Six weeks ago, Northwestern was recovering from a disastrous trip to Arizona State. The Wildcats didn’t just lose. They did it in historic proportions, allowing a school-record 773 yards in a 52-21 loss.
Now it seems like a long time ago.
Fresh off their third straight upset in the Big Ten, Saturday’s 49-14 victory at Michigan State, the Wildcats are back on the national stage and in the Top 25. They’re 21st in AP media poll and 23rd in the USA Today coaches poll.
“I’m not sure many people felt we’d be in this position after our Arizona State loss, but our kids are working hard and getting better each week, which is what we preach,” coach Randy Walker said.
It’s Northwestern’s first appearance in the Top 25 since Oct. 14, 2001. At 5-2 overall, the Wildcats are 3-1 and tied with Ohio State for third in the Big Ten. They’ll put their new status on the line at 6 p.m. Saturday at Ryan Field against No. 25 Michigan (5-3, 3-2) before a national audience on ESPN or ESPN2.
The Wildcats and Buckeyes are a half-game behind co-leaders Penn State and Wisconsin, who are both 7-1, 4-1. NU lost to Penn State but beat Wisconsin, which started its current three-game winning streak.
After facing Michigan, the Wildcats close out their home schedule Nov. 5 against Iowa. They finish the regular season on the road, with a possible showdown Nov. 12 at Ohio State and the annual finale Nov. 19 against Illinois.
Northwestern needs only one more victory to be eligible for a bowl in a season in which it was widely predicted to finish ninth in the conference.
“We said before the season the first goal was to go to a bowl,” senior linebacker Tim McGarigle said. “If we keep playing like this, we can win a bunch more games.”
With Brett Basanez’s passing and Tyrell Sutton’s running, the Northwestern offense has been a threat all season. Until the last two weeks, the defense had been the Achilles’ heel.
But the defense has begun to take on an identity. At both Purdue and Michigan State, the Wildcats took the ball away four times and gave it up only once. For the season, NU has 20 takeaways and has turned the ball over only 11 times. Basanez has thrown just one interception.
Safety Reggie McPherson has three interceptions in the last two weeks, the game-clincher at Purdue and two Saturday. The defense even got into the scoring action Saturday. Demetrius Eaton returned a fumble forced by Kevin Mims 86 yards for a touchdown.
The offense has noticed it’s getting help.
“It is so exciting,” wide receiver Mark Philmore said. “It almost fuels us even more to see those guys making great plays. That is what can set the tone for how the rest of our season winds up.”
At Purdue the defense gave up only two long touchdown drives in a 34-29 victory. Moreover the Boilermakers’ longest gain was only 25 yards.
At Michigan State, Drew Stanton hit Kyle Brown for a 53-yard completion. But the Spartans didn’t hit another play for more than 27 yards.
“Credit goes to our coaching staff and getting our defense to play assertively and decisively,” Walker said. “We’re trying to get better pressure on the quarterback. We’ve improved there. Our kids are playing heads-up football. We were on top of balls that got away from [Stanton].”
———-
tabannon@tribune.com
