By David Morrison
Northwestern is coming off two games against teams that are just out of the top 25. In the future, faces three straight games against top-15 opponents.
Sandwiched between these two stretches are two games against teams that finished with losing records last year.
These contests against Purdue and Michigan State could help show NU (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) what its role in the conference will be.
Will it be like last year, when the Wildcats swept these two teams and tied for third in the conference?
Or will it be like 2002, when losses to the Boilermakers and Spartans preceded a 1-7 conference record?
The first test comes Saturday against Purdue (4-2, 1-1).
NU’s defense, which has given up more than 500 yards in each of its first two conference games, faces a stout challenge in the Boilermakers.
Purdue leads the conference and is sixth in the nation in total offense, with 465.3 yards per game.
It also leads the conference in points per game with 33.5.
“They have a very good mix on offense,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “They have a little bit of everything and they are doing it well.”
The Boilermakers have the nation’s fifth-best passing attack. Three of the team’s receivers rank in the conference’s top 10 in receiving yards per game.
Junior quarterback Curtis Painter has thrown for 1,787 yards and 11 touchdowns this year.
“Curtis is playing good football,” Fitzgerald said. “He knows his targets.”
Junior wide receiver Dorien Bryant is Painter’s favorite target. Bryant, who is on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, is 24th in the nation in yards per game, with 81.3.
Sophomore safety Brendan Smith said he anticipates an aerial challenge.
“I look forward to the ball being in the air,” he said, “letting the defensive backs play a little more instead of containing the run.”
The defense also has to shift its focus from Wisconsin, which runs the ball 41 times a game, to Purdue, which passes the ball 38 times a game.
“We get to prepare all week to get us ready for that,” Smith said. “In the Big Ten you see a lot of both (the run and pass), so we’re always ready.”
But Purdue balances its passing game with a healthy ground attack: The Boilermakers also run for 158.3 yards per game.
Junior Kory Sheets and sophomore junior-college transfer Jaycen Taylor have combined for 752 yards, 11 touchdowns and 6.3 yards per carry.
Fitzgerald said that while the Boilermakers’ offense does present a problem, NU’s toughest opponent may be NU itself.
“There have been come breakdowns and inconsistencies in all aspects of our football team at some really inopportune times,” he said. “I am more worried about Northwestern showing up and playing our style of football.”
The Boilermakers defense also has struggled, giving up a Big-Ten worst 439.3 yards per game. Purdue also is last in scoring defense, allowing 32.8 points per game – eight more than NU.
Miami (Ohio), which NU beat 21-3, took Purdue to overtime on Sept. 9 in West Lafayette, Ind., before losing 38-31.
Purdue leads the all-time series 47-25-1, but the Cats have won the last two meetings, both times scoring the winning touchdown in the last two minutes.
Senior wide receiver Shaun Herbert said the Cats are in need of a win and it’s up to his class to lead them.
“This year’s team is our legacy,” he said.
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
