Northwestern and Minnesota met today in the Big Ten opener at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Wildcats came away with a tight 29-28 victory.
Northwestern improved to 5-0 on the season, while the Golden Gophers dropped to 1-4. But the win wasn’t as easy as the Wildcats might have expected, even though the game was on the road.
Three things to take from this game:
1. You can’t get away with stupid mistakes: Well, actually you can get away with stupid mistakes, as long as your opponent is Minnesota. But the rest of the Big Ten season is going to be a struggle for Northwestern if they don’t cut out dumb turnovers and mistakes. The Wildcats turned the ball over on three occasions, including twice in the red zone. That number doesn’t even include a missed point after touchdown by Stefan Demos. Against the better teams in the Big Ten, these types of mistakes will haunt NU. If they really want to be competitive and reach a January bowl game again, then the ‘Cats must play mistake-free football, especially in the red zone.
2. The run defense must improve: At one point in this game, Minnesota completely controlled the pace of the contest offensively, pounding the ball relentlessly against Northwestern’s defense. It is true that Wildcats are a bit undersized up front, but this cannot be an excuse; offensive lines of the Big Ten are some of the largest in the country, and they will only get better as the season progresses. Surprisingly, Northwestern actually outrushed the Gophers (mostly due to quarterback Dan Persa’s 99 rushing yards), but Minnesota’s success running the football allowed for the play action to open up, which burned the ‘Cats on several occasions. Against teams like Wisconsin and Iowa, stopping the run will be essential for Northwestern to even stand a chance.
3. They played pretty bad and still won: Even though there are a number of negatives to take from this game, the ‘Cats were still able to win a Big Ten road game playing below-average football. Despite throwing an interception and fumbling the ball, Persa shined, completing 23 passes on 30 attempts for 309 yards with 2 touchdowns. Jeremy Ebert had a nice game as well, catching 7 passes for 105 yards, and morphing into Randy Moss for one spectacular touchdown grab. Yes, there are a lot of concerns, but the offense played well minus the turnovers, and the defense stood firm at the end of the game. Even though the collective hearts of Northwestern faithful were pounding throughout the fourth quarter, the Wildcats will come home undefeated to face Purdue under the lights next Saturday at Ryan Field.