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| | Thursday, August 31 Wildcats are experienced ... at losing | |||||
| By Jeff Potrykus Special to ESPN.com Northwestern Wildcats 1999 record: 3-8 (1-7 Big Ten) Coach: Randy Walker Returning starters: 16 (7 offense, 9 defense) Outlook Only a victory over a weak Iowa team allowed the Wildcats to avoid going winless in the Big Ten in '99. That could be the scenario in 2000 despite the fact the Wildcats should be improved if for no other reason than the fact they return so much experience. With three starters back on the offensive line and a dependable tailback in Damien Anderson, the Wildcats would be wise to shorten games with a ball-control offense and then hope an experienced defense can hold up. However, the Wildcats worked with three- and four-wide receiver sets in the spring. That, coincidentally, is the type of offense freshman quarterback Tony Stauss ran at Racine (Wis.) Horlick High School. But can junior Zak Kustok, who completed just 45.8% of his passes last season, make that offense go? Keep an eye on ... Northwestern's most productive defensive player is junior linebacker Kevin Bentley. Last season, Bentley led the Big Ten and finished fifth in the nation in tackles with 12.9 per game. It's a good season if ... Anything more than two Big Ten victories (Iowa and Indiana) and two non-conference victories (Duke and Northern Illinois) will be a surprise. "We are a bigger, stronger, faster football team than we were a year ago," Walker said of his team's hopes for 2000. "Now, those things don't necessarily ensure winning football. But we believe we have taken the kind of steps to maybe take some of those games that we played into the third and fourth quarter last year and find a way to win." Jeff Potrykus covers the Big Ten for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
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