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Poll - 2017 Northwestern

2017 - Where will Northwestern finish in the Big 10 West?

  • 1st

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 2nd

    Votes: 2 5.4%

  • 3rd

    Votes: 19 51.4%

  • 4th

    Votes: 7 18.9%

  • 5th

    Votes: 5 13.5%

  • 6th

    Votes: 1 2.7%

  • 7th

    Votes: 3 8.1%
  • Total voters
    37
Paramus

Paramus

Travel Squad
5 Year Member
I thought it would be cool to have a quick look at each of our competitors in the B1G West this year. I want to start with Northwestern.

Last year Northwestern stumbled out of the blocks losing to Western Michigan and Illinois State. But they beat Iowa and played tOSU within 4 points. They finished the season with a bowl win over #23 Pittsburg. They should be carrying a fair amount of confidence and momentum into the 2017 season.

Northwestern returns their starting QB Clayton Thorson and their NFL-caliber RB Justin Jackson. They lost their best WR but return all but one of their starting offensive linemen.

They lost their best LB, but their defense returns 9 starters.

Cross conference opponents - last year they had tOSU, Indiana, and MSU. This year they have PSU, Maryland, and MSU. Pretty much a wash. They must play at Wisconsin and at Nebraska...but they always give us a tough game.

If they stay healthy, I feel like Northwestern could challenge for the B1G West title. I think they will field a very solid team this year. My projected finish for them will be 3rd behind Wisconsin and Nebraska, but ahead of Iowa.
 
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Didn't they just dump a bunch of money into facilities as well? Thought I read that somewhere.
 
joncarl said:
Didn't they just dump a bunch of money into facilities as well? Thought I read that somewhere.
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Not something I am aware of, but NW gets a full share of the Big 10 pie, so I would imagine they have some funds available for it.
 



I see the kitties around 7-8 wins this year with 4th or 5th in the West sounding about right. Jackson is the only thing that worries me about that team. Contain him, and I see the Huskers taking care of business.
 
Lavaman said:
I see the kitties around 7-8 wins this year with 4th or 5th in the West sounding about right. Jackson is the only thing that worries me about that team. Contain him, and I see the Huskers taking care of business.
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I felt that NU played one of its best games against NW last year. It was a tough game, though. I think their QB is top 5 in the B1G.

NW beat Pittsburg. That is an eye opener. Pitt lost only 4 games last season...3 of them by a total of 11 points, and they also beat Penn State and Clemson. I place NW ahead of Iowa because Iowa is breaking in a new QB.
 
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I may still be drinking that pre-season kool-aid but right now I am not too worried about NW. Though they return a good bunch of their starting defense they were not spectacular with the pass defense. In fact, they were nearly at the bottom of the FBS in passing yards allowed. I think that the Huskers will be settled down by the time they host Northwestern and will likely be a game of dink and dunk. Tanner Lee will pick them apart. Obviously, the only facts I have are where Northwestern ranked in pass D but I think it is safe to assume with the number of returning starters that this year will be fairly similar.
 
Paramus said:
I felt that NU played one of its best games against NW last year. It was a tough game, though. I think their QB is top 5 in the B1G.

NW beat Pittsburg. That is an eye opener. Pitt lost only 4 games last season...3 of them by a total of 11 points, and they also beat Penn State and Clemson. I place NW ahead of Iowa because Iowa is breaking in a new QB.
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You're using the transitive property to build up northwesterm and show why they could be tough, yet using that same logic, Nebraska beat northwestern, who beat Pitt, who beat clemson and penn st
 
BigRedFA said:
I may still be drinking that pre-season kool-aid but right now I am not too worried about NW. Though they return a good bunch of their starting defense they were not spectacular with the pass defense. In fact, they were nearly at the bottom of the FBS in passing yards allowed. I think that the Huskers will be settled down by the time they host Northwestern and will likely be a game of dink and dunk. Tanner Lee will pick them apart. Obviously, the only facts I have are where Northwestern ranked in pass D but I think it is safe to assume with the number of returning starters that this year will be fairly similar.
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Good point. This NU offense will present a much different challenge for NW than previous Husker offenses.
 
Lavaman said:
You're using the transitive property to build up northwesterm and show why they could be tough, yet using that same logic, Nebraska beat northwestern, who beat Pitt, who beat clemson and penn st
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True. But you can't completely ignore the fact the NW played neck and neck with tOSU in Columbus, beat Pitt, and beat Iowa. NW might be a sleeper this year. Only time will tell.
 



SPECIAL REQEUST:

If anyone sees value in providing a quick look at all of our B1G West brethren, I would like to make it a team effort.

Would anyone like to volunteer to do a quick rundown on any particular team?

Choices are:

Illinois
Purdue
Iowa
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Nebraska (optional?)

Basics - At a minimum provide following:

1. Returning starters offense and defense

2. QB situation

3. Key player losses

4. Schedule review

5. Returning difference makers

6. Anything special about the coaching situation (new HC or new coordinator)

7. Projected finish in the B1G West (include a poll)

Thanks in Advance
 
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I think a strong argument could be made that NW looks to be the 2nd best team in the West behind Wisconsin. But they have to go to Madison and Lincoln.
 
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