Correction appended
Here’s a great Halloween costume idea: ditch all the slutty cat and Sarah Palin outfits and try dressing as the only Northwestern student who thinks the football team has any chance against Minnesota. You certainly would be unique, because there are at least three reasons the Gophers should completely annihilate the Wildcats on Saturday.
First of all, the Golden Gophers’ confidence is at a high while Northwestern’s is probably at the same level as the Cubbies after Game 2 of the NLDS. Minnesota is 7-1 and coming off big wins against Illinois and Purdue. Coach Tim Brewster has his team believing every week they are the best team on the field and that a trip to the Rose Bowl is a real possibility.
Second, the ‘Cats are injured in perhaps the three most important positions in football: quarterback, running back and middle linebacker. At quarterback, CJ Bacher is questionable and it’s likely that Mike Kafka will start. Star running back Tyrell Sutton is gone for the regular season, as is linebacker Malcolm Arrington. Most teams would have no chance of winning without two of their starters at those positions, let alone all three.
Third, the Gophers’ defense should have a field day with Northwestern. Minnesota has an interception in all of their last three games and in three of their last five games they held the opposing offense to single digit points. If Kafka plays, one would assume that this stat would become four of the last six games. The senior is not exactly known for being able to light up the scoreboard.
Last week, Kafka looked completely over-matched. Instead of leading the ‘Cats on a game winning drive, he proved unable even to maintain possession of the football. And, his problems can not just be ascribed to inexperience coming off the bench. When Kafka started in 2006, the Northwestern offense was extremely one-dimensional. Then offensive coordinator Garrick McGee seemed to only be comfortable allowing him to run two plays; the pitch left or the pitch right. On September 16th, 2006 against Eastern Michigan, Kafka was absolutely dreadful. The longest pass he completed was for just twelve yards and his quarterback rating that day was a minuscule 42.8. The game, which was the first that year with students back, was so boring it’s surprising that any freshman who attended has ever gone to a sporting event since.
So why is Northwestern going to win Saturday? Well, a golden rule of sports is that if everyone expects something to happen, it never happens. If last week’s game against Indiana wasn’t proof enough of this, than the 2007-2008 New England Patriots, the 2008 Cubs and Barbaro certainly are. No one’s giving the ‘Cats or Kafka or Omar Conteh a chance and that’s why they will come back from Minnesota for a 7-2 record. Conteh, although he doesn’t have Sutton’s the breakaway or receiving ability, is a solid back and has thrived all year whenever he gets a chance to play. And yes, Kafka was a nightmare in 2006. But, back then Ross Lane and Eric Peterman had not developed into the excellent possession receivers they are today. Whenever Kafka gets in trouble he should have an open Lane or Peterman to dump the ball to. Northwestern thrives in the role of the underdog and will play a huge Halloween trick on the Gophers. ‘Cats win it, 21-20.
Friday, Oct. 31, 5:30 p.m. — The original caption had the wrong photo credit.