Northwestern Wildcats Football Preview: Week 3 vs. Bowling Green
By Ian Blum
The Northwestern Wildcats may have required some soul searching this week after being destroyed at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils 41-17 in week 2. The season is still far from over and the Wildcats will look to bounce back this Saturday versus the Bowling Green Falcons.
Like the Wildcats, Bowling Green comes limping into this game. They sit at 0-2 (0-0) after being blown out by Michigan State and suffering a close loss to South Dakota.
On offense, Bowling Green is led by quarterback James Morgan. He stands at 6′ 4″ and is 207 pounds, giving him good size, and also has serious arm talent. Last week, he threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns versus South Dakota.
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Despite their having a solid QB, look for Bowling Green to run the football.
Their average rushing yards per game of 181 yards in 2016 was their best in the last 7 seasons. Running back Josh Cleveland ran for 87 yards last week after struggling in week 1. Most of the offensive line is returning this year, including senior center Tim McAuliffe, who is on Athlon Sports MAC All-Conference watch list for 2017.
On defense, Bowling Green’s style will play right into the hands of the Northwestern Wildcats. A largely experienced group led by inside linebacker Nate Locke has been a revolving door early this year. Teams are averaging 35 points and over 400 yards per game against them.
The Wildcats offense was shut down by Duke last week. Running back Justin Jackson was held to only 18 rushing yards. And the poor play of Clayton Thoroson (two interceptions, no touchdown passes) certainly didn’t help their cause.
After allowing over 300 yards through the air and over 100 on the ground, I suspect that it was a long week of practice for the defense.
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Ultimately, the game on Saturday will come down to the trenches.
Bowling Green likes to run the ball, but they are in no way an elite running team. I expect the Wildcats defense to be more disciplined and gap-sound this week. If the Wildcats stop the run and force Bowling Green to become one-dimensional, the game will be over quickly.
Jackson will have an easier time running the football, and Thoroson will bounce back from his sluggish start versus Duke.