The 6-1 Northwestern Wildcats face the 4-2 Nebraska Cornhuskers at Evanston, Illinois in a game that kicks off at 2:35 p.m. CDT and will be televised by ABC from Ryan Field.
Both teams are known for the potent offenses. The Wildcats are coached by Pat Fitzgerald, a former star linebacker at Northwestern. He always has his teams ready to play and gets the most out of his players. In his seventh season, Fitzgerald has a career record of 46-37.
The Northwestern offense will play two quarterbacks throughout the game. Kain Colter (6-feet, 190 Pounds, Junior) really can do it all, he will play extensively at quarterback, and will also see am number of snaps as either a wide receiver or running back in the game. On the season, Kolter has passed for 422 yards with two touchdowns and one interception completing 70.5 percent (55 of 78) of his passes. Kolter has 421 yards rushing with eight touchdowns and has 13 catches for 152 yards this season. Nebraska must keep the exciting Kolter in check if Nebraska is to win the game. Trevor Siemian (6-3, 210, So.) completes 63 percent of his passes (80 of 127) with two touchdown passes and one interception. As a team the Wildcats pass for 179 yards per game. Siemian stays in the pocket, while Kolter is good on the move putting pressure on the defense.
The running game is paced by Venric Mark (5-8, 180, Jr.). He averages 113 yards rushing per game with eight touchdowns. Mike Trumpy (6-1, 210, Jr.) is his backup. Mark is a small back that can hide from a defense, along the lines of what Darren Sproles used to do for Kansas State several years ago. Mark is one of the best kick and punt returners in the nation as well. On the season Mark averages 28.8 yards per punt return, with two returns for touchdowns. He also has 15 pass receptions this season. Mark is really dangerous and the Huskers must know where he is on the field at all times. As a team, Northwestern averages 228 yards rushing per game.
The Wildcats have four receivers with at least 18 catches this season. Combined with Mark and Colter, this makes the receivers a deep unit for Northwestern. Senior Demetrius Fields (6-0, 210) is the team leader with 25 catches. Tony Jones (6-0, 180, So.), Christian Jones (6-3, 220, So.) and Rashad Lawrence (6-2, 195, Jr.) all have 18 grabs in 2012. This is a balanced group where Tony Jones shows the most speed.
The offensive line is a good sized group. The Wildcats average over 6-5 and 307 per man from tackle to tackle. Right guard Neal Deiters (6-8, 315, Sr.) and left tackle Patrick Ward (6-7, 310, Sr.) make a pair of huge pair of offensive linemen for the Wildcats. This groups blocks well both in the running and passing game.
Defensively allows 110 yards per game rushing (18th nationally and 270 yards per game passing. Tyler Scott (6-4, 265, Jr.) is a force defensively as an end with 7.5 tackles for loss including six sacks. Middle linebacker Damien Proby (6-0, 245, Jr.) leads the team with 62 tackles including 45 solo stops. The linebackers are really solid and the front seven may cause the Huskers some problems. The secondary will likely give up plenty of yards and points in the contest.
As was mentioned Mark is stellar on special teams. Kicker Jeff Budzien (5-11, 170, Jr.) has been perfect on 11 field goals this season and 26 extra points. Punter Brandon Williams (6-2, 195, Jr.) averages just over 40 yards per punt. Nebraska has been less than impressive on special teams coverage in 2012 and Northwestern appears to have an edge in the kicking game.
Overall this will be a tough game. I think the Wildcats have enough offense to give the Huskers fits. Also I believe defensively Northwestern is undervalued. Combine this with great special teams and home field, and the Big Red is in for a tight game. If Nebraska takes care of the football, they will win, but I feel they have not done that all season. I look for Northwestern to win Saturday afternoon by a score of 43-40.
No comments:
Post a Comment