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the field or maybe two-thirds at the most, so those things are important for us. Obviously you never want to kick the ball out of bounds, but sometimes against some of the opponents that we're going against, especially on punt returns, [kicking it out of bounds] is not the end of the world. You punt the ball for 37 yards and it goes out of bounds with zero return, I don't know if that's a whole lot worse than a 40-yard punt and the guy returns it a few yards, then you give the opportunity for a huge return. There's a fine line. We've obviously got to get a lot better at it so we can swing the field position, which is an area we haven't been great at all year long. We're making some progress, and we're making some progress slowly but surely. Saturday obviously didn't show up the way we'd like it to. Pat Fitzgerald labeled Penn State's defensive line the other day as a nightmare. I'm just kind of curious what your reaction is to hearing an- other coach say something like that, and as far as defenses go, where does Northwestern's pass defense rank in terms of other ones you've faced this season? As head coaches, when you turn the film on and take a peek at the team you're going to play, probably the two things that jump out to you right away are the fronts, the offensive line and de- fensive line, and how they're playing because it all starts there. Then obvi- ously, are there any space players who scare you, a guy who gets his hands on the ball in space and can make big plays? They're the things that jump out to you right away before you kind of start looking at things in depth. Obviously, the production that our defensive line has had with the sacks and tackles for loss are things [that jump out]. They're plays and they're stats that can significantly impact a game. I understand what he's saying. I think they have a very, very good defen- sive line, as well. I think they play very good on defense. They do a great job of not giving up big plays, and whenever you can limit chunk plays, you're going to have a chance to be successful. One of our [defensive] stats is to have three explosive plays or less a game, and when we've done that, we've been pretty successful on the defensive side of the ball. Our offensive goal is to have eight explosive plays, and when we've done that, we've been successful on offense. They do a good job of forcing you to just take what the defense gives. You're not going to be able to do that consis- tently enough to beat them, and then they do a great job of tackling with fun- damentals so that when you do com- plete one of those throws, they're going to get you on the ground without it hav- ing a significant impact. They do a really good job. It's going to be a real challenge for us. We're going to have to be balanced like we were on Sat- urday and be able to run the ball, be able to mix in the high-percentage throws and then find situations where we're able to take some shots and create some explosive plays. Saquon Barkley had a tremendous game against Ohio State. Then the run game kind of struggled against Maryland but had a decent week last week. What do you have to do to get Saquon back on track, especially fac- ing such a stingy defensive front in Northwestern? To be honest with you, I think he's doing really well. I don't know what the stats say, but I'd have to guess he's one of the more productive backs in the Big Ten, one of the more productive backs in the country, and I think probably one of the most productive freshman backs in the country. I don't see it that way. I think he's doing well. I think there's also the part of what we've already all talked about: This is 13 straight weeks [counting training camp]. You're talking about a high school guy meeting the demands that we have academically, the demands that we have socially, the demands that we have from a football standpoint. That can be a lot for a true freshman. You also had the point where he had an injury and was out a couple weeks and is still working back through all those things. We're just going to keep allowing him to grow and get opportu- nities. I'd say Saturday, that's the area it probably showed up for the first time this year where he made some mistakes in pass protection. I think if you're watching the film and don't know or are watching the game and don't know what we're doing or what the play was called, which is a lot of times – people thought Paris Palmer gave up some sacks, and they weren't Paris's. It was at the running back position. With what we were doing and some of the movement, we were getting the quarterback on the move, and the tackle has to step down and protect the defen- sive tackle first and then hinge back out on the defensive end, and the running back is supposed to be right on his hip, and they kind of end up double-teaming. The running back would kind of chip his outside and tackle is on his inside, and that didn't happen a couple times. We just keep maturing and keep grow- ing and keep allowing them to impact the game. As we all know, he's got spe- cial abilities. [As he showed on] the R. Kelly "I Believe I Can Fly" play down in the red zone, he's got a lot of ability. So to see him continue to grow and con- tinue to get opportunities is going to be important for all of us. Bob Shoop said recently that on the bus ride back from Temple, Jason Cabinda approached him and said, "Put me in there." I was wondering what your reaction was when you heard about that yourself. Because of his personality and his de- meanor and his leadership abilities, it doesn't surprise me at all. I really hadn't heard that until someone mentioned it in the press conference, but it doesn't surprise me at all. I also think that's where the develop- ment in your program is important, so when you do have a significant loss, you have somebody prepared and ready to step in. That's not always the case, but that's where development comes in to play. That's where recruiting comes in, because this is a contact sport and a vi- olent sport, and you're going to lose guys from time to time. That's where that game depth that we talk about is so important, and I think we have that on the defensive line and we have that at linebacker now. N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 15

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