Category: Uncategorized

By Greg Mroz

Illinois 26, Northwestern 7

Turnovers: Coach Fitz always preaches winning the turnover battle, and Northwestern committed four of them in the half alone. Two interceptions from Zack Oliver along with two Oliver fumbles gave Illinois a plethora of scoring opportunities. The Fighting Illini got the football inside the red zone on five consecutive possessions, and scored on 4 of them.

Zack Oliver: Oliver was not good in the first half, and with two fumbles and two interceptions, he was pulled in favor of Matt Alvitti. If this is the end of the day for Oliver, he finished with 9 yards passing on two completions.

Special Teams: Had Illinois not missed a field goal and given up a kick return touchdown to Solomon Vault, the game could be a lot more lopsided than it already is. The wind has played a factor as it is blowing hard south to north. Regardless, with the score where it is, Northwestern is lucky for Illinois’ special teams gaffes.

 

By Greg Mroz

Illinois 13, Northwestern 0

Offensive Penalties: Both Northwestern and Illinois had penalties that forced their offenses into 3rd and long situations. In particular, Illinois had an offensive pass interference call on Mike Dudek, who didnt even catch the pass, negate a pass that would have put Illinois at Northwestern’s 35 yard line. A holding penalty negated a Josh Ferguson run that would have put Illinois inside the Northwestern 10 yard line on their third drive.

Run Games: Illinois’ has been effective, Northwestern’s has not. The Illini are averaging 5.6 yards per carry, the Wildcats just 4.8 . The last drive of the 1st quarter helped boost that average from 3.3 yards per carry.

Zack Oliver: Oliver has not been effective thus far. His starts through one quarter stand at 9 yards on two completions with an interception that lead to the 2nd Illini touchdown of the day. Oliver needs to play better or this could get ugly quickly.

By Greg Mroz

Here are three things to watch for before NU faces Illinois

1. Injuries for Northwestern will be critical. Kyle Prater listed as doubtful appeared on senior day in street clothes. Prater was Siemian’s main target in the Notre Dame and Purdue games. It will be very interesting to see who becomes Zack Oliver’s main target. Look for it to be Cameron Dickerson who has been very active the past few weeks.

2. Who starts for Illinois? Wes Lunt has the greater big play capability but has been prone to mistakes. Reilly O’Toole kept the Illini’s bowl hopes alive against Penn State. Both could play, but if Lunt is effective expect him to get the majority of the playing time.

3. The effectiveness of Justin Jackson will depend on NU’s ability to throw. If the Wildcat’s can throw effectively, that will open up the ground game nicely for Jackson

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — Northwestern followed up last week’s upset of No. 18 Notre Dame with a one-sided 38-14 victory over Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Boilermakers made it easy for the Wildcats in the first half, turning the ball over four times (one interception, three lost fumbles).

Northwestern first takeaway came when linebacker Jimmy Hall picked off an Austin Appleby pass that deflected off a receiver’s helmet.

With 4:11 left in the first quarter, Hall also forced and recovered a fumble.

“Fumble recoveries is just — you’re in the right place at the right time,” Hall modestly said. “Nothing special on my part.”

Though Northwestern’s bowl hopes stay alive, the win may have come at too great a cost. Senior quarterback seemingly injured his left knee early in the second half and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game. He was carted off the field at halftime.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald would not comment on whether he thought Siemian could be back next game but did say it looks like a pretty serious knee injury.

“I’ll know a lot more on Monday [about the injury],” Fitzgerald said. “He’s meant so much to us.”

Before the injury, Siemian went 7-for-12 for 93 yards and a touchdown. If Siemian is unable to play next Saturday against Illinois, his college career is over a week early.

The coaching staff opted to replace him with redshirt freshman Matt Alviti. He led Northwestern’s following drive and completed his first career pass, a three-yard checkdown to  super back Jayme Taylor. However, Alviti fumbled the ball at the second quarter’s 11:54-mark.

Junior Zack Oliver appeared under center for the remainder of the game and figures to be next week’s starter if Siemian is unable to play.

Oliver said Siemian is his best friend and that he “wishes him the best,” but the team needs to move forward.

“We’re playing for him,” Oliver said. “We’re going to practice our butts off [this week] and then we’re going to be ready for Illinois.”

Though Oliver did not impress greatly, senior Kyle Prater aided the backup and kept the offense flowing. The senior caught four passes for 84 yards for his fourth 80-plus yard game of the season, and second in a row. His shortest catch went for 16 yards.

Running back Justin Jackson too had a good game, which has become a weekly expectation from the true freshman. He carried the ball 23 times for 147 yards. He also had two rushing touchdowns, with one coming in the form of a 68-yard run in the fourth quarter that put Northwestern up 38-7.

“I’m pretty proud of the way I’ve played and the way our running backs have played,” Jackson said.

The Wildcats (5-6, 3-4 B1G) are bowl eligible with a win against Illinois next Saturday in a battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy. The Fighting Illini (5-6, 2-5 B1G), who are coming off a 16-14 win against Penn State, are also fighting for bowl eligibility.

However, with Siemian’s injury, the team faces many questions as it prepares for the final game for the regular season.

The Purdue offense picked up where it left off in the third quarter, at least to some extent. They steadily fed running back Azeem Hunt the ball, making their way to the NU 17-yard line. But linebacker Anthony Walker and defensive lineman Dean Lowry sacked Austin Appleby on third down, forcing the field goal unit to come out for the Boilermakers. However, Paul Griggs’s 42-yard attempt hit the left upright, and Purdue came away with no points.

Northwestern’s first drive of the second half didn’t start until 6:44 left in the quarter. About a minute later, they’d punt the ball back to Purdue.

After an uneventful third quarter, Northwestern heads into the 4th quarter with a 24-7 lead.

Northwestern will join North Carolina, Missouri and Kansas State in next year’s CBE Hall of Fame Classic, according to CBS Sports.

The event, happening on Nov. 23, 2015, and Nov. 24, 2015, will be held in Kansas City, Mo.