Northwestern's only broadcast news station. The student-run newscasts cover campus, Evanston and the city of Chicago. The Northwestern News Report airs live on facebook.com/nnntv every Tuesday at 7pm.
1. David Cobb is really hard to bring down. Rushed for 38 yards on 9 carries in the 1st quarter. He went over 2,000 yards for his career in the first quarter and became the 14th player in Gopher history with that distinction.
2. Minnesota got benefited from a hands to the face penalty on Dean Lowry on a 22 yard broken play run by Mitch Leidner. Leidner on that drive had 3 carries for 32 yards.
3. Minnesota dominated time of possession, winning that 8:42 to 6:18, although it felt much longer because of Minnesota’s run-heavy offense.
4. Gophers are run-heavy. 15 run plays to 3 pass plays in the 1st quarter.
5. Northwestern had 2 big plays called back for illegal formation penalties on right tackle Eric Olson. The second one was on a deep pass to Miles Shuler that would have gotten Northwestern to the Minnesota 20.
The past two weeks for Wildcat football have included two upsets and two Big Ten recognitions for freshmen. Looking for its fourth consecutive victory, Northwestern will travel to TCF Bank Stadium on Oct. 11 to take on the Minnesota Gophers.
While last weekend’s win over no. 17 Wisconsin improved NU’s record to 3-2, Minnesota has a 4-1 record going into the game on Saturday. Minnesota will be coming off of a bye week with a home field advantage.
“We’re going to play a very good football team, looking ahead,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said in a press conference on Monday. “They got after us a year ago here, and got seven guys coming back. It’s going to be a great challenge and should be one heck of a football game.”
Last year, NU lost to Minnesota, 20-17 at home.
Fitzgerald showed respect for Minnesota’s head coach, Jerry Kill, and noted the team’s strengths.
“They do things schematically, and it shows up on tape,” Fitzgerald said. “The credit, obviously, starts at the top with his leadership and just who he is. They’re very well coached; they’re fast, they’re physical.”
After Northwestern was able to limit Wisconsin to only 14 points last week, the ‘Cats are looking to have the same defensive success against a similar Minnesota team. Both the Badgers and Gophers have relied heavily on the running game behind large, physical offensive lines in order to make up for weak passing attacks. So far this year, Gophers senior RB David Cobb has 722 rushing yards. Fitzgerald did say, however, that there are difference between the teams. For example, Minnesota’s game plan will include more quarterback options and runs.
Key to the Wildcat’s win over Wisconsin was the play of redshirt freshman Godwin Igwebuike, who had 8 tackles and 3 interceptions in the game. Igwebuike won Big Ten Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week honors for his performance last Saturday — making him the second NU freshman defensive player to win the latter award in the past two weeks, after Anthony Walker received the recognition for his performance against Penn State.
Both Northwestern and Minnesota have a strong defense this year, with NU only allowing a combined 27 points over the last three games, versus Minnesota’s 21 points allowed. Minnesota’s last game was a 30-14 win on the road against Michigan, a team which has looked this season like one of the weakest teams in the conference. The game against Michigan was Minnesota’s fourth win of the season and only Big Ten match up to date. The Gophers other three wins came against San Jose State, Middle Tennessee, and Eastern Illinois.
A win this weekend would give Northwestern its first 3-0 start to a Big ten campaign since 2000, the last year Northwestern won the Big Ten. After a slow start to the season, a win this week would solidify Northwestern’s newfound status as a Big Ten contender. Not only that, it would put next weekend’s Homecoming game against Nebraska into the spotlight as a game for the control of the Big Ten West.
Check out the season’s second episode of SportsNight! Anchors Axel Boada and Jesse Kirsch take you to Ryan Field for a big, Big Ten win and out to Lakeside Field to show you how the men’s soccer team fared against a strong team of Terrapins of Maryland. All that and more, on SportsNight. Right Now.
The NCAA announced Thursday that Northwestern defensive lineman Sean McEvilly would be eligible to return for the 2015 season after he missed all of the 2014 with what multiple sources are calling a foot injury.
After a successful 2012 season in which he started the last 10 games and recorded 20 tackles, McEvilly was expected to be a starter for the Wildcats in 2013. But a foot injury limited him to just five games that season.
Northwestern had hoped McEvilly could provide a boost to a defensive tackle position that was expected to be a weakness of the Wildcat defense in 2014. This announcement means McEvilly will join WR Christian Jones as players who missed 2014 but will return next season.
Watch the entire press conference for more Top Gun jokes and to hear about a very important team meeting.
Northwestern debuts new all black uniforms to be worn for the homecoming game, October 18, against Nebraska. Photo by Ethan Cohen.The new uniforms draw inspiration from the past, utilizing Northwestern’s original colors of black and old gold, and the gothic lettering found around campus.
-RB Justin Jackson was the NU offensive player of the week, Fitz said. Matt Frazier also played well.
-S Godwin Igwebuike was the NU player of the week but there are a lot of areas he needs to improve, like mental issues and communication errors. Igwebuike also won B1G defensive player and freshman of the week.
-Fitz acknowledged CB Nick VanHoose, said he’s playing the best of his career.
-Fitz complemented the the Gophers physical running backs and offensive linemen.
-Both LB Anthony Walker and Igwebuike played well but both “can play better.”
-Older players have done a good job helping freshmen like RB Solomon Vault, Jackson and WR Cameron Dickerson, Fitz said.
-According to Fitz, Jerry Kill is “a war daddy” and the team reflects that.
-Schematically, Fitz said Minnesota is similar to Wisconsin but with more power running and more QB running.
-Because of Minnesota’s bye week, Fitz is expecting the defense to see things they aren’t expecting.
-Walk-ons and younger players have been making plays in special teams, has Fitz “fired up.”
-Last year Igwebuike was “on the flight deck” like Maverick from Top Gun, Fitz said.
-S Ibraheim Campbell won’t play this week, but Fitz said he thought that before he got hurt he was playing like he could play on Sundays.
-Fitz said Minnesota “dominated all three phases” against Michigan.
-A lot of runs on Saturday were the result of wide receivers making blocks, but Fitz said the team has to finish better.
-Melvin Gordon’s long runs were the result of schematic problems and missed tackles, Fitz said.
-Fitz said Passing game had some missed throws, and poor schematics inside the red zone.
-Fitz: “Never going to get upset with our students for partying” but not a big fan of people rushing the field because of safety issues. He did acknowledge, it’s “a good problem.”
-Fitz likes the new uniforms. Says it was one of the first ideas Under Armour came to them with.
-LB Collin Ellis: “probably a little bit of carry over” from Wisconsin, but every week is a different team.
-WR Kyle Prater: we knew after those two games “that’s not who we were.”
-Ellis: team meeting after the 0-2 start was a turning point for the team.
-RB Treyvon Green: similar front seven to Wisconsin.
-Ellis said players had fun in the postgame, but that they were expecting to win the game so it wasn’t as big a deal for them.
Northwestern football defeated the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 20-14. Reporter Brandon Wilson gives you the recap of what happened.
Photographer Zack Becker was there to document the game through the lens of his camera.
Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (#25) ran all over Northwestern’s defense, burning the ‘Cats for 259 yards and a touchdown. Gordon accounted for more than half of Wisconsin’s total yards.Trevor Siemian (#13) and Justin Jackson (#28) paced the Wildcat offense. Siemian passed for 182 yards and a score and Jackson’s 162-yard day nearly doubled his previous career high.Wisconsin’s passing game, on the other hand, left much to be desired. Badger QBs combined for four interceptions, two of which came in the red zone.Godwin Igwebuike hauls in an interception in the end zone. Igwebuike had three of the ‘Cats’ four picks, the last of which clinched the upset victory.Overjoyed Wildcat fans rushed the field after the upset to share the moment with their team. Northwestern was one of five unranked teams to defeat a top-25 school this week.
NNN Sports’ Jesse Kirsch and InsideNU’s Jason Dorow break down the NU-Wisconsin match up in anticipation of this Saturday’s Big Ten showdown at Ryan Field!
It’s time for the first show of the 2014-15 season! We talked all fall sports and held an analysis segment with InsideNU’s Jason Dorow. Sports Directors Ethan Cohen and Preston R. Michelson were your hosts. Hope you enjoy!
