Will Northwestern avoid a potential letdown?

In 2007, when Northwestern faced Duke in its third non-conference game of the season, the Blue Devils hadn’t notched a victory over a major college team in 27 games. But the Cats couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity of playing the perennial ACC bottom feeder and lost. Miami (OH) comes to Evanston in a similar situation: The program is down and out, looking for a revival. There’s no doubt the Cats are bigger, faster, stronger and more talented than the RedHawks. They just have to prove it on the gridiron.

Will the defense continue its turnaround?

After disappointing tackling performances against Eastern Michigan, Syracuse and Minnesota, NU followed the same trend against Purdue. At least in the first half. The Cats held the Boilermakers scoreless after intermission and looked like the unit everyone expected them to be before the season. Saturday’s game against Purdue was similar to the Iowa game in 2008. And from that point on last year, the Cats perfected the bend-but-don’t-break approach. They’ll have to stay hot to beat top-flight Big Ten teams.