Northwestern has a healthy respect for Outback Bowl opponent Auburn, its wildcat offense and its fancy-footed tailback, Ben Tate.
But soft-spoken Wildcats defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz growled a bit Sunday after being asked about the speed of Southeastern Conference teams such as Auburn.
“It’s not that much faster than Penn State and some others,” he said. “It’s not like the Big Ten has a bunch of slugs.
“Yeah, they have speed, but it’s not like going from a 3 to a 10. It’s not light years difference. The Big Ten gets a bum rap that way.”
Hankwitz likened Tate to Penn State’s Evan Royster and Wisconsin’s John Clay. That would be a dazzling speed/power combination. Tate, at 5-foot-11 and 218 pounds, had six 100-yard rushing games this season but got bottled up by Alabama in the regular-season finale (18 carries, 45 yards).
“He is the real deal,” Hankwitz said.
Northwestern doesn’t have to go far to find the Big Ten team that most resembles Auburn’s fast-tempo, shotgun-spread offense. It resides in Evanston.
One key difference, though: Auburn had a 60-40 (60.4/39.6 percent, to be exact) run-pass split. Northwestern’s was 50.7 percent run, 49.3 percent pass.
“They do a lot to try to confuse you with different looks,” NU safety Brendan Smith said. “It can be the same play, but they try to disguise it and catch you off guard.”
Eager to hit: Smith, who played briefly after breaking his left thumb against Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 10, expects to learn this week when he can start hitting in practice. Smith plans to play with a cast in the Outback Bowl but hopes it can be fitted so that he has a better chance at an interception.
Extra points: Jeravin Matthews has another new home on the field. After switching from receiver to running back, the bright and athletic 5-11, 170-pound sophomore has been shifted to cornerback. Northwestern will lose Smith, cornerback Sherrick McManis and safety Brad Phillips to graduation. … Northwestern is hoping for a quick recovery by defensive line coach Marty Long, who underwent emergency surgery Friday for an undisclosed issue. … School officials will release ticket sales information Monday but say things are “going well” with the Wildcats’ 12,000-ticket allotment. … NU coaches and officials visited Tampa late last week for a site analysis. The original plan called for the Wildcats to practice at Jefferson High School, but the field conditions were suspect. Freshman superback John Plasencia attended Tampa Jesuit High School, which led NU officials to seek a deal with the school that is close to being finalized. … A mix of high school players and coaches, recruits and their parents passed up the Bears game to watch Sunday’s indoor practice. Quarterback Mike Kafka, clear of his left hamstring injury, ran well.
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
