The secret is out. Northwestern has one of the top quarterbacks in college football.
Dan Persa, still the most accurate passer in the country after eight weeks, joined the likes of Auburn’s Cameron Newton and Michigan’s Denard Robinson on the watch list for the Manning Award, presented to the nation’s top signal caller.
Unfortunately, Persa’s receiving national attention has coincided with the Wildcats dropping their last two Big Ten home games.
Three Persa-rushing touchdowns against Michigan State are great individual stats in the box score. But that’s not what NU football needs to end its 61-year bowl drought. The 5-0 start will go to waste unless the rest of NU’s skill position players step up.
With the Spartans shutting down Jeremy Ebert, NU’s top wide out, Persa passed for less than 200 yards for the first time this year. Ebert shouldn’t be held to two receptions again, but opponents will copy the Spartans and try to limit his production.
The success of NU’s spread offense depends on the quarterback’s ability to spread the ball around. Yes, Persa can scramble, but even he said after the 35-27 loss that for the offense to click, he needs to stay in the pocket and throw the ball away more.
A shocking bright spot against the Spartans was that the Cats’ running backs had their best performance on the ground since Arby Fields’s anomaly of a game against Illinois State. This started up front with the offensive line having its best game run blocking against the stiffest competition it has faced.
Freshman Adonis Smith showed potential to become NU’s featured running back last weekend on the slick Ryan Field grass, where he slipped just as much as he was tackled. As long as rain is not in the forecast in Bloomington, Smith may be primed for a breakout game.
What NU really needs this weekend is for the other true freshmen to become more involved in the offense. Coach Pat Fitzgerald didn’t burn Tony Jones and Rashad Lawrence’s redshirts for them to be decoys on the field.
Since Jones hauled in a 45-yard score against Minnesota, he has one catch for one yard. Lawrence has also shown the ability to make big plays at times, including a 44-yard grab against Michigan State. Persa needs to get the ball in the hands of these two highly-touted recruits more often.
In addition to the young wide receivers, Drake Dunsmore needs to snap out of his slump. The superback went without a catch against the Spartans and hasn’t scored a touchdown since the Illinois State game. Everyone remembers in the Outback Bowl when Dunsmore turned a routine screen pass into a 66-yard touchdown.
The Iron Cat may be able to bench press 375 pounds, but he cannot carry NU back to a bowl game by himself. The talent surrounding Persa on offense needs to step up starting this Saturday at Indiana if the Cats want to secure a trip back to the postseason.
Justin Schecker is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].
