When the Pac-12 and the Big Ten announced their handshake agreement a few years back to schedule home-and-home intersectional games, it seemed like a great idea. We've seen Oregon play Michigan State, Ohio State matchup with Cal, and UCLA square off against Nebraska. The agreement between the conferences fizzled faster than roses in January, but Stanford gets its regular season look at a Big Ten opponent this Saturday morning when the Cardinal travels to Evanston, Illinois, to take on the Northwestern Wildcats.
I suppose this pairing makes sense since the two schools are the premiere academic institutions in their respective conferences, but the football teams appear headed in opposite directions. While Stanford has enjoyed a return to national prominence with a 54-13 record over the past five seasons, Northwestern has been a mediocre 33-30, including a disappointing 5-7 in each of the past two years.
Last year's campaign was particularly frustrating -- and confusing -- for the Wildcats. After opening conference play with a decisive road win over Penn State and following that up with a victory over Wisconsin, things were looking bright. A month and four straight losses later Northwestern was 3-6 and facing a trip to South Bend where they'd likely get pummeled by Notre Dame.
Instead, the Wildcats pulled off the upset, beating the Irish in a 43-40 overtime shoot out. How improbable was that win? After being held to negative nine yards rushing by Michigan in the previous week, Northwestern racked up 263 yards against Notre Dame, including 149 by Justin Jackson.
The Stanford defense will get to know Jackson this Saturday. After rambling for more than a thousand yards last season, the senior tailback returns as the likely focal point of a Northwestern offense that will be led by an unknown quantity, redshirt freshman quarterback Clayton Thorson. If Northwestern is to pull of the upset, Jackson and Thorson will need to have huge days, but I don't think that will happen.
Even though the Stanford defense is young and inexperienced, I expect it will be too much for a quarterback whose last game action came for Wheaton North High School. I expect that the Stanford offense will pick exactly where it left off the last time they played a Big Ten team -- the Maryland Terrapins in last year's Foster Farms Bowl. My prediction: Stanford 34, Northwestern 13.
For inside information about Northwestern football, I contacted Zach Pereles from the Northwestern site InsideNU.com, and he happily agreed to answer some of my questions about the Wildcats. I'll get out of the way now...
Go Mighty Card:
After two consecutive 5-7 seasons, would you say Northwestern football is trending up, trending down, or holding steady heading into 2015?
InsideNU:
Northwestern football is trending down, although the recruiting classes have remained pretty solid based simply off the 2012 season. When Ohio State came to visit Evanston in 2013, College Gameday was there, Northwestern was a top-25 program and it seemed as if Pat Fitzgerald had his team in line to break out as a legitimate Big Ten contender for years to come. Since that heartbreaking loss, however, Northwestern is just 6-14. The Wildcats are certainly trending down from that peak, and if it doesn’t turn around this year, you may see the same downward trend on the recruiting trail.
GMC:
How does the fanbase view this home-and-home series with Stanford? Is this Saturday’s game any more exciting than a normal season opener?
InsideNU:
There is certainly more excitement this year than there was last year against Cal, a team that was coming off a 1-11 season but still arrived in Evanston and beat the Wildcats. Two years ago, Northwestern’s home opener was against Syracuse, and three years ago it was against Vanderbilt, not exactly football powerhouses. So yes, there is more excitement against a legit powerhouse program like Stanford. Overall, the fanbase is happy about the home-and-home series. It’s a chance to compete against another private, Power 5 institution with an elite academic reputation.
GMC:
What can you tell me about head coach Pat Fitzgerald? How is he perceived by fans? What do you see as his strengths as a coach?
InsideNU:
“Fitz,” as Northwestern students know him, is absolutely adored by the wide majority of fans. That’s in part because of his role as middle linebacker on Northwestern’s Rose Bowl team and in part because, well, he’s done a terrific job bringing Northwestern to the national stage after taking the reins as such a young coach. He’s just 40 and entering his tenth season, the second-longest tenured Big Ten coach behind Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. He’s a terrific motivator with a ton of energy, and he knows how to get players up for games against good opponents (see Notre Dame and Wisconsin last year). There is an occasional fan or two that dislikes him, but in general, “Fitz” is very well-regarded, does a lot of great stuff for the surrounding community, and is the ideal face of the program.
GMC:
The big news out of Evanston has been Fitzgerald’s selection of Clayton Thorson as starting quarterback. This might be difficult to answer since the redshirt freshman hasn’t yet played, but do you know what we can expect to see from him on Saturday?
InsideNU:
Thorson is a talented dual-threat quarterback who won the job because he was a better passer than Matt Alviti (who you might see in some packages on Saturday) and a better runner and overall athlete than fifth-year senior Zack Oliver. You should expect to see Northwestern pound the ball early with running backs Justin Jackson and Warren Long and have Thorson get the ball out of his hands quickly with some short, high-percentage passes to build his confidence. Later in the game, he will get out of the pocket and take some shots further down the field and keep the ball every so often on the read option.
GMC:
Aside from Thorson, what will the offense look like? I see that many of the top producers from 2014 are returning this fall. Which players should we keep an eye on?
InsideNU:
This will be a ground-centered attack led by Justin Jackson. He’s a complete back who ran for nearly 1,200 yards last year and had 11 total touchdowns. Behind him, bruiser Warren Long has had an impressive offseason, showing improved speed and agility from last year. Auston Anderson, who missed last year with an injury, is a homerun threat who had an impressive list of potential suitors coming out of high school. On the outside, Christian Jones is returning after a torn ACL caused him to miss all of last year. He’s by far the most skilled of the wide receivers, although Miles Shuler is a good deep threat if he’s healthy, and Solomon Vault is a good slot option if he, too, is healthy. Superback Dan Vitale lines up all over the field—on the line, out wide, in the backfield—and has terrific hands. He was Northwestern’s second-leading receiver last year and should be heavily involved this year. Overall, it will be a ground-based attack with a lot of short and intermediate passes.
GMC:
What about the defense? What scheme do they run, and who are the stars to look out for on that side of the ball?
InsideNU:
Northwestern employs a basic 4-3 defense but will also use the 3-4 set in certain situations. The standout unit on defense is the secondary. Nick VanHoose was a second team All-Big Ten performer last year, and some people think the guy on the opposite side of the field, Matt Harris, might be the better of the two. Regardless, it’s a very good cornerback tandem, and there’s depth there with Marcus McShepard, Keith Watkins II and Parrker Westphal. At safety, Traveon Henry should be improved in coverage and remain a standout in the run game (he’s a converted linebacker from 2013). Godwin Igwebuike had three picks against Wisconsin last year and, in general, played solidly when filling in for now-Cleveland Brown Ibraheim Campbell. On the line, Dean Lowry is an underappreciated star who often demands double teams. The guys around him, specifically Ifeadi Odenigbo and Xavier Washington, have shown flashes but need to be consistent. Standout athlete Anthony Walker, who burst onto the scene last year as a redshirt freshman, leads the linebacking corps.
GMC:
Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? Give me your best guess at a final score and explain how we get there.
InsideNU:
Northwestern runs the ball a lot early as offensive coordinator Mick McCall tries to get Clayton Thorson comfortable. Not a lot of big plays by either team in the first half results in a relatively low-scoring half, especially considering Northwestern, in general, does a good job of being a bend-don’t-break defense. It’s 14-10, Stanford at half time. Both teams tack on a field goal in the third, making it 17-13 through three quarters, but about halfway through the fourth Kevin Hogan finds Devon Cajuste on a deep ball and Stanford takes a 24-13 lead. It remains that score until the clock his zero. 24-13, Stanford.
