Ball State @ Northwestern preview

Fast starts have become commonplace lately for No. 19 Northwestern under 10th-year coach Pat Fitzgerald, but how the Wildcats are going about it this season is quite unusual. The nation’s top scoring defense looks to put the clamps down on a fourth straight opponent Saturday when the Wildcats host Ball State.

Northwestern, which is 19-2 in the month of September since the start of the 2010 season, surrendered its first and only touchdown of the season last weekend en route to a 19-10 victory over a Duke team that had blitzed opponents 92-7 in its first two games. The Wildcats have yielded a total of 16 points through three games – matching the fewest the school has given up since 1948 when they went on to win their first and only Rose Bowl. “Outside of maybe a couple plays, I think (the Duke game) is the best we’ve tackled,” Fitzgerald said after his defense held a Blue Devil offense that ranked in the top 20 in the country in total and scoring offense to 265.5 yards below its season average entering the contest. Ball State collected its first MAC victory last weekend, rallying from a 17-point first-half deficit to score 28 unanswered points in an 11-point victory over Eastern Michigan.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Northwestern -19.5

ABOUT BALL STATE (2-1): Freshman quarterback Riley Neil (24-of-28 for 195 yards, 86 rushing yards and two total touchdowns last week) once again took over for an ineffective Jack Milas and is likely putting himself in line for his first career start. Sophomore Darian Green erupted for a career-high 164 yards rushing and leads the MAC with 334 while fellow running back James Gilbert is tied for the conference lead with five rushing scores. Jordan Williams (15 catches for 214 yards), KeVonn Mabon (18 for 141) and Corey Lacanaria (12 for 92) all rank within the top 13 in receptions among MAC receivers.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (3-0): The catalyst for the Wildcats’ ferocious defense thus far has been sophomore middle linebacker Anthony Walker, who had a career-high 19 tackles versus Duke en route to winning the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. Sophomore running back Justin Jackson ranks second in the nation in carries (85) after posting 35 attempts for 120 yards in last weekend’s victory, marking his fifth 100-yard effort in the last six games and eighth of his career. "He probably had too many touches on Saturday, but he's a guy that can handle it. … He just gets tougher the more he carries the ball,” Fitzgerald said.

EXTRA POINTS
1. Northwestern’s opponents have been successful on only six of their 43 third-down conversion attempts, good for an FBS-low 13.95 percent conversion rate.
2. Ball State leads the MAC in rushing (249 yards per game) and has piled up at least 199 in six straight contests dating to last season.
3. The Wildcats have allowed the fifth-fewest points through the first three games of a season by an FBS team over the last five seasons.

PREDICTION: Northwestern 34, Ball State 6