There is no doubt now. That is the feeling of Northwestern coach Randy Walker. He wasn’t sure last year even as his new and potent spread offense carried his Wildcats to a share of the Big Ten title. They, after all, still were viewed as their conference’s whipping boy, so he couldn’t be certain just how seriously opponents took them or their unconventional attack.
“That was a question last year,” he says. “Are they really getting ready for us? All we’re doing is smoke and mirrors.”
But now?
“I’m not saying this in a boastful way,” he says, “but I really believe we’re catching people’s best effort. If rumors are true, there’s a whole bunch of people who spent their whole off-season getting ready for us. So we’re catching everybody’s best collective effort. I also know there are a lot of phone calls that go around. People are calling each other, and we’ve been a topic of conversation.
“So we’ve been seeing some [unusual] things [from opposing defenses], and now it’s a matter of redefining what we do. It wasn’t totally [unexpected]. But it was a little different. So we’ve had to retool, redefine what’s good, what’s bad, what works, what doesn’t. We’re getting there, and I think we’ll see more–and better–execution as we go along.”
That execution has been haphazard through the first six games of this season, and now looming before the Wildcats’ offense is Purdue, one team that did take NU seriously last year. Northwestern was soaring when they met then, riding a three-game winning streak and coming off a 52-point afternoon against Indiana. But the Boilermakers blitzed the Wildcats out of unconventional packages, neutralized running back Damien Anderson and rolled to an impressive 13-point victory.
That was the first time an opponent had confronted the Wildcats with a wide variety of schemes, and 10 of the Boilermakers who started defensively that day will be playing Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue’s own spread offense may generate the publicity, but this season it is inconsistent under freshman quarterback Brandon Hance. It is the defense and the kicking of Travis Dorsch that truly are the strengths of the team.
The Boilermakers, in fact, are ranked a lowly eighth in the Big Ten in scoring offense, but their scoring defense is an impressive third.
The Boilermakers are ranked a lowly 10th in total offense, but their total defense is an impressive third. The Boilermakers are ranked a lowly 10th in rushing offense, but their rushing defense is an impressive second.
They have given up fewer first downs (83) and produced as many turnovers (15) as any team in the conference. They also lead the conference in turnover margin at plus-1.40 per game.
“I’ve told the offensive players, just give us 21 points,” senior defensive end Akin Ayodele says. “We’ll keep the other team to 20 or less.”
“We just need . . . to get used to the idea that we’re going to win games on defense and in the kicking game, and offensively we need to play it pretty close to the vest,” adds coach Joe Tiller. “I don’t think we’re going to be a scoring machine in the year 2001.”
Many teams turn into scoring machines when they face the Northwestern defense, which Saturday faces the challenge of rebounding from a wretched performance against Penn State.
But the greater challenge awaiting the Wildcats is Purdue’s defense, which a year ago was serious and muted an offense that had looked unconquerable.
“They really play great defense. That’s the unsung part of their football team, I think,” says Walker, and then he again is thinking of those opponents who this season have followed the Purdue example.
“I look at the people who beat us, I think they played their best football game against us. And that’s good for them,” he says. “But I’ve challenged our guys too. I’m not going to sit here and whine about that. That’s where you want your program to be. I want to be in that position. I want to get people’s best shot. That means there’s respect for your program, respect for what you do.
“But that has raised the bar on us. And I think we’re making strides [toward clearing it]. I like where we’re at right now. I think we’re going in the right direction and we still haven’t played our best football yet.”
