Northwestern News Network

By Greg Mroz

1. Northwestern gained new life after they looked to have turned the ball over. Trevor Siemian was sacked and fumbled the ball, but Matt Frazier recovered and Siemian proceeded to lead the Wildcats 9 plays down the field for a touchdown. Had Frazier not recovered, the result could have turned out much differently.

2. Minnesota was again the beneficiary of a big play and a penalty added on to the end of the play. After Mitch Leidner found a wide open Maxx Williams for 52 yards Godwin Igwebuike was called for a facemask penalty that set up 1st and goal from the 5 yard line. 2 plays later Leidner snuck the ball in from the 1 for his 2nd rush TD of the game.

3. Justin Jackson fights for hard yardage. He has the type of foot-speed that allows him to break tackles. Jackson has 13 carries for 67 yards to this point in the game.

4. On the final drive of the half Northwestern got the ball to a 1st and goal situation from the 4 yard line. After a rush and a sideline pass, the Wildcats were left with 3rd and goal from the 2. Siemian was flushed from the pocket and forced to throw the ball away. Jack Mitchell converted a 19 yard field goal attempt that made the score 14-10 Minnesota going into halftime.

5. The last Northwestern scoring drive, like the first, was kept alive by a significant ruling.  On 3rd and 10 from their own 36, Siemian threw a pass to Kyle Prater that appeared to be incomplete. Yet after further review, Prater clearly had possession of the ball when he hit the ground, giving Northwestern a 1st down and keeping the drive alive.

By Greg Mroz

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.

By Greg Mroz

Here are 5 quick hits before the Gophers and Wildcats kick off from TCF Bank Stadium.

1. Minnesota is last in the Big Ten in total yardage and pass yards per game. Expect to see a lot of David Cobb.

2. Weather is bordering on the 40 degree mark. Coldest start time for a game so far this season.

3. Northwestern is all white today. White helmets that they wore against Western Illinois, the regular white uniforms, and white pants.

4. Maxx Williams, Minnesota’s leading receiver, has 161 receiving yards on the season. He also has 3 of Minnesota’s 4 receiving touchdowns.

5. With facing Nebraska next week, Northwestern will be facing two consecutive teams coming off bye weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL5zjgaQGaI

By Tyler Kendall

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.