Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 5, 2018 37 NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. NORTHWESTERN PASS DEFENSE Northwestern had some respectable pass de- fense numbers through its first seven contests. The Wildcats ranked 21st in the land in yards allowed per completion (10.7), 30th in passing touchdowns allowed (eight) and 43rd in yards allowed per at- tempt (6.70). There were two categories, however, that could prove incredibly problematic for Northwestern in its matchup against Notre Dame. Opponents completed 62.9 percent of their passes, ranking Northwestern 102nd in the land, and the 11 sacks through seven contests ranked 106th. Notre Dame junior quarterback Ian Book entered the team's Oct. 20 bye week leading the nation in completion percentage (75.2). He also ranked eighth nationally in quarterback efficiency (167.87 rating). Teams that have been able to give Book prob- lems are those that can pressure him with their pass rush, which is why the Wildcats' 106th na- tional ranking in sacks is troubling from their point of view. The primary hope for the Wildcats is for junior defensive end Joe Gaziano to have a big game. Gaziano led Northwestern with 4.5 sacks through seven games, and he had a Big Ten-leading nine sacks in 2017. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Neither team enters this contest overly stout on special teams. Through seven games, North- western ranked ahead of Notre Dame according to the Fremeau Efficiency Index, but Notre Dame ranked higher according to the S&P+ and the ESPN Football Power Index. Northwestern's coverage units have been much better than Notre Dame's, holding opponents to 17.4 yards per kick return and 5.8 yards per punt return, and the Wildcats haven't allowed a single score on special teams while Notre Dame has given up two kick returns for touchdowns. The Irish have been better in the return game, averaging 22.9 yards per kick return and 8.6 yards per punt return. Notre Dame also holds the advantage when it comes to specialists. Senior placekicker Justin Yoon was 9 of 12 on field goals through seven games, while the two Northwestern kickers were 5 of 9. Notre Dame fifth-year senior punter Tyler New- some ranked sixth nationally with a 46.3-yard aver- age through seven contents. Northwestern senior Jake Collins had a clip of 39.2 yards per punt. Advantage: Even COACHING Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald hasn't been able to win a Big Ten championship or lead his team to the Rose Bowl — two things he did as an All-American linebacker in 1995 and 1996 — but he has accomplished quite a bit in his 13 seasons. Fitzgerald has been part of every 10-win season in Northwestern history. He was the Big Ten and National Defensive Player of the Year when the Wildcats won 10 games and went to the Rose Bowl in 1995. In 2012, 2015 and 2017, he led the Wildcats to double-digit victory totals — the same years Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly led the Irish to seasons with at least 10 wins. The problem for Fitzgerald has been sustainabil- ity. His first two 10-win seasons were followed by a 5-7 campaign (the first of two straight 5-7 records) and a 7-6 season in which the Wildcats needed to win the bowl game to get over .500. Prior to the last two seasons the edge here might have gone to Fitzgerald, who beat Notre Dame 43- 40 in 2014, but what Kelly has done the last two years has taken the Irish program to greater heights. Since the beginning of the 2017 season to this year's Oct. 20 bye week, Notre Dame has compiled a 17-3 record, all against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. Only Alabama (20-1), Ohio State (19-3), Oklahoma (18-3) and Wisconsin (18-3) have a better record against FBS opponents during that stretch. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Northwestern will enter the game with confi- dence it can beat Notre Dame based on the 2014 victory, but no one in the lineup right now played in that game. The Wildcats often put up a strong fight at home against ranked opponents, which we saw Sept. 29 when they took Michigan down to the wire before losing 20-17, but overall Northwestern hasn't been very good against ranked opponents. Since 2010, the Wildcats are just 4-12 at home and 9-17 overall against ranked foes, and 1-8 against top-10 competition. Its lone win against a top-10 team was 28-25 at No. 9 Nebraska in 2011, although the Huskers finished that season 9-4 and ranked No. 24 in the polls. Notre Dame came into the season struggling to win true road games against Power Five oppo- nents, but the Irish are 2-0 in opponents' stadiums this season, beating Wake Forest (56-27) and then- No. 24 Virginia Tech (45-23). Notre Dame's most recent road game against a Big Ten team was Sept. 23, 2017, when it beat Michigan State 38-18. Advantage: Notre Dame GAME PREVIEW: NORTHWESTERN Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 8 Kyric McGowan 5-10 198 So. 81 R. Chiaokhiao-Bowman 6-2 202 So. LT 72 Blake Hance 6-5 310 Sr. 73 Gunnar Vogel 6-6 286 So. LG 59 J.B. Butler 6-3 308 Sr. or 52 Sam Gerak 6-3 295 R-Fr. C 65 Jared Thomas 6-4 294 Jr. 66 Nik Urban 6-3 293 So. RG 71 Tommy Doles 6-4 296 Sr. 78 Sam Stovall 6-4 285 Fr. RT 70 Rashawn Slater 6-3 314 So. 76 Ethan Wiederkehr 6-5 283 R-Fr. WR 2 Flynn Nagel 5-11 195 Sr. 12 JJ Jefferson 5-10 167 Fr. WR 88 Bennett Skowronek 6-4 211 Jr. 19 Riley Lees 6-0 206 So. QB 18 Clayton Thorson 6-4 226 Sr. 10 TJ Green 6-2 215 Jr. RB 4 Solomon Vault 5-10 196 Sr. or 21 Drake Anderson 5-11 181 Fr. or 25 Isaiah Bowser 6-1 216 Fr. or 1 Chad Hanaoka 5-6 180 Sr. SB 84 Cameron Green 6-3 237 Jr. or 80 Trey Pugh 6-4 239 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 97 Joe Gaziano 6-4 275 Jr. 98 Earnest Brown IV 6-5 254 So. DT 99 Jordan Thompson 6-3 292 Sr. 95 Alex Miller 6-3 268 Jr. DT 92 Fred Wyatt 6-4 288 Sr. 94 Ben Oxley 6-6 292 Sr. DE 91 Samdup Miller 6-3 258 So. 83 Trent Goens 6-3 254 Jr. Will 51 Blake Gallagher 6-1 227 So. 40 Peter McIntyre 6-2 229 R-Fr. Mike 42 Paddy Fisher 6-4 241 So. 35 Eric Mueller 6-2 226 So. Sam 28 Chris Bergin 5-11 213 So. 31 Jaylen Rivers 6-2 211 Fr. CB 24 Montre Hartage 6-0 195 Sr. 18 Cam Ruiz 5-11 180 R-Fr. CB 3 Trae Williams 6-0 209 Jr. 9 Roderick Campbell 6-0 187 Jr. S 13 JR Pace 6-1 200 So. 47 Joe Bergin 5-11 197 Jr. S 41 Jared McGee 6-1 226 Sr. 22 Bryce Jackson 6-1 190 R-Fr. or 7 Travis Whillock 6-1 199 So. NORTHWESTERN DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 38 Drew Luckenbaugh 6-1 205 So. 49 Jake Collins 6-1 201 Gr. P 49 Jake Collins 6-1 201 Gr. 37 Cody Gronewold 6-1 180 R-Fr. KO 38 Drew Luckenbaugh 6-1 205 So. 49 Jake Collins 6-1 201 Gr. H 49 Jake Collins 6-1 201 5th-Sr. 10 TJ Green 6-2 215 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 43 Tyler Gillikin 6-2 217 So. 48 Peter Snodgrass 6-0 208 R-Fr. KR 8 Kyric McGowan 5-10 198 So. 2 Flynn Nagel 5-11 195 Sr. PR 19 Riley Lees 6-0 206 So. 2 Flynn Nagel 5-11 195 Sr. Special Teams