wildcats’ rush defense is the only stain on their sparkling track record thus far. Giving up an average of 3.7 yards/carry to a team who went 2-10 in 2009 with 3.2 yards/carry is unacceptable.
Special Teams: A+
The Special Teams really stepped it up this week. Demos found his stride on Saturday and made all six of his kicks, three field goals and three extra points. Although punter Brandon Williams averaged a short 38.8 yards/punt, three of his six punts landed within the 20 yard line. Runningback Stephen Simmons made two phenomenal returns, both of which were over 20 yards each. For one of our most inconsistent units, Special Teams put on their best performance of the season against the Owls.
Coaching: B+
Coach Fitz and the rest of the staff put together yet another strong victory for the Wildcats. A good mix of rush and pass plays brought the ball down field, and although Northwestern was forced to punt more than they would’ve liked, the coaches put together a good game plan that flexed our strengths and corrected our weaknesses. Central Michigan this Saturday for the first home game of the school year will be a harder test than Rice, so Coach Fitz and the rest of the Wildcats better hit the books and study up on our Midwest rivals.