July 20, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Midway through the 2003 football season, something happened to the Northwestern University football team. That something was learning how to win games.
It sounds simple, but learning how to win games with a young football team is a process that can only be aided by time and experience.
"I knew going into last year we didn't know how to win," says head coach Randy Walker, who is in his sixth season at Northwestern. "All the right things were taking place in the off-season, but we just had some young kids who were good enough to win, but they just didn't know how."
Fortunately for the 'Cats, the turnaround came just in time to reverse a season's fortunes. Northwestern won four of its last six games -- all against Big Ten competition -- and earned the school's fourth postseason bowl trip in the last nine years.
With the positive vibes from 2003 still fresh on everyone's minds, and a large nucleus of players returning from that squad, expectations are lofty yet realistic for this year's Wildcat team.
"There is a great deal of promise in 2004," says Walker. "For the second straight year, we have a wealth of experience returning-and now most of that experience is seasoned one additional year.
"Obviously, we have some areas that we need to improve. Overall, we need to be a more consistent football team, and that's on both sides of the ball. We have to improve our passing game to give ourselves a chance to be as balanced as we can be on offense."
The Wildcats had one of the country's top rushing units (ranked 14th nationally in Division I-A statistics), but their passing offense was ranked 103rd (out of 117 teams). Additionally, Northwestern only scored four touchdowns via the air.
"Brett Basanez took a lot of heat for our passing woes, but after spending a lot of time watching tape, we had breakdowns in all phases of our offense" Walker says. "We had some receivers go down with injuries and we were still trying to bring up to speed a young offensive line. It certainly was more a combination of factors as opposed to one individual."
Besides Basanez, a two-year starting quarterback, the Wildcats return their entire offensive line, two of their three top running backs and several experienced wide receivers. Certainly, the loss of All-Big Ten running back Jason Wright is a big one for the 'Cats, but Walker is excited about the abilities of Noah Herron and Terrell Jordan, as well as some of the younger Wildcat tailbacks.
"You don't replace a Jason Wright, like you don't replace a Damien Anderson," says Walker. "They leave a void, but other players have to step up. With the large number of veterans we have back on offense, I'm confident we can keep our offense moving in the right direction."
On defense, junior end Barry Cofield, perhaps, summed up the state of the Wildcats and where they have come since the challenging 2002 season, when NU started mostly freshmen and sophomores: "We've come 1,000 miles, but we still have a 1,000 miles to go."
Northwestern's emphasis a year ago was stopping the run, and the numbers proved that the Wildcats became a much stingier unit to run on. The Wildcats held eight of their 13 opponents to less than 150 yards rushing. Three of those foes were held to less than 100 yards, including Bowling Green, which came into the 2003 bowl game with the country's 21st-best rushing attack.
"There were times when we played defense as well as it can be played," says Walker. "But our consistency must improve to be a better defense."
In addition to getting better at stopping the run, the Wildcats want to make some significant improvements in defending the passing game. Northwestern allowed 253.3 yards per game.
On special teams, the Wildcats return their punter, place-kicker, long-snapper and holder, as well as several players who have kick/punt return experience. "Again, consistency is where we need to improve the most on special teams," says Walker.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, July 21), NUsports.com will preview the Wildcat offense.
PRESEASON NOTES: A reminder that season ticket and single-game tickets are now on sale for the 2004 season. Also back this year are Northwestern's "three-pack" ticket options. Can't make a couple games for various reasons? Check out the three three-pack options and enjoy the $20 savings! ... The 33rd Annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon will be held August 5 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. If you're a fan of college football, you don't want to miss the nation's best preseason kickoff event. Visit the Big Ten web site (www.bigten.org) for ticket information.