After suffering an 0-2 start to its 2014 campaign, Northwestern will attempt to lead a resurgence after consecutive wins in its last two games.
The Wildcats (2-2) finished last season at 5-7 after jumping out to a 4-0 record, but it lost seven straight games before squeezing out a victory against equally inept Illinois in its final contest of the year.
Northwestern’s losing ways continued in its first game against California Aug. 30, when it fell, 31-24, to the visiting Golden Bears after its second half comeback from 24 points down fell short, and Sept. 6 against Northern Illinois, who edged out the Wildcats for a 23-15 win.
The Wildcats picked up its first victory against Western Illinois Sept. 20, a week after Wisconsin beat up on the Leathernecks in Madison. Northwestern got all the offense it needed from freshman running backs Justin Jackson and Solomon Vault. Jackson netted 92 yards on the ground and scored a touchdown, while Vault, a change-of-pace option, picked up two scores while rushing for 31 yards on six carries.
Most recently, Northwestern raised eyebrows among the Big Ten by topping Penn State, 29-6, Sept. 27 in University Park, Pa. The Wildcats’ win came as a surprise, as Penn State had been flirting with cracking the AP Top 25 Poll the past few weeks and was 4-0 going in to the matchup.
Northwestern’s defense stymied the Nittany Lions, allowing just 50 rushing yards and 266 yards of total offense. Penn State was successful on three of seventeen third-down conversions, and it managed to put just two field goals on the board.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Anthony Walker sparked NU’s defense by hauling in an interception and returning it 49 yards for a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter. Walker also padded his performance with eight tackles and a pass breakup.
Senior quarterback Trevor Siemian paced the Wildcats’ offense, scoring on a trio of one-yard rushes and finishing the game 21-37 for 258 yards through the air.
Northwestern will look to carry the momentum of its commanding win back to Evanston when it takes on Wisconsin Oct. 4.
NU will have to show progress on defense if it wants to continue its success against the Badgers and then into the rest of its Big Ten schedule.
Its showing against Penn State was impressive, but up until that point, Northwestern had difficulty slowing opponents down. NU gave up 414, 401 and 376 yards to California, Northern Illinois and Western Illinois, respectively, prior to its dominance of Penn State. Additionally, the 11.4 yards per catch that the Wildcats have allowed is a major liability that teams will undoubtedly look to exploit in the future.
Offensively, Northwestern will need stimulate more production both through the air and on the ground. The Wildcats have managed just four passing touchdowns through four games, and have been held to a mediocre 112.2 yards per game on the ground. Northwestern does not have a true strength to lean on offensively, so until it can find an answer, and put more points on the board, its defense will have to hold tough and continue to improve.
