Northwestern coach Randy Walker doesn’t have to answer. Let him smile and let him joke. The question is whether the Wildcats’ nonconference wins prepared the team for Big Ten play – but Walker doesn’t have to answer. The 638 offensive yards on Saturday night said more than he can. Keeping Duke’s offense quiet for 50 minutes spoke volumes.
“I don’t think we’re the great football team we need to become, but after two football games I think we’ve made steady progress,” Walker said. “After what seems like months of practice, we’re about where we want to be.”
He knows that 2-0 Michigan State, now ranked No. 23, will be a tougher opponent. Spartans quarterbacks Jeff Smoker and Ryan Van Dyke will be faster and running back T.J. Duckett will be stronger than anyone the Cats (2-0) have faced so far.
But that will be dealt with at Tuesday’s practice. On Monday, let Walker smile and joke. If the Cats’ victory against Duke can’t give Walker much to celebrate, he can certainly be happy with how his team has improved since playing UNLV (0-3).
“We continue to give credit to UNLV,” Walker said. “I said and will continue to say we played a great defensive football team that night — but I really thought we were more assertive against Duke (0-3). I don’t know that we played better, but we played more assertive. It’s not perfect and it’s certainly not a game of perfect, but I like the way our defense is playing and I like their attitude.”
Most of all, Walker was happy to see his defense hold Duke to seven points after giving up 28 to UNLV: “There are a lot things that took the kind of measurable leap we want to see between game one and game two.”
“Responsive” was the word used by Walker and linebacker Billy Silva to highlight the defense’s improvements. The Cats responded to Duke’s main threats, quarterback D. Bryant and running back Chris Douglas, by holding them to 171 yards passing and 51 yards rushing.
Walker’s comments about Sam Simmons were less optimistic. The senior wideout left Saturday night’s game in the second quarter with a slight concussion and a fractured finger. Simmons said after the game he’d be back for Michigan State. But Walker, speaking Monday, was more apprehensive.
“I would say at this point he’d be considered doubtful, but it’s all premature,” Walker said. The coach said the team will know Simmons’ status for certain by today.
Alhough the Cats would feel Simmons’ absence, Walker said he was happy with the performance of receivers Kunle Patrick and Jon Schweighardt, who filled in for Simmons last year.
“We lost Sam in a game (Saturday) that was very much in question,” Walker said. “When I saw him leave the game and I saw the scoreboard, I certainly didn’t have a real good feeling about things — but our kids really stepped up.”
Walker was also happy to talk about NU’s improvement on special teams. He had admittedly been a little nervous about kicker David Wasielewski after an injury in practice and a shaky performance at UNLV. But Wasielewski’s three field goals and five extra points put Walker’s mind at ease.
In addition, Walker was the passion of the kick and punt coverage teams.
“It’s great to see a kid like Kevin Bentley, who plays a whole bunch of snaps on defense, get excited about being on the punt cover team,” Walker said. “Napoleon Harris is begging to get on some of those teams.
“It’s great seeing young players making big plays in the game on special teams. It comes from the mentoring, the modeling they get from the older players on the team.”
Having solved all the problems that came up at UNLV, the focus for the Cats turns to fixing the new kinks that appeared at Duke before facing Michigan State. Walker’s team has done it once, but now it knows it’s getting ready for a different contest.
“I don’t know if league games are more important,” Walker said. “It’s going to be a little more exciting, and I don’t know if it’s more important, but the stakes are bigger.”
