The Wildcats (2-0) were at the top of their game Saturday evening from nearly every position, even without injured running back Venric Mark. It resulted in a 48-27 victory over Syracuse (0-2) at Ryan Field in Evanston. Colter was 15-for-18 with 116 yards passing as well as 87 yards rushing.
“Really, that was my first game,” Colter said (he went out on the first possession against Cal). “I felt good, and as time went on, I felt more comfortable.”
A purple tarp covered the northwest corner of Ryan Field, but most of the remaining seats were filled by fans (38,033 in total) and making it the largest home opener crowd since 2001. There was also an impressive number of students, despite the start of classes being over two weeks away.
They came to see a show from the Wildcat offense, and not just Colter. Siemian threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
The rout started with a 4-4 opening drive from Colter that culminated in a touchdown grab from junior running back Treyvon Green.
Colter continued to pick apart the Syracuse secondary, but the ‘Cats still chose to utilize the two-quarterback system. Siemian excelled to the tune of 181 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Combined, Colter and Siemian went 22-for-24 in the half.
With the success of the quarterbacks, head coach Pat Fitzgerald was quick to note a big reason for their success: the offensive line.
“What’s going a little bit overlooked right now is the play of our young offensive line,” he said. “I think that group is really starting to come together.”
As usual, Colter utilized his legs as well, finishing the half with 68 yards on six carries. His elusiveness took him all over the field, and it seemed he was running about 30 yards total for a five yard gain.
After Siemian led the ‘Cats down the field for a touchdown with two seconds remaining in the half, the Wildcats jogged to the locker room up 34-7.
The defense, for the majority of the time, dominated. Sophomore safety Traveon Henry and junior linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo both had athletic interceptions of Syracuse quarterback Drew Allen, and sophomore defensive lineman Dean Lowry and junior safety Ibraheim Campbell later added picks of their own. These four picks brought the team total to seven on the season.
“One thing we pride ourselves on is being able to get the ball back for the offense,” Henry said, “because we know our offense can score many points. We try to emphasize rips, strips, tips, because tips equals picks.”
There were several possessions that the Wildcat defense seemed to take off; they allowed touchdown drives of 86, 75, and 54 yards, but after those, no drives went for over 39 yards.
Even so, it was difficult to find many negatives from Saturday’s game. Siemian added another touchdown toss, Green ran one in and this never became a “Cardiac ‘Cats” matchup. Still, the players found an area of disappointment: the third quarter, when they were outscored 6-0.
“We’ve got to come out stronger than that,” Colter said. “We had a chance to really kick the team out of our place, and we didn’t capitalize.”
For these ‘Cats, it’s Rose Bowl or bust, and with that high of expectations, they’ll rarely be satisfied with their play.
“When it comes down to the third quarter and we’re up,” Colter said, “we’ve got to put our foot on their throat and finish some teams off.”
What we liked:
Defensive end defensive line
On a lot of third-and-longs throughout the game, Northwestern opted to go with starting defensive ends Tyler Scott and Dean Lowry playing at the tackle positions while bringing in Ifeadi Odenigbo and Deonte Gibson at the end spots. This was meant to utilize the D-line’s speed and get more pressure on the quarterback.
Generally, it worked well. The Orange went a decent 6-of-13 on third-down conversions, but it was evident that they were making Allen uncomfortable. It looks like a setup that could be valuable in the future.
Tony Jones
Jones has been emphasizing his want to become more of a possession receiver, and it showed today in his nine catches for 185 yards. His speed has also cemented him as the team's prime deep threat against other teams.
If you need to know how big he has been so far this season just know this: Jones had 335 yards last season. He has 255 through this season’s first two games.
What we didn’t like:
cornerbacks
Okay, anything we talk about here is a bit of a stretch, because not too much went terribly wrong, but the corners struggled at times. Nick VanHoose hasn’t had a great start to the season considering the standard he set with his play last season, and newcomer Dwight White has struggled. This is understandable, considering he is trying to replace the injured Daniel Jones.
White missed several tackles in the first half, and on one opportunity to make a play on a long-ball, he grabbed the receiver’s hip and was called for pass interference. He hasn’t started off the season well, but as a redshirt freshman, he’s obviously going to have some ups and downs.
Otto the Orange
Yes, this one's definitely a stretch, but seeing one of the least intimidating mascots in the nation bounce around the sideline was a little bit annoying, especially since he’s (obviously) bright orange. Maybe his best moment was joining in the Northwestern tradition of dancing to Danzel’s “Put Your Hands Up In The Air,” but at the same time, I’m not sure NU fans appreciated his contribution.