Blue White Illustrated

western failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in six seasons, then came a unionization bid that made na- tional headlines and shiDed players' focus away from the field. When the 2014 season began – the team's first season in 61 years to feature seven home games – the team scuffled, dropping home games to California and Northern Illinois. All told, the Wildcats have won only two games in the past calendar year: last year's season finale against Illinois and last week's nonconference matchup with Western Illinois. They've gone 2-9 since wrapping up their 2013 nonconference season with a 35-21 victory over Maine and head into Beaver Stadium this weekend as 10½-point underdogs to Penn State. Just how much that history matters, if at all, is debatable. When James Franklin was asked at his weekly presser about the Nittany Lions' upcoming bye week, he declined to answer the question, insist- ing that his focus was on "Northwestern. Northwestern, Northwestern, North- western and Northwestern. I have no idea what exists aDer Saturday's game. It's kind of like when we thought the earth was flat and it just falls off aDer that. I have no idea what happens." One factor that will most definitely matter is Northwestern's offense, which has looked shaky and tentative through three games. The Wildcats lost two key skill position players in the off-season when running back Venric Mark trans- ferred and wideout Christian Jones suf- fered a season-ending knee injury. Those losses made Trevor Siemian's transition into the role of full-time starting quar- terback more difficult. Heading into Sat- urday's game, Northwestern is last in the Big Ten in scoring and 12th in both rush- ing and pass efficiency. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald has called the team's passing game "a major work in progress." Making matters worse, Siemian hasn't been fully healthy of late. His right ankle was injured in a 23-15 loss to Northern Illinois three weeks ago, and although he played last week against Western Illinois, completing 15 of 25 passes for 117 yards, he was not at full strength. "He didn't drive off his back foot," Fitzgerald said. "He was lazy with his feet and he didn't drive the ball. "I'm proud of him for being out there. The reason why he played is he needed to be out there. We don't have rhythm and timing right now as a skill group. Con- ventional wisdom is [that you] sit him down, you're playing an FCS team. That's why convention is convention and reality is reality. If we're clicking and scoring 500 points a game, maybe that's what we do. But we're not in rhythm and we're not doing what we need to do. … We're obviously not where we need to be right now and those guys are going to continue to work at it." Siemian has expressed confidence, in- sisting that the Wildcats are on the verge of breaking through. Said the senior from Windermere, Fla., "We're knocking on the door." But the team's difficulties are taking a toll. Fitzgerald sounded combative at his news conference on Monday, chastising reporters for putting too much blame on Siemian. "I don't read your stuff, but I'm sure you have," he said. "That's part of the deal with being the quarterback. It comes with the territory. And I'm not making any excuses for him. He's got to be a lot better. "But we've got to have better trust in those units with our quarterbacks and our skill guys, and we've got to pitch and catch. When we don't, it's pretty ugly. So what do you do? You work on it. You work on the timing. You work on the rhythm. There were some great catches [in the Western Illinois game]. I thought Kyle Prater had a great catch across the middle. But we're leaving way too many plays out there. We've got guys open and we're not throwing them the ball. We've got guys open and we overthrow the ball. We've got guys open and we drop the ball. We don't run the right progression read when things change. "We're not in rhythm. We're obviously not clicking. The only way that's going to happen is if we keep working at it and we get a consistency of personnel out there to where they can build some trust and rapport with each other." Penn State, which leads the nation in scoring defense, doesn't look to be the cure for what ails Northwestern. But if the Wildcats can find a way to pull off an upset on Saturday, it could be the cata- lyst that snaps them out of their funk and puts them on a different kind of roll. NATE BAUER RECORD 4-0 A Northwestern program in a tailspin might seem like an easy out, but the Wildcats always play Penn State tough. This weekend should be no different. Still, their weaknesses play to the Lions' strengths. Expect another low- scoring contest with Penn State pulling away in the fourth quarter. PENN STATE 23, NORTHWESTERN 13 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 4-0 When you look at the matchups in this game, not one favors the Wildcats. They will have difficulty rushing the ball and will be one-dimensional on offense. On defense, they will have trouble holding Christian Hackenberg below 300 yards passing. Penn State should dominate on both sides of the football. PENN STATE 31, NORTHWESTERN 10 MATT HERB RECORD 3-1 Penn State leads the nation in scoring defense, having held its first four op- ponents to an average of 11 points per game. It's hard to win if you can't score. PENN STATE 24, NORTHWESTERN 13 TIM OWEN RECORD 4-0 It hasn't been the best of times at Northwestern through the first three games. And they're not going to get any better this weekend. Penn State rolls. PENN STATE 31, NORTHWESTERN 10 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 4-0 Northwestern will come to play on Saturday, so don't be surprised if this game is closer than most think. Penn State's passing game will ultimately be the difference, but I think the Wildcats will make this one interesting. PENN STATE 28, NORTHWESTERN 17 S E P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 BWI'S FORECAST

• Cover