Northwestern’s defense has held firm inside the 20, limiting opponents to the third-fewest red zone scores in the Big Ten. But between the 20-yard lines has been a different story.
In their last two games alone, the Wildcats have given up three touchdowns of 50 yards or more. While NU faced two highly-ranked teams in Penn State and Iowa, coach Pat Fitzgerald said the reason for the big plays didn’t come from the opposing sideline. Instead, he placed the blame squarely on his own team.
“No disrespect to Penn State or Iowa, but they didn’t do anything to accomplish those plays,” he said. “Those were self-inflicted wounds.”
This trend extends further back than those two games. Of the last 12 touchdowns scored on the Cats, half came on plays of 40 yards or longer.
“Of course there are going to be some of those big plays, it’s just the nature of football,” sophomore defensive lineman Kevin Watt said. “Minimizing those big plays is the key to us being a top-25 defense.”
ILLINI INEPT THROUGH THE AIRQuarterback Juice Williams has been a good fit for Illinois’ spread offense during his time in Champaign, Ill. The Illini’s all-time leader in total offense, Williams led the Big Ten in passing last year, averaging 264 yards per game.
The Chicago native has struggled at times this year, despite throwing to one of the best receiving corps in the country. All-American wide receiver Arrelious Benn and the Illini ranked first in the conference in pass offense last year. With the core group back and the team’s addition of Florida transfer Jarred Fayson, Illini fans expected Memorial Stadium to be home to a lethal air attack.
But their hyped-up, high-flying offense has been grounded, and Illinois has tumbled to last in the conference in passing.
“I see a lot of talent, and I see guys that are making plays all over the place,” said Fitzgerald of the Illini receivers. “Maybe not from a stats standpoint compared to expectations from outside of the program, but I see a group that is playing well.”
Sophomore cornerback Jordan Mabin said the Cats’ experience going up against other Big Ten receivers will help them Saturday.
“We’ve played against good wide receives this whole year so it’s not going to be different,” he said. “We’ve got to just focus on our keys, on what we have to do to stop their offense.”
WOOTTON SET TO BREAK IRON MAN STREAKA 2009 Preseason Playboy All-American and an unquestioned leader of the Cats, Corey Wootton has made his mark on the NU record book during his time in purple. He will etch his name into the books once again Saturday, just by stepping on the field.
The senior defensive end will make his 47th career start, a new school record.
“I didn’t even realize that I played that many games,” Wootton said. “This year it felt like I was a freshman all over again, just kind of trying to come back and relearn how to do everything. … It feels great to be out there for so many games.”
After tearing his right ACL in the Alamo Bowl, Wootton battled back from surgery to start every game of the year before injuring his ankle at Purdue. He did not start the next week against Miami, but has started every game since then.
The coaching staff held Wootton out of practice early in the season as a precautionary measure, but Wootton has participated fully since the loss to Penn State.
“This is the second week I’ve practiced all the way through,” Wooton said. “I haven’t taken any reps off. The knee is starting to feel a lot better and the ankle feels better. I’m ready to go this week.”
In addition to his knee and ankle injuries, Wootton suffered a season-ending neck injury his freshman year. Since then he has notched 17.5 sacks and 35 tackles for loss, putting him third and fifth, respectively, in school history.
“I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” Wootton said. “I wish I could start 80 games, but they don’t give you that many in your career.”[email protected]
