Northwestern Wildcats

The seventh installment of a series ranking Iowa's 12 opponents for the 2014 season. Today it's No. 5 Northwestern, a team that you can safely say fights Iowa for the same piece of Big Ten turf year in and year out. The game is in Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 1.

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

Division

: Big Ten West

2013 record: 5-7 (1-7 Legends Division)

Returning offensive starters (9):

RG Matt Frazier, WR Christian Jones, WR Tony Jones, RT Paul Jorgensen, LT Jack Konopka, RB Venric Mark, LG Geoff Mogus, C Brandon Vitabile, SB Dan Vitale

Projected starting offense

: QB Trevor Siemian, sr., 6-3, 210; RB Venric Mark, sr., 5-8, 175; H-WR Christian Jones, s3., 6-3, 225; Y-WR Tony Jones, sr., 6-0, 195; WR Cameron Dickerson, jr., 6-3, 200; SB Dan Vitale, jr., 6-2, 225; LT Eric Olson, so., 6-6, 290; LG Geoff Mogus, jr., 6-5, 295; C Brandon Vitabile, sr., 6-3, 300; RG Matt Frazier, jr., 6-4, 290; RT Paul Jorgensen, sr., 6-6, 295

Returning defensive starters (9):

WLB Chi Chi Ariguzo, S Ibraheim Campbell, DT Chance Carter, SAM LB Collin Ellis, CB Matthew Harris, S Traveon Henry, DE Dean Lowry, DT Sean McEvilly, CB Nick VanHoose

Projected starting defense

: DE Dean Lowry, jr., 6-6, 265; DT Chance Carter, sr., 6-3, 295; DT Sean McEvilly, sr., 6-5, 290; DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, so., 6-3, 235; WLB Chi Chi Ariguzo, sr., 6-3, 235; MLB Collin Ellis, sr., 6-2, 230; SLB Drew Smith, jr., 6-1, 215; CB Nick VanHoose, jr., 6-0, 190; CB Matthew Harris, so., 5-10, 180; S Ibraheim Campbell, sr., 5-11, 205; S Traveon Henry, jr., 6-1, 200

Returning specialists (2)

: KR/PR Venric Mark, sr., 5-8, 175; PR/KR Matthew Harris, so., 5-10, 180

Other specialists: K Hunter Niswander, fr., 6-5, 210; P Chris Gradone, jr., 6-2, 190

Key losses:

QB Kain Colter, WR Rashad Lawrence, LB Damien Proby, DE Tyler Scott, K Jeff Budzien, P Brandon Williams

Key additions:

DB Parker Westphal (6-1, 190) RB Justin Jackson (5-11, 180), TE Garrett Dickerson (6-3, 235), QB Clayton Thorson (6-4, 200), RB Auston Anderson (5-9, 180), OL Tommy Doles (6-6, 270), OL Blake Hance (6-5, 265), Miles Shuler (5-10, 175)

2013 review:

Whenever you think your favorite sports team is having a snake-bitten season, keep 2013 Northwestern in mind.

The Wildcats had a solid non-conference run last season, with a road win at California and a victory over Syracuse. They climbed to No. 16 in the nation and then faced No. 4 Ohio State for a Saturday night primetime game at Evanston, Ill. It didn't end with a thud. The Cats pushed OSU to the brink before running out of gas in the fourth quarter, 40-30.

And then Northwestern lost its next six games. The streak involved crazy circumstances. You know the finish at Nebraska, the miracle tipped pass from the third-string QB to the wide receiver who had never caught a TD pass. The week before, it was a gut-wrenching OT loss at Iowa, where the Cats defense got burned by a blitz and allowed the winning TD. The week before that, it was a 20-17 loss to Minnesota. The week after Nebraska, it was Michigan getting off a late field goal (controversial with getting its FG unit on the field in time) and winning in three OTs. The bleeding didn't stop until a 37-34 victory over Illinois in the season finale.

Northwestern was a mess physically pretty much off the bat in ‘13. Most of the Cats' marquee players suffered injuries that took them out for weeks or affected their play for weeks. QB Kain Colter suffered a concussion on the second play against California and then suffered an ankle injury in Big Ten week 2. RB Venric Mark, a weapon out of the backfield and in the return game, suffered an ankle injury and missed most of the season. QB Trevor Siemian also suffered a heel injury. That was too much for the NU offense to overcome.

2014 schedule:

A30 California; S6 Northern Illinois; S20 Western Illinois; S27 at Penn State; O4 Wisconsin; O11 at Minnesota; O18 Nebraska; N1 at Iowa; N8 Michigan; N15 at Notre Dame; N22 at Purdue; Nov. 29 Illinois

Key Stretch:

The double-bye weeks are huge for college football teams. Last season was our first real taste of it. Iowa is a great example. The Hawkeyes had a bye week in October after playing six straight weeks. Then, it went four weeks before taking the week off and finishing with victories over Michigan and Nebraska. This year, it's not as cool for the Hawkeyes, with the bye weeks piling up in October and leaving them with one home game that month.

It's not too shabby for Northwestern. The Cats get a super-early bye week, after just two games, that isn't very helpful, but they then get a break on Oct. 25, halfway through their final 10 games.

It breaks nicely, giving NU a break after playing host to Nebraska and before a road trip to Iowa City. That stretch - Nebraska, bye, at Iowa, Michigan and at Notre Dame - is your 'key stretch” defined. That's two west division foes and three of college football's sterling programs. (By the way, the NCAA allows for an extra week in the college football season whenever Aug. 30 or Aug. 31 falls on a Saturday. It's Aug. 30 this year. The next double-bye season doesn't come until 2019.)

Trap game:

Let's go with at Minnesota on Oct. 11. The Gophers might be shadow contender in the west division. It's a program that seemingly picks up momentum as quickly as it loses it. Last year, the Gophers enjoyed a 4-0 start and then lost at home to Iowa. Later in the year, they rebounded to beat Nebraska and make it to a bowl game. In this first year of the west division mix, Purdue is, on paper, the only pushover. Everyone else roughly is on the same tier, including the Gophers. So, the Cats play host to Wisconsin, one of the favorites in the west, travel to Minneapolis and then play host to Nebraska, the other big fave in the west, before a bye week. The Minnesota game for NU might be the trappiest of the Big Ten's trap games.

Glass half-full:

The Wildcats return 18 starters from a team that finished 5-7, but flirted with 9-4. Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota realistically were within reach. Ohio State and Michigan State, probably the two favorites in the east, drop off the schedule and are replaced by Penn State (probably at its most vulnerable point in regard to depth due to NCAA sanctions) and Michigan (perhaps playing to keep its coach).

The return of Mark to this offense is huge. He rushed for 1,366 yards and 12 TDs in 2012. The Wildcats finished with nearly 1,000 fewer rushing yards last year without him. What he's able to do in the return game should help NU in the invisible yards department, something that could loom huge for a team with a kind-of-new QB and what should be a solid defense.

Siemian is the kind-of-new QB. He's never had total control of the Cats' offense, so it's hard to say what he can be. He isn't Kain Colter, who's trying to make it in the NFL as a wide receiver. The slash-and-dash element that NU's offense has enjoyed during Colter and Dan Persa might not be there.

Even if you kind of follow Big Ten football, you know a lot of the returning names on NU's defense, including linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo and safety Ibraheim Campbell. DE Ifeadi Odenigbo racked up 5.5 sacks as a part-time player last season.

There were several glowing reports this spring about WR Miles Shuler, a transfer from Rutgers. He was called NU's best receiver. Super Back (tight end, pretty much) Dan Vitale is a proven playmaker.

Glass half-empty:

Siemian isn't Colter (maybe No. 2 Matt Alviti is, but we'll see on that). If nothing else, Colter led the Big Ten during his reign in keeping defenses off balance. He was never a great passer, but he was good enough. Colter's confidence as a runner between the tackles moved chains and ultimately propelled the Cats. That's gone. Yes, it will be counterweighed by Mark's return, but if you're NU, you want and probably need a playmaker like Colter, who made Northwestern's offense better than it was.

Defensively, can the Cats hold up in the secondary. Last season, NU finished 10th in the Big Ten allowing 255.8 passing yards a game. This was a good/bad deal. Yes, NU gave up yards, but it also led the Big Ten with 19 interceptions. The entire secondary is back, and no matter how experienced it is, it would benefit from more consistent pressure on the QB.

The union thing? This is college football played by college kids. This was a talking point for media in the spring. Cost of attendance and all of that yada, yada, yada. Unionization is an interesting debate and the NU push for it will be a meaty chapter in the movement toward stipends for athletes. The results of the vote for NU football unionization are yet to be revealed. Coach Pat Fitzgerald was a no vote, as was NU athletics director Jim Phillips. Potential for pushback? Sure, but there's probably no coach in America who knows the pulse of his team better than Fitzgerald.

The Iowa angle:

Run this up the flagpole and just learn to live with it - Northwestern will never be in Iowa's rearview mirror. Iowa beat Northwestern 21 straight games, from 1974 to ‘94. Then, Hayden Fry made a postgame comment to Gary Barnett about 'not hurting his fellas” and that was that. (OK, that was Barnett's version and it's in his book 'High Hopes: Taking the Purple to Pasadena,” so it must be true.)

No matter what Fry said or didn't say, the Cats broke through in this series with a 31-20 victory in ‘95 and have been 10-7 against Iowa since. A lot of Iowa fans want to blame Kirk Ferentz for not keeping down the old rivals (Iowa State and Wisconsin). Try to keep in mind that all three of these rivalries had breakthroughs the other way in the twilight of Fry's career. So, the blame game here is silly. This is the new reality. Unless something breaks considerably either way, the Hawkeyes will be able to push around and defend NU or the Wildcats will run around and leave the Hawkeyes panting. On any given year.

The move to the west just solidifies this rivalry. And this year, there is, potentially, a lot up for grabs. For Iowa, it begins a November run that includes three other serious contenders in the west (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska). For the Cats, it starts a November that will give them two opportunities at national giants (Michigan and Notre Dame) and, potentially, a shot at something in the west division (closing with at Purdue and Illinois).

Iowa won last year. Barely. Iowa generated just 305 yards and averaged 3.3 yards a carry. Iowa's defense, however, was stellar. Yes, Colter was slowed with ankle issues, but Iowa allowed just 104 passing yards. Iowa's movement toward quicker linebackers was on display. The Hawkeyes kept an injured Colter in check, for the most part (he still had 164 yards total offense).

There isn't a lot of separation between these programs right now. There might never be. Expect more a similar game.

Quotable

: 'After 5-7, you can get really introspective. You really take a long look inside yourself and think about why you want to play in the first place. I just realized I needed to start having fun again, and I've definitely felt I've boosted my game this spring now that I'm enjoying the sport again.” - NU quarterback Trevor Siemian on the Wildcats' disappointing finish in 2013

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@sourcemedia.net