They have returned home to welcoming rallies at Ryan Field, high-fives in the dorms and rankings in both major polls, but Northwestern’s players insist that their focus remains on the task at hand — Saturday’s matchup with Indiana.

The house will be rockin’ as the No. 22 Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) return home after completing one of the most grueling road stretches in college football. After faltering at Texas Christian in a 41-14 loss Sept. 16, NU eked out a dramatic 47-44 double-overtime victory at Wisconsin before steamrolling Michigan State 37-17 last week in East Lansing, Mich.

The monumental upsets put the Cats in sports pages around the country and gave them a place in students’ discussions on campus.

“I live right in the heart of campus,” linebacker Pat Durr said. “When I came home to the dorm after the Wisconsin and Michigan State games, everyone was giving me high-fives and saying, ‘We can’t wait for you guys to come home and play.'”

Coach Randy Walker is wary of the potential distractions.

“Whether it’s attention, whether it’s the media, whether it’s the hype, whether it’s your girlfriend, I’ve seen it all now,” Walker said. “You’ve got to do the best job you can to really lock it in and focus that this is the only thing that matters right there — Indiana, this week, this game, period.”

Dwelling on past glory is just a side problem when compared with the Hoosiers (2-2, 1-0) and star quarterback Antwaan Randle El.

As one of the fastest and flashiest players in the nation, Randle El has totaled an impressive 398 rushing yards this season, averaging 99.5 yards per game.

Employing a dangerous option attack, Randle El and tailback Levron Williams have combined for 750 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns. Indiana leads the Big Ten in scoring offense with 159 points and places second in total offense with 477.8 yards per game.

The Cats last faced the option against TCU, where Heisman hopeful LaDainian Tomlinson exploded for 243 yards and two touchdowns.

“We were prepared for the option but not to the extent which TCU really pinned it on us,” Walker said. “Obviously if I’m Indiana, I watch that TCU game and say, ‘Hey, let’s throw a little more option out this week,'”

After facing three consecutive rushing offenses, the Cats will try to force Randle El to put the ball in the air. Though Randle El passes for nearly 180 yards per game, taking away his speed will be NU’s main objective.

“If I was Antwaan, I would pass,” cornerback Harold Blackmon said. “I don’t see why not. I feel like they can pass just as well as any other team and for the past few weeks we’ve been going against traditional rushing teams and they’ve been trying to open it up.”

The Cats should have little trouble maintaining their offensive rhythm against an Indiana defense that has allowed 11 passing touchdowns, most in the Big Ten.

The Hoosiers suffered a big blow when Greg Yeldell, a strong safety who started 14 games the past two seasons, was dismissed from the team for violating team rules.

Despite its trevails in the secondary, Indiana has contained the run this year, holding opponents to only 104 yards a game and two touchdowns rushing. While Damien Anderson raked in accolades with his 219-yard performance last week, Indiana linebacker Justin Smith took Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors with a career-high 13 tackles and four sacks in the Hoosiers’ 45-33 win over Iowa.

“I don’t really look into the stats and who’s ranked, it’s the Big Ten — you get great competition every week,” Anderson said. “We’ve played with some teams the past two weeks who have been nationally ranked in rushing defense. For us, it’s just another obstacle we’re going to have to overcome. It’s just another bump on the road and we just have to keep playing our game.”

Napoleon Harris and Antwaan Randle El played on the same high school basketball team, with Randle El tossing alley-oops off the backboard for Harris to slam home. Saturday, they’ll be on opposite sides of a football field, with Harris trying to slam Randle El into the Ryan Field turf. Randle El is the Hoosiers’ only true offensive threat, as their top passer and rusher. If Harris can penetrate quickly enough to neutralize Randle El’s option attack, Indiana will be hard-pressed to put points on the board.

8 – Napoleon Harris
NORTHWESTERN
Vitals
6-foot-3, 235 lbs.
Jr. Quarterback
Dixon, Ill. (Thornton HS)
2000 Statistics (5 games)
48 tackles (7 for loss)
2 INT, 1 sack

vs.

11 – Antwaan Randle El
INDIANA
Vitals
5-foot-10, 194 lbs.
Jr. Quarterback
Riverdale, Ill. (Thornton HS)
2000 Statistics (4 games)
Rushing: 67 carries, 398 yards, 6 TD
Passing: 43-91, 708 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT