SATURDAY IS FUN DAY
Like Fitzgerald wanted, Wildcats’ ‘D’ has good time, blanks Gophers
This is getting serious. Already ranked 16th in the nation, Northwestern ran its record to 5-0 in its Big Ten opener Saturday with a 27-0 thumping of Minnesota, which is likely to wind up having a pretty good season.
This is the Wildcats’ best start since 2010, and their first shutout of a Big Ten opponent since they beat Wisconsin 35-0 in 1995.
Coach Pat Fitzgerald wasn’t ready to rank this defense with that ’95 group, which he anchored and played in the Rose Bowl. Because it’s too soon.
‘‘I’m not ready to put this group in the same category,’’ Fitzgerald said. ‘‘We have a lot of chapters left to write. But it has a chance to be much better. It’s much more athletic. It’smuch deeper. The potential is there to be something that we’ll be very proud of. But we have a long way to go before we start talking about that.’’
That said, NU put on a pretty good show in blustery Evanston.
‘‘It was a pretty darn good complete performance in all three phases,’’ Fitzgerald said. ‘‘Our guys are having a lot of fun.’’
A veteran defense that has allowed only three touchdowns in five games. A quarterback who’s showing maturity beyond his redshirtfreshman status. A kicking game that provided a clutch punt return. What’s not to like? Nursing a 3-0 lead, the Wildcats started their breakaway from Minnesota (3-2, 0-1) with a 55-yard punt return from Miles Shuler. That set up quarterback Clayton Thorson’s five-yard touchdown run. Thorson, who completed 14 of 19 passes for 128 yards, also scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter as NU won the turnover battle 2-0.
‘‘Zero turnovers, baby,’’ Fitzgerald said after the poised Thorson had turned in his best all-around game. ‘‘The best play I thought he had today, the one snap he had a lit- tle low, he got on it. That was a step in the right direction. Last week, he would’ve tried to scoop it up and do something with it.’’
Skeptics will point to NU’s schedule, even though Stanford and Duke also are commendable wins.
The Cats will sort out things in the next two weeks. After a trip to revived Michigan, they will take on Iowa, which won at Wisconsin, on Oct. 17.
Limiting Minnesota to 173 yards, including only 74 rushing yards (2.2 per carry), was another step forward for the NU defense. The Cats, who led the nation in third-down defense (18.6 percent), continued that success, holding the Gophers to a 4-for-16 conversion rate, as well as 0-for-4 on fourth downs.
‘‘They’re really playing hard for each other,’’ Fitzgerald said. ‘‘There’s great leadership, a lot of veterans. A, it’s the camaraderie and chemistry. B, I challenged them this week. I thought they weren’t having as much fun as they did earlier in the year. I thought they came back with that kind of passionate performance today.’’
After their relative rough go in a 24-19 win over Ball State last week, the defense delivered.
‘‘We’re a very focused group,’’ said senior defensive end Dean Lowry, one of eight junior and senior defensive starters. ‘‘Sometimes we get caught up in doing our job. Coach Fitz wants us to really have fun out there.’’
The Wildcats certainly have been reaching that goal so far.
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