Ten Big Game Changers: Northwestern LB Quentin Davie

CHICAGO - Quentin Davie can smell an Iowa question from a mile away.

Northwestern's senior linebacker lets out a little laugh when he's asked about his team's recent success against the Hawkeyes. Northwestern has beaten Iowa in four of its their last five meetings, including three straight at Kinnick. Davie, who has started the last two games against Iowa, said his team doesn't do anything special against Iowa except execute.

"It's one of those things where you go into every week and prepare the same way for every team," Davie said. "It's nothing special that we do in Iowa week that we don't do any other week. It's just what Coach (Pat Fitzgerald) Fitz called it ... it's luck. The Big Ten you're going to have losses and wins and each team is going to come out hard and play you every week like it's the last game of the season."

In 2008, Davie had a tackle for loss in a 22-17 win at Kinnick Stadium. Last year, Davie intercepted Iowa back-up quarterback James Vandenberg's first pass, leading to Northwestern's go-ahead touchdown.

Northwestern forced five turnovers against Iowa in 2008 and four in 2009. That's what both Davie and Fitzgerald cite as reasons for the Wildcats' success against Iowa.

"We just got the luck of the draw because those turnovers can go either way," Davie said. "We got turnovers against them."

"At the end of the day, I think we've played pretty well," Fitzgerald said. "We've executed. We've won the turnover battle, I think, if you look back over those games."

Davie, a St. Louis native, was the Wildcats' leading tackler last year with 90. He had 11.5 tackles for loss and forced four fumbles last year. He credits much of his success to Fitzgerald, who was Northwestern's linebackers coach during his recruitment.

Davie said Fitzgerald, an All-American at Northwestern in the mid-1990s, was up front with him right away, telling him he could have a chance to immediately play following his red-shirt season.

"Our relations just improved from there," Davie said. "He always had high expectations for me. He never let me slack off in practice or anywhere else, in film room or in class.

"Even if I was good, he wanted me to be great. "

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

• 2009 record: 8-5, 5-3 Big Ten (lost 38-35 to Auburn in Outback Bowl)
• 2009 review: Northwestern posted a strange season, losing early games to Syracuse and Minnesota and beating ranked foes Iowa and Wisconsin in November. Those two wins helped propel the Wildcats into a New Year's Day match-up against Auburn in the Outback Bowl.
• 2010 schedule: S4 at Vanderbilt; S11 Illinois State; S18 at Rice; S25 Central Michigan; O2 at Minnesota; O9 Purdue; O23 Michigan State; O30 at Indiana; N6 at Penn State; N13 Iowa; N20 Illinois (at Wrigley Field); N27 at Wisconsin
• 2010 preview: Northwestern's season hinges on two parts. One, can Dan Persa replace Mike Kafka at QB? Two, can defense survive losing Corey Wootton, Sherrick McManis and Brad Phillips? Persa played in 10 games last year and capably took over for an injured Kafka against Iowa. He's suited to Northwestern's spread offense because of his speed. The Wildcats must replace its top two receivers from last year but return their entire offensive line.
• Making the rounds: Northwestern should have few problems in its non-conference schedule, and its first four Big Ten games are against mid-pack teams. It's possible the Wildcats could be 8-0 before hitting November. Northwestern has a daunting finish, playing at Penn State, hosting Iowa, facing instate rival Illinois at Wrigley Field before closing the season at Wisconsin. Northwestern avoids Michigan and league favorite Ohio State.
• Bowl game if: Persa can adequately replace Kafka. The Wildcats will score enough to reach a bowl. Its defense will determine the bowl site.
• Home for the holidays if: The defense doesn't come around, and Persa fails to grow as a quarterback.
• Quotable: "What is that next step? First and foremost, it's going to be to go to a bowl game for three straight years, soemthing that never happened in our program before." -- Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald
• Prediction: 6-6, 2-6 Big Ten (Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl)