This is a preview of the Northwestern-University of Ohio football game, this Saturday at Ryan Field, 11 a.m.
The last two years, Northwestern students have returned to campus with their football team having already suffered an embarrassing loss. The Wildcats lost to the University of New Hampshire, a Division IAA school, in 2006 and dropped a decision to lowly Duke before Wildcat Welcome last fall. This year, things are different. When students head to Ryan Field on Saturday they will see a home team that is 3-0. Northwestern posted convincing home wins over Syracuse and Southern Illinois and won a tough road game against a much-improved Duke team.
The defense was stellar in the Syracuse and Southern Illinois games, limiting those two opponents to 17 points. In the Duke game, the defense came through when it mattered most, stopping the Blue Devils on a fourth-and-5 from the Northwestern 24-yard line with 90 seconds to play and the Cats leading by just 4. On offense, the team has seen senior running back Tyrell Sutton return to his freshman-year form, when he ran for 1474 yards. So far, Sutton has totaled 311 rushing yards and scored 6 touchdowns.
Looking at the records, Saturday’s game against the winless University of Ohio Bobcats looks like it should be an easy win for NU. However, Ohio’s 0-3 record is misleading. The Bobcats lost two of those games by a field goal or less. In the other gameagainst national power Ohio State, Ohio was leading late in the second half before fumbling a punt return and eventually losing 26-14.
Northwestern needs to look out for Bobcats junior quarterback Boo Jackson. Jackson is always a threat to run. Last week against Central Michigan he took off running 9 times for 48 yards. In 2007, NU’s defense had trouble against running quarterbacks. In the game against Illinois, Illini quarterback Juice Williams ran for 136 yards on the Cats’ defense in a 41-22 Illinois win. However, if the Cats make Jackson throw the ball they should have a good chance at a lopsided win. Against OSU, Jackson completed just nine of 25 passes and threw three interceptions.
Aside from containing Jackson, the other key to the game is avoiding turnovers. This is, of course, true for all games. But it really matters in match-ups against less talented opponents. For as well as they played against Ohio State, Ohio still only scored two touchdowns in that game — and one of those came when Bobcats defensive-end Curtis Meyers returned a botched snap for a touchdown. Simply put, turnovers are the life-blood of upsets.
Prediction: Boo Jackson runs for two touchdowns in the first half and the Bobcats head into locker room with a 17-10 lead. But, the Wildcats come back in second half. The stronger and deeper Northwestern offensive line starts to push around the Bobcats and help Sutton run for 130 yards. The Cats win 30-20 and finish their nonconference schedule undefeated for the first time since 1963.
[Clarification: The original article listed the incorrect year that the Wildcats last finished their noconference schedule undefeated. North by Northwestern regrets the error.]