By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
A LONG TIME COMING: Three seconds remained in the third quarter of Northwestern's meeting with Michigan State when Aidan Smith trotted out to be their quarterback. He had last been tackled at the end of the 2016 season when middle linebacker Paddy Fisher leveled him in a developmental squad practice. He had last appeared in a game a season earlier when his school, Carroll high, faced off with Homestead high, which featured his friend and current teammate Bennett Skowronek.
Any chance the wide receiver was the last person to tackle him in that game?
"He didn't tackle me," Smith said. "He actually intercepted me, which makes it even worse."
THE MOMENT: That afternoon at Ryan Field Smith replaced Hunter Johnson with the 'Cats trailing the Spartans by 21.
"Let's go play some ball," he thought when Pat Fitzgerald called his number.
"That's all. Keep it simple," he will insist when asked his reaction to being called. "Not thinking about protections or anything like that until I get out there and see what the defense is doing and the plays we're running. Just get in the mindset, 'We're just going to play.'"
BUT IT AIN'T THAT EASY: Still, there was a not-insignificant issue.
"It wasn't seeing the defenses or knowing the plays. It was just taking in the moment," Smith admits. "For a little bit there at the beginning I let the moment get a little bit bigger than me. I can't let that happen. I have to rise up to the occasion and put all the Oohs and Aahs and 'Oh-I'm-on-the-field' and all that type of stuff behind me. It started to happen toward the end of Michigan State and at Wisconsin, when they called my number, all that was behind me. I just went out there and played."
ROUGH REINTRODUCTION: On his first play against the Spartans he handed off to Isaiah Bowser for three and, on his second, he hit superback Charlie Mangieri for eight. But on his third he was sacked for a loss of nine and, on his fourth, he threw an interception. Last week, after replacing an injured Hunter in the fourth quarter in Wisconsin, he threw a pick six, but then he steadied himself and led them on a pair of touchdown drives.
"I got my feet wet," he says when asked how his experience against Michigan State benefitted him in Madison. "I got all the Oohs and Aahs out of me and just went out there and played fast. Chuck the ball a little bit. Throw it. Score."
FINDING THE EQUILIBRIUM: During his team's offensive struggles this season Fitzgerald has opined that some guys are (figuratively) squeezing the bat so hard they are harming themselves.
"During Michigan State, definitely, and I think there were still some times in the Wisconsin game when that did happen," Smith admits when asked about that. "But there were other times, like when I missed a protection, I got smoked in the backfield, that was me not doing enough. So there's definitely a balance between doing too much, trying to do X, Y and Z, and doing nothing. There are some times when doing nothing's OK. And there are other times when one, single call gets everything fixed and you go complete your pass."
SO NOW, IF YOU WILL, HE'S THE 'CAT RELIEVER: "Just playing ball. Doesn't change preparation," he says when that description is offered, and before any question is asked. "I'm still preparing like I'm going to start the game. Then when my number's called, just playing ball. That's all it is."
Any part of him wish for Johnson to fail so he can play more?
"Absolutely not. As always, I wish the best for Hunter. Post game, when they ask me how he's doing, all that stuff, Hunter's a very mentally-strong guy and he's dealing with a lot of things, coming in here, learning the offense and putting that into practice. And he's also physically strong. We both got the hell beat out of us on Saturday and we're both upright and walking and running around during practice."
BIG PICTURE: Smith is finally asked about the 'Cats' offensive struggles, which have left them averaging just 15.5 ppg.
"I think we're just thinking too much," he says. "On Saturday, when we got it going fast and simplifying things, we put some points up on the board. From here on out we need to expect to go fast, do whatever Coach (Mick) McCall (the offensive coordinator) says. I think we're on the same page with him after today's practice, so we've just got to be ready to go."
After the Wisconsin game wide out Riley Lees said of his unit, "We just have to get a little mojo going, a little confidence."
"I don't think confidence of the individual is a problem," Smith says when asked about that. "Hunter is definitely confident in himself. I am too. The offensive line is confident in themselves. The receivers are confident in themselves. But it's being confident as a cohesive group. There can't be any doubt that the o line's going to protect me. There can't be any doubt that if I put the ball or Hunter puts the ball on a wide receiver's hands they're going to catch it. It's not one position group or one person. It's the whole offense as a unit coming together and believing in each other. I think we saw glimpses of that Saturday.
"Our energy was good after half. We started moving the ball in the third quarter, started getting it going. Then in the fourth quarter, it didn't come full circle. But we definitely got things going a lot better than they were. So it doesn't matter who's in. We should expect to go fast and play some ball."
QUICKLY NOTED: On Saturday the 'Cats visit Nebraska, which not only got strafed for 48 points by Ohio State last time out. It also gave up 38 to Illinois in the Huskers' five-point win in Champaign back on Sept. 21. . . . That same game the Husker offense rushed for 346 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 328 and three more, "We have to prepare for a lot of things," Fitzgerald says, thinking of that offense. "They make you defend tempo. They make you defend horizontally. They make you defend vertically. They make you defend the point of attack. The quarterback is part of the run game. There's a lot of challenges when you play this offense.". . . That quarterback is the sophomore Adrian Martinez, who has completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 315 yards and three more touchdowns. "Definitely it's a completely different style of offense," safety JR Pace says, comparing what's ahead to what the 'Cats just faced against the Badgers. "You have to be on high alert for a pass every play as opposed to Wisconsin. You knew their tendency was to run. It's the opposite this week.". . . . Not surprisingly, this will demand change by the 'Cat defense. "A little bit," explains d end Joe Gaziano. "Each week each team has a different philosophy and you have to game-plan for that philosophy. Obviously Wisconsin likes to run the ball downhill, they like to run the ball up the middle, and Nebraska has their own different ways of running the ball and that includes the quarterback. That poses a challenge for us in both the run game and the pass game. At any point he can just tuck the ball and take off. As a d lineman it effects the way you attack a pass rush and any block from an offensive tackle. We've got to be smart with our keys and really reading the way the offense is trying to block and reading the way the quarterback is taking his drops as well.". . . But don't say this will be a game of finesse compared to last week's punch out in Madison. "Any Big Ten game's a punching match," insists Pace. "We know going in it's going to be a physical game and we're going to try to impose that physicality."
AND FINALLY: Saturday will mark the 372nd consecutive sellout at the Huskers' Memorial Stadium. Back when it started, on Nov. 3, 1962, John F. Kennedy was president; Johnny Carson was in his second month as host of the Tonight Show; Sonny Liston was the world's heavyweight boxing champion; a loaf of bread cost 22 cents, a gallon of gas cost 31 cents and a movie ticket cost 70 cents; and "He's A Rebel" by The Crystals climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. "Memorial Stadium," says Fitzgerald, "is one of those cathedrals of college football and their fans are as respectful and as unbelievable to the visiting team as anywhere that you'll play in the country. So it'll be a great atmosphere."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
A LONG TIME COMING: Three seconds remained in the third quarter of Northwestern's meeting with Michigan State when Aidan Smith trotted out to be their quarterback. He had last been tackled at the end of the 2016 season when middle linebacker Paddy Fisher leveled him in a developmental squad practice. He had last appeared in a game a season earlier when his school, Carroll high, faced off with Homestead high, which featured his friend and current teammate Bennett Skowronek.
Any chance the wide receiver was the last person to tackle him in that game?
"He didn't tackle me," Smith said. "He actually intercepted me, which makes it even worse."
THE MOMENT: That afternoon at Ryan Field Smith replaced Hunter Johnson with the 'Cats trailing the Spartans by 21.
"Let's go play some ball," he thought when Pat Fitzgerald called his number.
"That's all. Keep it simple," he will insist when asked his reaction to being called. "Not thinking about protections or anything like that until I get out there and see what the defense is doing and the plays we're running. Just get in the mindset, 'We're just going to play.'"
BUT IT AIN'T THAT EASY: Still, there was a not-insignificant issue.
"It wasn't seeing the defenses or knowing the plays. It was just taking in the moment," Smith admits. "For a little bit there at the beginning I let the moment get a little bit bigger than me. I can't let that happen. I have to rise up to the occasion and put all the Oohs and Aahs and 'Oh-I'm-on-the-field' and all that type of stuff behind me. It started to happen toward the end of Michigan State and at Wisconsin, when they called my number, all that was behind me. I just went out there and played."
ROUGH REINTRODUCTION: On his first play against the Spartans he handed off to Isaiah Bowser for three and, on his second, he hit superback Charlie Mangieri for eight. But on his third he was sacked for a loss of nine and, on his fourth, he threw an interception. Last week, after replacing an injured Hunter in the fourth quarter in Wisconsin, he threw a pick six, but then he steadied himself and led them on a pair of touchdown drives.
"I got my feet wet," he says when asked how his experience against Michigan State benefitted him in Madison. "I got all the Oohs and Aahs out of me and just went out there and played fast. Chuck the ball a little bit. Throw it. Score."
FINDING THE EQUILIBRIUM: During his team's offensive struggles this season Fitzgerald has opined that some guys are (figuratively) squeezing the bat so hard they are harming themselves.
"During Michigan State, definitely, and I think there were still some times in the Wisconsin game when that did happen," Smith admits when asked about that. "But there were other times, like when I missed a protection, I got smoked in the backfield, that was me not doing enough. So there's definitely a balance between doing too much, trying to do X, Y and Z, and doing nothing. There are some times when doing nothing's OK. And there are other times when one, single call gets everything fixed and you go complete your pass."
SO NOW, IF YOU WILL, HE'S THE 'CAT RELIEVER: "Just playing ball. Doesn't change preparation," he says when that description is offered, and before any question is asked. "I'm still preparing like I'm going to start the game. Then when my number's called, just playing ball. That's all it is."
Any part of him wish for Johnson to fail so he can play more?
"Absolutely not. As always, I wish the best for Hunter. Post game, when they ask me how he's doing, all that stuff, Hunter's a very mentally-strong guy and he's dealing with a lot of things, coming in here, learning the offense and putting that into practice. And he's also physically strong. We both got the hell beat out of us on Saturday and we're both upright and walking and running around during practice."
BIG PICTURE: Smith is finally asked about the 'Cats' offensive struggles, which have left them averaging just 15.5 ppg.
"I think we're just thinking too much," he says. "On Saturday, when we got it going fast and simplifying things, we put some points up on the board. From here on out we need to expect to go fast, do whatever Coach (Mick) McCall (the offensive coordinator) says. I think we're on the same page with him after today's practice, so we've just got to be ready to go."
After the Wisconsin game wide out Riley Lees said of his unit, "We just have to get a little mojo going, a little confidence."
"I don't think confidence of the individual is a problem," Smith says when asked about that. "Hunter is definitely confident in himself. I am too. The offensive line is confident in themselves. The receivers are confident in themselves. But it's being confident as a cohesive group. There can't be any doubt that the o line's going to protect me. There can't be any doubt that if I put the ball or Hunter puts the ball on a wide receiver's hands they're going to catch it. It's not one position group or one person. It's the whole offense as a unit coming together and believing in each other. I think we saw glimpses of that Saturday.
"Our energy was good after half. We started moving the ball in the third quarter, started getting it going. Then in the fourth quarter, it didn't come full circle. But we definitely got things going a lot better than they were. So it doesn't matter who's in. We should expect to go fast and play some ball."
QUICKLY NOTED: On Saturday the 'Cats visit Nebraska, which not only got strafed for 48 points by Ohio State last time out. It also gave up 38 to Illinois in the Huskers' five-point win in Champaign back on Sept. 21. . . . That same game the Husker offense rushed for 346 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 328 and three more, "We have to prepare for a lot of things," Fitzgerald says, thinking of that offense. "They make you defend tempo. They make you defend horizontally. They make you defend vertically. They make you defend the point of attack. The quarterback is part of the run game. There's a lot of challenges when you play this offense.". . . That quarterback is the sophomore Adrian Martinez, who has completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 315 yards and three more touchdowns. "Definitely it's a completely different style of offense," safety JR Pace says, comparing what's ahead to what the 'Cats just faced against the Badgers. "You have to be on high alert for a pass every play as opposed to Wisconsin. You knew their tendency was to run. It's the opposite this week.". . . . Not surprisingly, this will demand change by the 'Cat defense. "A little bit," explains d end Joe Gaziano. "Each week each team has a different philosophy and you have to game-plan for that philosophy. Obviously Wisconsin likes to run the ball downhill, they like to run the ball up the middle, and Nebraska has their own different ways of running the ball and that includes the quarterback. That poses a challenge for us in both the run game and the pass game. At any point he can just tuck the ball and take off. As a d lineman it effects the way you attack a pass rush and any block from an offensive tackle. We've got to be smart with our keys and really reading the way the offense is trying to block and reading the way the quarterback is taking his drops as well.". . . But don't say this will be a game of finesse compared to last week's punch out in Madison. "Any Big Ten game's a punching match," insists Pace. "We know going in it's going to be a physical game and we're going to try to impose that physicality."
AND FINALLY: Saturday will mark the 372nd consecutive sellout at the Huskers' Memorial Stadium. Back when it started, on Nov. 3, 1962, John F. Kennedy was president; Johnny Carson was in his second month as host of the Tonight Show; Sonny Liston was the world's heavyweight boxing champion; a loaf of bread cost 22 cents, a gallon of gas cost 31 cents and a movie ticket cost 70 cents; and "He's A Rebel" by The Crystals climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. "Memorial Stadium," says Fitzgerald, "is one of those cathedrals of college football and their fans are as respectful and as unbelievable to the visiting team as anywhere that you'll play in the country. So it'll be a great atmosphere."