INSIDE SLANT
Northwestern wrapped up its regular season on Nov. 21 with a 33-31 win over Wisconsin. We bring this up not because it’s breaking news, but because it is relevant to the Wildcats’ Jan. 1 date with Auburn in the Outback Bowl.
Wisconsin ranked 14th nationally in rushing with 206.7 yards per game, but Northwestern held the Badgers to 99 net yards. That’s a good sign because Auburn enters the Outback Bowl as the nation’s No. 13 rushing team.
Wisconsin averaged 2.5 more yards through the air than on the ground, which means Northwestern had to prepare for one of the nation’s most balanced attacks. Sure enough, Auburn averaged 4.7 more yards through the air than on the ground, so the Wildcats have familiarity with what they’ll face.
One last comparison: Wisconsin ranks 21st nationally in scoring with 32.8 points per game. Auburn checks in at No. 20 with 32.9 points per game. It’s clear the Wildcats should understand how productive the Tigers figure to be.
Of course, there’s not a perfect correlation between preparing for Wisconsin and Auburn. The Badgers do their thing with a pro-style attack. They prefer to wear teams down over time by pounding 248-pound tailback John Clay. Auburn relies on the spread that offensive coordinator/guru Gus Malzahn brought to town this year. Not only do the Tigers operate the spread, but Malzahn likes to run it at a breakneck pace.
Fortunately for the Wildcats’ defense, they face a spread offense every day in practice that loves nothing better than to snap the ball within 12 seconds after the previous play ends. Every Wildcat, both on offense and defense, swears they do things so rapidly during practice that the games are slow by comparison.
That might be the case, but they’ve yet to face an opponent that likes to tempo the way Auburn does. Illinois tried it a few times on Nov. 14, but the Wildcats handled it acceptably.
NOTES, QUOTES
• Northwestern’s fast finish and its athletic department’s full-season persistence paid off in a destination that seemed out of the question when the calendar turned to November.
But the Wildcats knocked off Orange Bowl-bound Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin to go 3-0 in the season’s final month, then stunned the Badgers again on Bowl Selection Sunday when they won the Outback Bowl’s invitation to face Auburn on New Year’s Day in Tampa. It marks the program’s first Jan. 1 bowl—and first game in Florida—since a burly middle linebacker named Pat Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to the 1997 Citrus Bowl.
“To be the first game on New Year’s Day is a huge platform for us,” said Fitzgerald, wrapping up his fourth year as head coach, in the Chicago Tribune. “That’s what you work your tail off for.”
Northwestern’s 8-4 record didn’t match Wisconsin’s 9-3 mark, but that’s where athletic director Jim Phillips and his staff swung into action. They hyped all of the daily flights from Chicago to Tampa. They touted the 18,000 Northwestern alums in Florida. They trotted out the blimp shots from stadiums swollen with Northwestern purple in the stands for other bowl games. And they started this process during the regular season, when Phillips would host bowl representatives on the night before home games.
“But at the end of the day, it’s about the product on the field,” Phillips said. “That’s what got us to Tampa.”
• When the Wildcats finally hit Raymond James Stadium on New Year’s Day, it will have been 41 days since their last game.
Senior safety Brendan Smith, a two-time co-captain, missed five of the last six games with a broken thumb. The downtime allows him to get back on the field, while other key seniors such as defensive end Corey Wootton (knee), quarterback Mike Kafka (hamstring) and safety Brad Phillips (shoulder) also get some beneficial rest.
For this group, it’s already a feather in their cap to be the second NU team to play in a bowl in back-to-back years. If the Wildcats come through and knock off the Tigers, it’ll mark the program’s first bowl win in 61 seasons.
“For me, that’d make things complete,” Smith said in the Daily Herald. “It would make my five years at Northwestern really successful. I’d be very proud to be one of the four captains to lead the team on to a bowl victory and do something this program hasnt seen for a long time.”
Scouting The Offense: When Northwestern became one of the first schools to adopt the shotgun spread in 2000, the Wildcats utilized it more as a running attack than a passing phenomenon. But NU doesn’t have a dominant rusher this year (true freshman Arby Fields leads the team with 294 yards), so the crew is more about QB Mike Kafka’s ability to diagnose a defense and pierce it with his sharp spirals. Kafka, the second-team all-Big Ten quarterback, mixes quick slants with deep outs and seam routes. Of course, his above-average running ability keeps defenses honest as well. Slot receiver Zeke Markshausen, the master of finding open space over the middle, ranked second in the Big Ten with 79 catches.
Scouting The Defense: Five of NU’s top six defenders missed time this season, yet the veteran unit jelled down the stretch to finish smack in the middle of the Big Ten pack in scoring defense (23.3 points per game), total defense (344.3 ypg) and rushing defense (123.5 ypg). DE Corey Wootton, a 2008 first-team all-Big Ten pick who’ll hear his name early in the 2010 NFL draft, has come alive in recent weeks as his ailing knee and ankle have come around. Senior CB Sherrick McManis and senior Brad Phillips each earned first-team all-Big Ten honors from one voting panel and second-team honors from the other. The back half will benefit from the return of senior safety Brendan Smith, who has a knack for reading formations and plays and reacting accordingly.
Matchup To Watch: Auburn RB Ben Tate vs. Northwestern S Brad Phillips—The Tigers boast one of the nation’s Top 15 rushing attacks and NU will need Phillips to make the right reads on Auburn’s pass-run options. When Phillips arrives, he needs to bring the wood like he did last season when he knocked Doak Walker winner Shonn Greene out of the game with a shot to the head. Tate, by the way, was a Doak Walker semifinalist this year.
Other Key Matchups:
RT Neal Deiters vs. DE Antonio Coleman.
Deiters, a 6-foot-8 and 315-pound redshirt freshman, forced his way into the starting lineup in Week 7 and looked like he belonged from the start. In addition to being large, Deiters possesses excellent feet. He’ll need to keep his balance against the 260-pound Coleman, a first-team all-SEC selection who finished second in the league with nine sacks. He also had 12 hurries.
WLB Quentin Davie vs. TB Ben Tate.
In general, Northwestern’s 4-3 defense asks the weak-side linebacker to make a ton of plays. Tate was a Doak Walker semifinalist who averaged 20 carries and 105 yards per game, so Davie needs to be a sure tackler who limits Tate’s yards after contact.
DE Corey Wootton vs. RT Lee Ziemba.
Wootton looked like a potential first-round draft pick in 2008 after piling up 10 sacks. After wrecking his knee in the Alamo Bowl and undergoing surgery in January, Wootton didn’t return to 100 percent health during the regular season. However, Wootton posted four sacks in his last five games and figures to be at his peak for the Outback Bowl. He’ll contend with the 6-8, 308-pound Ziemba, who earned second-team all-SEC honors.
Quote To Note: “This is this team’s first opportunity to go to Florida. To play on Jan. 1 and to play against an SEC team that’s outstanding, you couldn’t ask for a better challenge. That’s what you want.”—NU coach Pat Fitzgerald.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Bowl Breakdown:
Northwestern vs. Auburn, Outback Bowl, Jan. 1, Tampa, Fla.—In the first meeting between these schools, the Wildcats make their first New Year’s Day appearance in 13 years. It’ll be a battle of spread offenses, though Auburn prefers to get things done on the ground while Northwestern will certainly try to move more through the air.
Players To Watch:
QB Mike Kafka—The second-team all-Big Ten quarterback improved mightily during the course of his first full season as a starter. The fifth-year senior finished second in the league in total offense with 264.6 yards per game as he directed NU’s quick-pass, high-tempo spread offense to perfection. He threw for 12 scores and ran for 7 more.
WR Zeke Markshausen—After entering the season with 1 career catch, the fifth-year slot receiver snagged 79 passes for 774 yards, 3 TDs and a spot on the media’s all-Big Ten second team. He finished second in the Big Ten in receptions and shares fourth place on Northwestern’s all-time single-season list.
S Brad Phillips—The senior earned first-team all-Big Ten honors from the coaches (and second-team status from the writers) after serving as Northwestern’s top tackler (84) and biggest hitter. Phillips forced four fumbles, posted three sacks, broke up two passes and registered one interception—all while playing in pain. That’s nothing new to him: He played last year’s Alamo Bowl with a torn labrum in his shoulder.
CB Sherrick McManis—The senior earned first-team all-Big Ten honors from the media (and second-team status from the coaches) after picking off four passes and breaking up seven more during his nine-game season. McManis wrestled with quadriceps problems most of the season, but didn’t let it affect his performance. For his career, “Batman” owns 8 interceptions with 30 pass breakups. For the most part, teams don’t challenge him.
DE Corey Wootton—Last year, he was the team’s only all-Big Ten selection. This year, he didn’t play a single game at 100 percent after wrecking his knee during last year’s Alamo Bowl and then suffering a high ankle sprain early in Big Ten action. Nonetheless, Wootton posted four sacks in his last five games and thinks he’ll be virtually 100 percent for the bowl.
Roster Report:
• Senior S Brendan Smith missed five of the last six games with a broken left thumb. However, the two-time co-captain expects to be able to make his 40th career start during Northwestern’s bowl game.
• Senior S Brad Phillips, a first-team all-Big Ten selection by the coaches, will use much of Northwestern’s prep time to heal his body. Phillips’ shoulder might be his biggest problem, but he has dealt with several injuries during the course of the year without missing a game.
• Senior QB Mike Kafka (left hamstring) did few designed quarterback runs after suffering his injury against Penn State on Oct. 31, but the second-team all-Big Ten QB didn’t miss a snap in the regular-season finale against Wisconsin. He should be 100 percent for the bowl.
