Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1044500
32 NOV. 5, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY COREY BODDEN D espite the proximity of the two programs — less than 100 miles separate the two campuses — Notre Dame and Northwestern have played just five times since 1992 prior to this season. This year 's Nov. 3 matchup marks the first time the two have met in Evanston, Ill., since a 48-0 Notre Dame win in 1976. The Wildcats have won the last two meetings, taking down the Irish in South Bend both times — 17-15 in 1995 and 43-40 in overtime in 2014. After a 10-3 campaign a year ago, expectations were a little higher than normal for the Wildcats, even with senior quarterback Clayton Thorson — a potential 2019 NFL Draft pick — coming off an ACL injury he suffered last December. It took a few weeks this season for Thorson to completely work his way back into the full-time starting gig, and then terrible news hit when talented sophomore running back Jeremy Larkin — who rushed for 346 yards and five touchdowns in three games and is still the team's leading rusher — was forced to retire from football due to cervical stenosis. Northwestern picked up a road win over Purdue (31-27) to begin the year before losing three straight to Duke (21-7), Akron (39-34) and Mich- igan (20-17) — all in Evanston. The Wildcats bounced back with a top-25 win on the road over Michigan State (29-19) and close victories over two Big Ten bottom dwellers — Nebraska (34-31 in OT) and Rutgers (18-15). Thorson, who threw for 1,905 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in the first seven games, will be a vital cog if the Wild- cats are to pull off an upset over the Irish. His average of 272.1 passing yards per game ranked 18th nation- ally through eight weeks. "Thorson had been getting bet- ter and better each week," Wildca- tReport.com publisher Louie Vac- cher said. "He had big days against Michigan State and Nebraska back to back, throwing for a combined 828 yards and six touchdowns, lead- ing the team to a pair of wins when the running game was almost non- existent. GAME PREVIEW: NORTHWESTERN Scratch And Claw The up-and-down, yet resilient, Wildcats aim to give the Fighting Irish a tough battle Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson leads a Northwestern passing attack that ranked No. 19 nationally (296.3 yards per game) entering the final weekend of October. PHOTO BY STEPHEN J. CARRERA/NORTHWESTERN ATHLETICS