Skeptics thought Northwestern’s future was bleak when virtually untested quarterback Mike Kafka was taking over the helm of the Wildcats’ offense. Despite proving his skills on the ground against Minnesota the season before, no one thought he would offer an air threat in the 2009 season. Boy were they wrong.

NU is again faced with the challenge of replacing the commander of the offense, but this time, the quarterback is even less experienced. Though it is well known that Dan Persa is quick, he didn’t show us anything like Kafka’s scrambling skills. And in the air, we all watched our offense collapse against Penn State after leading 13-10 when Persa took over. But as the saying goes, history repeats itself, and NU fans are in for a pleasant surprise yet again.

Persa is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, who went from a virtually unknown quarterback to a predicted third-round pick in the NFL draft. He knows it’s his time to take over the spread offense, and he is working to continue the Cats’ recent success. Keep in mind that NU’s entire offensive line is returning.

But how can he compete at as high of a level without key receivers from last season? Don’t you remember us asking the same question after the graduation of Eric Peterman and Ross Lane? The stars of this past year’s offense had as much of a breakout year as Kafka. Look for veterans like Drake Dunsmore and Jeremy Ebert to do the same this season.

Another key difference between the 2008 squad and last year’s team was the loss of running back Tyrell Sutton. Our ground game was virtually non existent in the past season, as shown by Kafka’s unreal number of pass attempts in the Outback Bowl. This year, NU will have an older, stronger Arby Fields, who could be the difference-maker on offense. I haven’t touched on the loss of five seniors on defense, however, I will note that safety Brian Peters got some decent time when Brendan Smith was injured. Our biggest question mark is in the two safety positions, but I’m optimistic they will rise to the occasion.

I may be counting my chickens before they’ve hatched, or perhaps even been laid. However given a winnable nonconference schedule and the pleasant surprise of last season, I’m expecting at least a seven-win season and a decent bowl birth. Now the question is, can we finally win it?

Sports Columnist Andy Day is a McCormick junior. He can be reached at [email protected].