Nebraska vs Northwestern
The two schools will meet this Saturday to continue what has been Nebraska’s most entertaining Big 10 Rival since entering the league in 2011. Northwestern enters the season at 5-2, but the Wildcats are looking shaky coming off two blowout losses to Michigan (38-0) and Iowa (40-10). Nebraska comes into the game at 3-4, but the Huskers gained some much needed momentum last week with an impressive 48-25 victory on the road against Minnesota. Here are the positional matchups as well as some storylines to watch heading into Saturday’s Big 10 West battle.
POSITION MATCHUPS
Quarterback
Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong silenced many of his critics last Saturday against Minnesota, as the junior threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns against a solid Minnesota secondary while avoiding the costly mistakes that plagued him against Illinois and Wisconsin. By contrast, Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson has seen his critics grow in number after two very shaky performances against Michigan and Iowa. The redshirt freshman has completed just 48.4% of his passes for 231 yards the past two games. Thorson looks like he will be a good one in the future, but Nebraska gets the edge due to Armstrong’s experience and production.
Edge: Nebraska
Running Back
Northwestern has scored just 10 points the past two games, and the number one reason for their offense stalling is the disappearance of sophomore running back Justin Jackson. Jackson, after averaging 127 yards per game through the first five games of the season, has rushed for just 55 yards on 22 carries the past two games. Nebraska has finally figured out their running back rotation after constantly shuffling it through their first five games. Junior Terrell Newby is coming off his best game as a Husker against Minnesota, where he rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota on just 13 carries. Andy Janovich has emerged from relative obscurity to give Nebraska a nice inside running presence to complement the speedy Newby during Big 10 play.
Edge: Nebraska
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Northwestern’s lack of a consistent rushing attack has really exposed their lack of playmakers at receiver. Senior h-back Dan Vitale has emerged as the Wildcats best receiving threat, as he leads the team with 18 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow senior Christian Jones also has 18 catches for the wildcats, but he is coming off a rough game against Iowa in which he dropped four passes. Nebraska is led by junior Jordan Westerkamp, who broke out of his midseason funk to catch 6 passes for 76 yards against Minnesota. Fellow receivers Alonzo Moore, Brandon Reilly, Stanley Johnson, and Demornay Pierson-El are all solid contributors to a deep and talented Husker receiving corps. Tight end Cethan Carter has slowly emerged as a threat for the Huskers, with seven of his nine catches coming in Big 10 play.
Big Edge: Nebraska
Offensive Line
Northwestern’s offensive line, much like the rest of the offense, had a solid five game stretch to open the season before completely falling apart the past two games. The Wildcats’ offensive line has paved the way for its running backs to rush for a measly 89 yards on 51 carries (1.7 YPC) while allowing seven sacks the past two games. Nebraska’s offensive line has quietly found its groove after a rough outing against Miami (FL), as the offensive line has paved the way for the Huskers to average 199.5 rushing yards per game while allowing just one sack against Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Edge: Nebraska
Defensive Line
Despite countless injuries and virtually no depth during Big 10 play, Nebraska’s defensive line has emerged as a dominant force against the run and a consistent source of pressure when opponents drop back to pass. Junior Maliek Collins has solidified his first round draft pick status with a dominant three-game stretch while fellow defensive tackle Vincent Valentine has returned from a high ankle sprain to record sacks in both of the last two games. Add in consistent run defense by former walk-ons Jack Gangwish and Ross Dzuris and you have a very formidable unit. Northwestern’s d-line has struggled mightily the past two games, as Michigan and Iowa have attacked the edges of their defensive line and have had tremendous success, averaging 247.5 rushing yards per game.
Big Edge: Nebraska
Linebackers
Linebacker is the strength of Northwestern, and Sophomore Anthony Walker leads the way for the Wildcats. The Miami native leads the team with 54 tackles on the season. Walker is flanked by junior Jaylen Prater (38 tackles) and senior Drew Smith (31 tackles) to form a talented and aggressive linebacker corps. Nebraska welcomed Josh Banderas back from a groin injury against Minnesota, with the junior accumulating 10 tackles in his first game since Miami (FL). Banderas will be flanked by true freshman Dedrick Young (37 tackles) and sophomore Marcus Newby (12 tackles), though former starters Chris Weber and Michael Rose-Ivey could return from injury on Saturday. This one is to close to call, so I’ll call it even.
Even
Secondary
Northwestern boasts the number 12 pass defense in the country, as senior cornerback Nick Van Hoose and junior free safety Godwin Igwebuike have been solid performers all season. Nebraska’s struggles in pass defense are well documented, but the Huskers are taking small steps forward and have improved during Big 10 play. That being said, Nebraska is still dead last in the nation in pass defense, so a big edge to Northwestern here.
Big Edge:Northwestern
Final Take
Nebraska, despite having the worse record, appears to have a substantial advantage over Northwestern in terms of talent and momentum heading into Saturday’s match-up. Northwestern’s offense has fallen apart the past two games as teams have sold out against the run and Clayton Thorson has been unable to make them pay for it. Nebraska is coming off its best performance of the season on offense, and has a defense that is finally becoming healthy for the first time since the season opener. I think Northwestern’s defense keeps things close through the first half, but the Huskers will wear down the Wildcats defense in the second half and earn another impressive victory over a Big 10 West foe.
Nebraska: 31
Northwestern: 14
STORYLINES TO WATCH
Good Tommy or Bad Tommy? who will we see?
Tommy Armstrong played the best game of his career against the Minnesota Gophers, and for one week at least, silenced the critics that feel he isn’t good enough to run Nebraska’s offense under Mike Riley. While it was great to see him perform well, it doesn’t erase the memory of Armstrong’s two terrible performances against Illinois and Wisconsin. Nebraska’s offense is built around Armstrong, and the Huskers need him to continue playing at a high level if they want to keep winning this season.
How will Northwestern run the ball?
Northwestern’s offense is built around its running game. It has always been that way under Pat Fitzgerald, and the formula was working five games into the season. Justin Jackson was on pace for over 1,500 rushing yards until hitting a wall against Michigan and Iowa. They get little relief heading into Saturday’s match-up, as Nebraska is currently seventh in the nation in rush defense, allowing just 91 yards per game. What makes things even more difficult is Northwestern gains the majority of their rushing yards between the tackles, instead of on the edges like they did with Kain Colter and Venric Mark, and that plays into Nebraska’s biggest strength on defense in the D-tackle tandem of Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine. Northwestern offensive coordinator Mike McCall will need to get creative for Northwestern to have any success on the ground Saturday.
Demornay Pierson-El’s breakout game?
Last season against Northwestern marked the first time that Demornay Pierson-El made an impact on offense, and not just as a special teams dynamo. The then true freshman had three catches for 66 yards and threw a touchdown off a reverse to Tommy Armstrong. The sophomore was expected to breakout in Mike Riley’s new offense, but he has gotten off to a slow start this season due to a fractured bone in his foot. Pierson-El had his best game of the season last week against Minnesota, and he appears poised to cause havoc for a very aggressive Wildcat defense in Nebraska’s multiple screen packages.
Who Will Step Up for Northwestern?
Northwestern is in free fall mode right now, and fans of the Wildcats are experiencing an all too familiar feeling. In 2013, the Wildcats got off to a 4-0 start and were ranked as high as 15th in the nation but then lost their next seven games, with three of their losses coming in either overtime or the final play of the game. In order to stop the bleeding, Northwestern’s seniors, especially on the offensive and defensive line, will need to step up and play with much more intensity then they have the past two games.
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