Northwestern Hunts Down Hoosiers and Penn State Preview
Wildcats Jump on Hoosiers, Ease Up...And Nearly Regret It
The Wildcats jumped out to a dominant lead over the Hoosiers and it looked like it would be an easy win; the team went up 27 - 0 in the 3rd quarter. Then the team seemingly forgot that they needed to play 60 full minutes. The Hoosiers didn’t roll over and they never gave up. In the 4th quarter the game was 37 - 29 in favor of NU. Indiana had the momentum. And the Wildcats had the unfortunate history of collapsing late.
But maybe this team is special. While they scared all of us fans, they closed the deal even in the face of a furious Indiana comeback. By the end of the game, Northwestern reassumed their dominance 44 - 29.
I’m not sure whether to call this game “The Good” or “The Probable”. Let’s go with “The Probable” just because of NU giving up momentum for a while, but finally pulling down the win:
The Probable:
As the game wears on, Northwestern is getting 7s and Indiana is getting 3s. It is really obvious who is the superior team - Northwestern. It is a tough and physical game but the Cats get the win; while the Hoosiers salvage some dignity but get stuck with being the program with the record number of losses. However, they get dinged up and a player or two is questionable for Minnesota. Northwestern gets win number 5 as they pivot to take on the Gophers. Northwestern 31 - Hoosiers 21.
Okay...in retrospect I probably should have said “…questionable for Penn State…” and all the rest, but you know what I meant. The important thing is that the Wildcats got the win and didn’t get dinged up too much.
Whatever…
Looking at what went on in the game, there was a lot to like. Colter...well, I’m sure you’ve read about him getting Big Ten Offensive (Co-)Player of the Week for playing QB and Wide Receiver and everything else he did (e.g. 100+ yards of running, 100+ yards receiving, four touchdowns - including the backbreaker late in the game, etc.). Siemian looked really good slinging the ball around, Mark got over 100 yards rushing, lots of things worked on the offensive side of the line...including the line itself. It wasn’t perfect (2 INTs and a fumble) but it was pretty good.
The defense was also good - for the most part. They pitched a shutout for over a half and came up with some very timely stops. But the 29 point “lapse” was alarming. There are going to be some foes where a 29 point “lapse” would be fatal. However, NU’s D is a force that has the ability to make a huge difference and win games.
Penn State Predictions
More tomorrow…
Go Cats!
BJ Mitchell (Former NUMB Spirit Leader)
Twitter: @nuspiritleader.
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