The Northwestern Wildcats have waited nearly 63 years to break their bowl drought. They will likely have to wait a little bit longer.
As inspiring as their late-season climb was, they were dealt a tough card with this Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas matchup with Texas A&M. Not that NU’s susceptible defense would have fared much better against Houston’s red-hot offense in the TicketCity Bowl, but the Cats could be in for a very tough time against a talented Aggies attack.
Just like NU supposedly didn’t finish 6-6, Texas A&M could have finished with a far better record than 6-6. Five of its losses were by a touchdown or less, and five of its losses came against ranked teams. While NU was losing to teams like Army and Illinois, Texas A&M was losing to slightly more impressive teams like Arkansas and Oklahoma State. The point is the Aggies are an intimidating team, a far better one than their record suggests.
Texas A&M’s Achilles’ heel isn’t necessarily on the field. The Aggies fired coach Mike Sherman following their loss to the Longhorns. They subsequently hired Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, a truly great grab; the only problem is he doesn’t start until next year. The Aggies are now in the awkward position of having defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter at the helm for just one game: the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. While hiring Sumlin may have been a great move for the future, the distractions can’t help as the Aggies prepare for their bowl game. Sherman was apparently well liked in the clubhouse, and now his team must prepare for its crowning game without him.
Yet, as important as coaching stability is, what I’m worried about is NU’s stability on the field. With senior cornerback Jordan Mabin out with a shoulder injury, the Cats will have to rely on Jeravin Matthews and Daniel Jones to keep one of the most talented passing offenses in the country in line. That’s right, they will rely on a special teams player who was frequently picked on by opposing defenses and a redshirt freshman making only his second start to keep heavyweights like Ryan Tannehill and Ryan Swopes off the scoreboard. Tannehill finished the 2011 season with 3,415 passing yards and 28 touchdowns through the air, while Swopes piled on 1,102 receiving yards. Six-foot, four-inch wide receiver Jeff Fuller added 709 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions. Presumably, safety Brian Peters, at six-foot, four-inches himself, could match up with Fuller, but then who matches up with Swopes? And let’s not forget that Peters’ companion across the playing field, Ibraheim Campbell, struggled for much of the season. As good as he’s looked in recent games, he cannot necessarily be trusted to hold a player like Swopes down. Campbell may have made the All-Big Ten freshman team according to Yahoo! Sports, but that doesn’t necessarily make him an All-Big Ten quality safety.
No doubt NU will be able to score. The question is whether the Cats will be able to stop the Aggies. If the game turns into a shootout, the advantage has to go to Texas A&M. NU hasn’t had much luck in offensive shootouts this season, dropping high-scoring games to Michigan and Iowa. Five of the Cats’ six wins came when they held their opponents to 25 points or less. The one offensive shootout they won in 2011 was a 59-38 win over the Hoosiers, and we can all agree that Texas A&M is far better than an Indiana squad that finished 1-11. And if it were to turn into a close game, my money is on Randy Bullock to knock home the game-winning field goal. He won the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in the country so he’s certainly capable of winning a game against Northwestern.
It’s sad to say, but if my instincts are correct, the Wildcats will begin 2012 in much the same way they’ve began every season for the past several decades: trying to break their endless bowl drought. And they’ll no longer have Dan Persa to make it rain.
This article is the 13th of our 15-part Road to Meineke series. We will be posting an article every night, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas, to help prepare you for Northwestern’s matchup with Texas A&M in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. Join us again Thursday night as football beat writer Josh Walfish argues the Wildcats’ case in Saturday’s matchup.
