Northwestern dropped their final home game of the season 48-27 against in-state rival Illinois in front of a sold-out crowd at historic Wrigley Field. While the Fighting Illini gained bowl-eligibility with the win, Northwestern drops to a 7-4 record with a date against No. 6 Wisconsin next weekend in Madison. Three things to take from the loss:
1. The Swiss defense
Northwestern had no answer to the Fighting Illinis’ run game. The Illinois offensive line did an outstanding job opening holes for their star running back Mikel Leshoure. How big were those holes? Big enough for Leshoure to break almost every running record in the Illini book. His 330-yard performance was the most by a running back this season in the NCAA and the most by an Illinois running back ever.
Let’s put that into perspective: Last season, Northwestern’s leading rusher, Arby Fields ran for a season-total of 302 yards. Leshoure has his offensive line and the ‘Cats defense to thank for that superhuman performance.
The Northwestern defense could not figure out how to contain Leshoure at the line of scrimmage. In the first series of the game he went three plays for 66 yards, ending in a touchdown. Even more incredible was his average yards per carry: 10.0 to be exact. That means that every time he touched the ball, the Illini were almost guaranteed a first down.
While the defensive pass coverage and pressure on the quarterback was pretty good, it was Northwestern’s inability to contain the run that allowed 559 yards for the Illinois offense.
2. The Wrigley atmosphere
Everyone knew this game was going to be history when it was put on the schedule prior to the start of the season. Then adversity struck on Friday when the Big Ten decided that the distance between the east end zone and the outfield wall was too dangerous, turning Saturday’s game into backyard football with every series of offense directed towards the west end zone.
The pace of play was disrupted after every series to reset. Not to mention the substitution difficulties. In the post-game press conference, Coach Fitz claimed this strange dynamic “had no effect” on the overall play. But it was just another thing players and coaches had to prepare for.
Beyond the controversy, with an ESPN College GameDay showing, and a sold-out crowd, Coach Fitz called this game “Chicago’s bowl game.” The ‘Cats did lose an ugly one but that doesn’t take away the national media attention they garnered or the school spirit that came out in throngs.
3. The Northwestern youth
If there is a bright spot to this game, it was the promise of Northwestern’s freshmen. Redshirt freshman Mike Trumpy was the ‘Cats most active rusher with a total of 129 yards, a season-high for him and for any NU running back. True freshman Adonis Smith also got into the action with 20 rushing yards.
Redshirt freshman Evan Watkins took his first start for the ‘Cats under extreme adversity. A Chicago native, Watkins began his Northwestern career in front of a sell-out crowd in storied Wrigley Field after junior quarterback Dan Persa went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon against Iowa. He did not have a stellar performance but after some key completions before the second quarter ended, ‘Cats fans got a preview of what this kid can do. Once he got past his freshmen jitters, his running ability and passing accuracy showed true promise.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the appearance of true freshman Kain Colter. Originally recruited by Stanford, Colter chose Northwestern after a season-ending shoulder injury his senior year. Although he didn’t throw the ball against Illinois and ran for only 10 yards, Colter showed some real speed.
This loss hardly has an upside, but if anything, it looks like the ‘Cats have a bright future ahead, on the new kids’ heels.