Opponent Preview: Northwestern

Northwestern brings a 3-3 record into Saturday’s matchup, including 2-1 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Wildcats have already eclipsed last year’s win total in conference play, and Northwestern sits in third place in the Big Ten West Division standings. The Wildcats have rebounded from an 0-2 start to win three of their last four games.

Northwestern has been led by its defense this fall, as the Wildcats are allowing just 17.5 points per game. Northwestern has allowed more than 24 points just once this season, and in three Big Ten games, the Wildcats are allowing fewer than 15 points per game. Northwestern ranks 11thS nationally in scoring defense.

The Wildcats are allowing an average of just 358.8 yards per game. Opponents are averaging just 3.7 yards per carry against Northwestern, while completing only 54 percent of their passes. The Wildcats have also intercepted nine passes while forcing 13 turnovers in six games.

Offensively, Northwestern rushes for an average of 129.3 yards per game while throwing for an average of 232.3 yards per game. The WIldcats are averaging just 3.3 yards per rush. Justin Jackson is the leading rusher with 502 yards on 112 carries.

Quarterback Trevor Siemian is completing 59 percent of his passes, but he has thrown more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (4). Siemian has thrown for 1,323 yards this season. His favorite targets have been Dan Vitale and Kyle Prater. Vitale leads the team with 24 receptions for 260 yards and one touchdown, while Prater has hauled in 23 catches for 243 yards and one touchdown.

Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 5-2, including a 2-1 advantage since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference. Each of the three conference meetings have been decided by three or fewer points, including furious Husker rallies the past two seasons.

In 2013, Nebraska trailed 24-21 after Northwestern kicked a go-ahead field goal with 1:20 remaining. But the Huskers survived a 4th-and-15 to set up a game-winning 49-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from Ron Kellogg III to Jordan Westerkamp to earn the win. The previous year in Evanston, Nebraska trailed 28-16 in the fourth quarter before a pair of Taylor Martinez touchdown passes in the final six minutes lifted Nebraska to a 29-28 victory. The 12-point comeback matched the largest fourth-quarter comeback in school history.

In the first meeting as conference foes, a close game went in Northwestern’s favor, as the Wildcats upset the ninth-ranked Huskers, 28-25, in 2011.

Before competing as members of the Big Ten, Nebraska posted a 3-1 record against Northwestern, including a 66-17 win in the 2000 Alamo Bowl. The Huskers are 1-1 all-time in Evanston.

Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald is looking to lead his alma mater back to a bowl game in his ninth season as Northwestern’s head coach. Fitzgerald had guided the Wildcats to four consecutive bowl games from 2008 to 2012, before Northwestern fell one win short of a bowl game in 2013.
Fitzgerald owns a 58-49 record at Northwestern. The Wildcats are just two years removed from a 10-win season in 2012.

Prior to becoming Northwestern’s head coach in 2006, Fitzgerald made four stops as a defensive assistant. He coached the WIldcats’ linebackers from 2002 to 2005, adding the title of recruiting coordinator his last two seasons as an assistant. Fitzgerald’s first full-time assistant coaching job came as the linebackers and special teams coach at Idaho in 2000. Previously, Fitzgerald served as a defensive graduate assistant at Colorado (1999) and Maryland (1998).