The key:
Where have you been in our lives, Northwestern’s offense?
Wow. The Wildcats finally regained form on offense against Nebraska today. The first half showing looked like the team we knew from the first five games of the season — when 30 points was a given. It’s a shame the offense has been dormant for this long, but we won’t get into that.
The ground game has been the key, with senior quarterback (and one-man wrecking crew) Kain Colter making Nebraska’s defense look foolish. Junior Treyvon Green has also been solid with three rushing touchdowns. Green’s role will only grow as the game goes on, as he is the only healthy, active running back left on the roster.
Junior quarterback Trevor Siemian even had a cameo, leading NU’s third touchdown drive that featured a slick pass to sophomore superback Dan Vitale down the left sideline.
What Northwestern needs to win:
Consistency.
The Cats have shown they can compete, but they’ve shown that in all but one of their games from the past two seasons. In order to close the deal, NU must prove it can play a consistent four quarters.
The team has played well enough to win a key game on the road, but like seemingly all of its games, this contest will come down to whether the execution remains the same in the final few minutes.
— Rohan Nadkarni
