Since Pat Fitzgerald took over at Northwestern they’ve been a model of consistency. They’re coming off of a 9 win season where they won the Big Ten West and the year before that they won 10 games. Fitzgerald always seems to have the Wildcats in a bowl game and because of that, he has established himself as one of the best coaches in the Big Ten. The Wildcats are going into 2019 with lofty expectations after last years unexpected run to the Big Ten Championship game. With a new quarterback in place and an inexperienced offensive line in front of him, this season could be a major test for the Wildcats. Will they take a step back from their recent success or will they continue one of the most unexpected runs in college football?
Prestige Ranking (If NCAA Football 20 existed): 4 stars
2018 Record: 9-5 (8-1 in B1G)
Their losses came to Duke, Akron, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State (Big Ten Championship Game)
Projected Returning Starters:
Offense: 6
- RB Isiah Bowser
- WR Bennett Skowronek
- WR Riley Lees
- WR Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman
- RT Rashwan Slater
- C Jared Thomas
The Wildcats return the bulk of their receiving core but do lose their leading receiver. Senior Bennett Skowronek will become the #1 receiver for transfer quarterback Hunter Johnson. Skowronek caught 45 passes for 562 yards and three touchdowns in 2018. Isiah Bowser returns after breaking out in the second half of last season. Bowser emerged after a medical condition forced Jeremy Larkin to retire early. Bowser is going to become a force at running back for years to come and finding his talent during his freshman year is a huge bonus for Fitzgerald. Slater and Thomas are the only returners on the line and the only ones who have a lot of experience. Their leadership will hopefully help with some of the problems that come with having a young and inexperienced line.
Defense: 6
- DE Joe Gaziano
- DE Sandup Miller
- LB Paddy Fisher
- LB Blake Gallagher
- S JR Pace
- CB Trae Williams
Although the defense has to replace five starters, they return all five of their top five leading tacklers. Joe Gaziano and Paddy Fisher headline this defense. Gaziano was second-team all-Big Ten last year while Fisher was a third-team All-American. Fisher is the anchor of this defense and is poised to have another All-American Calibar season and is own my own pre-season All-America team. This defense will probably be the teams biggest strength. The Wildcats have been known for their bend not break approach and with all that they return I expect them to be very productive on this side of the ball in 2019.
Special Teams: 2 (Maybe 3-4)
The Wildcats handled the kicker position by committee in 2018, mostly due to injuries. Kickers Charlie Kuhbander and Drew Luckenbaugh both return and need to stay healthy. It’d also help if they improved their leg strength because Northwestern didn’t have a field goal made longer than 37 yards last year. In the return game, they see both returners returning which will hopefully lead to an improved return game.
Key Losses:
- QB Clayton Thorson
- RG Tommy Doles
- WR Flynn Nagel
- DT Jordan Thompson
- DT Fred Wyatt
- CB Montre Hartage
- LT Blake Hance
- LG JB Butler
The biggest loss here is obviously four-year starter Clayton Thorson. Thorson was an incredible talent during his time in Evanston and now finds himself backing up Carsen Wentz in Philadelphia. Almost as important as Thorson is the three losses on the offensive line. Tommy Doles, Blake Hance, and JB Butler will be missed up front dearly. A young and inexperienced line could be an X factor for this year’s offense.
Key Newcomer – Offense: Hunter Johnson
Johnson was one of the most highly sought after players in his recruiting class. The former Clemson Tiger found himself in Evanston after Trevor Lawrence emerged as the quarterback of the future. Johnson is extremely talented and can be just as good, if not better than Thorson was. Mick McCall has quietly turned Northwestern into QB U and always sends his starters to the NFL no matter where he is. I expect big things out of Johnson this fall.
Key Newcomer – Defense: Michael Jansey
Although Jansey may not see the field much this year, he’s the Wildcats top recruit and will be a part of their linebacking core in seasons to come. It’ll be hard for him to find playing time playing behind an All-American. The Batavia, Illinois native registered 99 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks during his junior year of high school.
Breakout Player of the Year: Isaiah Bowser
Bowser kind of already broke out last year, but he only played half the season. This will be his first full season as a starter and I expect nothing but big things for him. He’s a wrecking ball of a running back and gives the Wildcats a powerful run game that they’d been missing. Look for Bowser to have a remarkable sophomore season.
Wins the conference if:
They’ll win the conference if they just repeat what they did last year. Their defense will be really good and if the line holds up, their offense should be just as good as it was a year ago.
Circle this game on the Calendar:
October 18th in Evanston against Ohio State. Many people are already calling this a trap game for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has experienced a demoralizing road loss to an unexpected team in each of the last two seasons and this Friday night matchup has upset written all over it. However, the last time these two teams met Ohio State took care of business fairly easily.
Alcohol Prediction: Naturdays
Naturdays shouldn’t be good but they are. It’s made by Natty Light (gross) and it’s a beer that tastes like strawberry lemonade? That sums up Northwestern. Northwestern is a program that no one would expect to be good and somehow they always exceed expectations. Just think about it, a small private school north of Chicago that has insane academic standards? There’s no way they should be good at football, but they’re reigning Big Ten West champs.
Outlook 2019:
For some reason, no one is picking Northwestern to repeat as Big Ten West champs. All the hype is going to Nebraska, which doesn’t really make sense, and most others are looking at traditional picks such as Iowa or Wisconsin. Although the front end of this year’s schedule is tough, I don’t really see any reason why the Cats shouldn’t be favorites to play in Indianapolis once again. Their defense will be great and their offense could definitely end up being better than last years. everything comes down to the young offensive line and if they hold up, watch out for Northwestern once again.
AUG 31 at Stanford W/L (This game could really go either way in my opinion)
SEPT 14 vs UNLV W
SEPT 21 vs Michigan State W
SEPT 28 at Wisconsin L
OCT 5 at Nebraska W
OCT 18 vs Ohio State L
OCT 26 vs Iowa W
NOV 2 at Indiana W
NOV 9 vs Purdue W
NOV 16 vs UMass W (UMass midseason? really? Do better Northwestern)
NOV 23 vs Minnesota W/L
NOV 30 at Illinois W
I see 8 games that I think Northwestern will win and three more that could go either way. I think a bad year for them would be 7 wins and that anything over 8 would be another great year.