ANOTHER CHANCE
Undefeated NU looking to reverse recent losing trend against Wolverines
If there’s a definitive game in the recent history of Northwestern football, it has to be the 40-30 defeat against Ohio State in 2013. Of course, the 2015Wildcats, off to an attention-getting 5-0 start, are trying to change that. Their season-opening victory over Stanford was a terrific start, but still . . . 2013, the dreaded Buckeyes, a revved-up Ryan Field crowd, a prime-time national audience on ABC.
Man, that was a tough loss for Pat Fitzgerald and his program.
After starting that season 4-0, theWildcats rose to 16th in the rankings and had designs on a truly special season. Yet they fell short against OSU and proceeded to drop their next six games, and not until this season have they seemed to recover. No. 13 Northwestern at No. 18 Michigan (2:30 p.m., BTN) is an opportunity to bury that loss to OSU in the past. TheWildcats are thinking Big TenWest title, and they need a win Saturday to put themselves in position to make that happen.
“We’ve got to bring our big-boy pants,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s Big Ten football.”
It’s a matchup of teams that have a whole lot in common. NU leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing seven points per game, and 4-1Michigan— which has registered back-toback shutout victories— ranks second at 7.6. Neither offense is dependable in the passing game, but the rushing attacks are highly productive.
For theWildcats to get to 6-0 for the first time since 1962, they’ll have to end a four-game losing streak to Michigan that includes three straight heartbreakers. A year ago in Evanston, they scored a touchdown with three seconds left and, trailing 10-9, went for a two-point conversion but failed to convert. In 2013, also in Evanston, they lost in triple overtime. The year before in Ann Arbor? It was merely one overtime.
Rough stuff. Michigan is favored by 7 ½, which sure seems high given the recent history in this series. I trust NU’s defense and running back Justin Jackson to go to the end with a chance at victory. Alas, Wolverines by a field goal.
The only other top 25 matchup on the board inWeek 6 is one nobody would’ve seen coming: No. 23 California at No. 5 Utah (9 p.m., ESPN). Incredibly— hate to use that word, but, yeah, it’s incredible— these are the Pac-12’s only remaining unbeaten teams. ESPN’s “GameDay” show pulling into Salt Lake City this season is entirely unexpected, but for the Cal game? Crazy. And fun as all get-out.
“It’s almost like living in a biosphere or a dome,” said Utes coach Kyle Whittingham. “You’ve got people tapping on the glass and looking in at you. You’ve just got to block it out and go about your business and not let it affect you, because it can be a distraction.”
Whittingham should be concerned enough with corralling Bears quarterback Jared Goff— potentially the first QB taken in the 2016 NFL draft— and a Cal offense that gets better all the time under pedal-to-the-metal coach Sonny Dykes. Utah is themore physical team by a long shot, which Oregon, a 62-20 loser to the Utes, knows better than anybody. That physicality on both sides of the ball gives the higher-ranked team a lot to believe in. Utes, 34-24.
No. 11 Florida at Missouri (6:30 p.m., SEC Network) is as big a game as we’ll see in the SEC East this season. The Tigers are unranked at 4-1, but they proved to be more than met the eye in each of the last two
seasons, reaching the league’s title game. Can skinny true freshman quarterback Drew Lock survive 60 minutes against the scary Gators defense? And is Florida (5-0) really as good as it looked in a 38-10 dismantling of Georgia?
“I’m kind of interested to see if our team is a one-hit wonder,” said UF coach Jim McElwain.
It’s not, but five points is a lot to giveMizzou in its first home night game in two years. Faurot Field will be jumping. Tigers pull off the upset, 23-20.
Miami at No. 12 Florida State (7 p.m., Ch. 7) has a different feeling post-JameisWinston in Tallahassee. Far more quietly, the Seminoles (4-0), quarterbacked by Everett Golson, are at best cofavorites with Clemson in the ACC. Also, FSU’s best offensive player, running back Dalvin Cook, has an injured hamstring. The Hurricanes — nine-point underdogs— are a rather unimpressive 3-1, and coach Al Golden is under a world of pressure. But this game is winnable for Miami, especially if its offensive line protects well against FSU’s subpar pass rush. ’Noles hang on, though, 24-20.
My favorite favorite: No. 2 TCU (-9) at Kansas State (6:30 p.m., Fox-32). K-State is dealing with major quarterback issues. The Horned Frogs, winners of 13 straight overall, have hit the 50-point and 600-yard marks in four straight games. It’s always dangerous to go into Manhattan, but how are theWildcats supposed to keep up offensively? Frogs roll to 6-0.
My favorite underdog:
Wisconsin (+1½) at Nebraska (2:30 p.m., ESPN2). The Badgers aren’t as well-rounded as they’d like to be, but the Huskers are kind of a mess. The only truly dependable unit in the game is Wisconsin’s defense. Badgers stay in the Big TenWest hunt.
Lastweek: 4-3 straight-up, 5-2 vs. the spread.
Season: 23-8-1 straight-up, 1515-2 vs. the spread.
Follow me on twitter @SLGreenberg.