Indiana @ Northwestern preview
Ryan Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Northwestern 59, Indiana 38
Northwestern goes for its third 5-0 start in the last five years when the Wildcats welcome Indiana to Evanston, Ill. on Saturday in what should be a high-scoring affair. It's the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. NU, which sits just outside the Top 25, has beaten the Hoosiers seven of the last eight times, including last year's 59-38 shootout. Prior to last year's game, the previous seven meetings were decided by seven points or less (26 total) with two going into overtime.
TV: 12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Indiana -11
ABOUT INDIANA (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten): The Hoosiers had a bye last week and are coming off a last-second 41-39 loss to Ball State. In that game, sophomore quarterback Cameron Coffman made his first career start and completed 24 of 35 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injury after three quarters. His replacement, true freshman Nate Sudfeld, was 13-of-20 passing for 172 yards and two TDs in the fourth quarter as IU rallied to take a short-lived lead. The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in passing (326.0) and are second in total offense, averaging 538.3 yards. IU has topped the 500-yard mark in total offense in back-to-back games for just the sixth time in school history.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten): NU is third in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 221.3 yards. The ground game is led by RB Venric Mark, who is fifth in the Big Ten in rushing (99.8) and leads the conference in all-purpose yards (178.5). Mark has two 100-yard games this season. QB Kain Colter is 6-1 as a starter dating to last season and has not thrown an interception since the 2011 season opener. NU is just one of nine teams in the nation to not throw an INT this year. Defensively, the Wildcats are holding opponents to 72.8 rushing yards per game, second in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation. Kicker Jeff Budzien is 8-for-8 on field goals and not missed a PAT (65-for-65) in his career.
EXTRA POINTS
1.Northwestern went 3-0 against BCS automatic qualifier schools (Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Boston College), while the rest of the Big Ten went just 1-9 against BCS competition. NU was just one of two FBS schools (Massachusetts) to start the season with three games against schools from BCS leagues.
2. Second-year Indiana coach Kevin Wilson spent three years as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northwestern (1999-2001) under former Wildcats head coach Randy Walker. Wilson's 2001 offense averaged 42.1 points per game, the fourth highest total in Big Ten history, and earned the Wildcats a share of the league title.
3. Indiana, which had the youngest team in the nation in 2011 with 32 freshmen seeing action, has only eight seniors on this year's roster, tied for fewest in the FBS.
PREDICTION: Northwestern 45, Indiana 27