Good morning. Welcome to another edition of the Inside NUsletter, as we get you set for the Wildcats and the Boilermakers at 4 p.m. CT tomorrow. Note the time change from the previously scheduled 6:30 p.m. kickoff after the OSU-Maryland cancellation. Inside this issue you’ll find our coverage from last week’s win over Nebraska as well as plenty of preview content for Purdue and other Northwestern/Big Ten related news.
Amid a pandemic and now three game cancellations, the Big Ten is shaping up to be interesting, to say the least. In the east, Penn State and Michigan have both fallen off the map, while Indiana might just be a challenger to Ohio State. Wisconsin returns to action after effectively avoiding two straight games where it would have used its fourth-string quarterback, while Maryland and Ohio State got the ax after some positive tests for the Terps.
Also, college basketball is nearly upon us, seemingly out of nowhere. Chris Collins’ crew has two nonconference games currently on the schedule: a date with South Carolina on November 28 and a clash with Pittsburgh on December 12. Joe McKeown’s defending Big Ten champs have confirmed noncon matchups with Florida State, Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois. Aside from that, we wait. We anticipate a conference schedule release in the coming days. Get ready for both our men’s and women’s preview content starting next week.
A lot is happening right now in both the college sports world and the actual world. We have you covered every week, and we’d very much appreciate if you hit the subscribe button.
In case you missed it
The ‘Cats once again relied on a sturdy defensive performance and some Peyton Ramsey game management to defeat rival (?) Nebraska 21-13.
More terrific scoring prevention from the defense, which has not allowed a second-half point this season, negated an offense that at times struggled to move the ball down the field. Quarterback Peyton Ramsey threw two first-half interceptions which gave Uncle Mo to Nebraska as the ‘Cats trailed 13-7 heading into the break. But long drives capped by touchdown catches from John Raine and Riley Lees complemented timely picks from Brandon Joseph and Chris Bergin in the second half. Nebraska’s switching from Adrian Martinez to Luke McCaffrey at QB did not deliver Scott Frost his second straight win over Northwestern as the ‘Cats’ defense held strong in the closing moments of the ballgame to seal the victory.
Here’s a quick list of our coverage and analysis from Saturday’s victory.
Rapid Reaction: Northwestern edges out Nebraska 21-13 to remain undefeated
Stock report from the Wildcats’ comeback win over the Cornhuskers
Five takeaways from Northwestern’s 21-13 victory over Nebraska
Northwestern ranked 23rd in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll
Northwestern’s secret weapon Joe Spivak is getting it done on both sides of the ball
Preparing for Purdue
Thanks to Wiscovid, the Boilermakers had last weekend off after wins over Iowa and Illinois. Both victories saw good performances from quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who made his college debut in Purdue’s 24-22 triumph in Evanston last season. Jeff Brohm’s squad has arguably two of the top receivers in college football in Rondale Moore and David Bell, the former of whom will be a game-time decision due to a hamstring injury that has kept him out thus far this season. The defense has not been as reliable, but a week’s rest and more film study of Mike Bajakian’s schemes could make a difference.
Folks, this is a huge game. It’s hard to say it any other way. A win for the ‘Cats puts them on the inside track to Indianapolis ahead of next week’s showdown with the Badgers. Here’s some of our content previewing this crucial matchup:
In Big Ten country
In case you’ve missed what has been transpiring around the conference, here are a few resources to brush up on why exactly Penn State has not won a game while Maryland has looked nothing like the team Northwestern handled 43-3. And just when it looked like the SEC had stolen all the COVID headlines this week, the B1G wanted back in. So Ohio State-Maryland was canceled.
Big Ten Football Power Rankings, Week 3: Maryland has entered the chat
Around the Big Ten, Week 3: Penn State continues to fall, Indiana stays hot
The Big Ten and Pac-12 wrestle with subjective approaches to contact tracing
College Football Playoff contingencies are in play if schedule gets complicated
Nick and ‘Moneyball’: How two 30-something coordinators have Indiana surging
Penn State star RB Journey Brown forced to retire from football due to heart condition
Editors’ picks ft. Rodger Sherman
We’re thrilled to have Sippin’ On Purple (the site that became Inside NU) founder and The Ringer writer (and now viral Tweeter) Rodger Sherman picking games for the Inside NUsletter all season long, and you won’t find his picks anywhere else on our platforms. He’s a great Twitter follow, as well as a very smart writer.
Rodger (@rodger): Purdue 24, Northwestern 23
I've never been more confident in a Northwestern football team, so of course, it's time to take an L. I'm cheating—this is essentially the SP+ prediction for this game.
Eli Karp (@karp_eli): Northwestern 24, Purdue 19
Yes, the Purdue air attack is scary. But the Wildcats should win. The score may not reflect it (because why should it?), but NU will run all over the Boilermaker defense. The key is going to be holding the Purdue offense to three instead of the seven, and that’s something Northwestern is quite good at. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell has shown himself to be a solid pocket passer, but like Spencer Petras, he isn’t very mobile. That bodes well for the Wildcat defense. It’ll be another one-possession game, but Fitz and co. move to 4-0.
Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak): Northwestern 28, Purdue 27
This one will be by far Northwestern’s most thrilling matchup of the year. Like in its battle with Iowa, the ‘Cats will fall behind early as Purdue will capitalize on the strength of its passing game, and Aidan O’Connell will find David Bell in the back of the end zone for multiple scores. However, as it has every game thus far, Northwestern’s defense will hold strong in the second half as Peyton Ramsey edges out a narrow victory for NU to keep the top spot in the West. It won’t be a pretty win for the Wildcats, but Fitz’s squad will get the job done on the road in West Lafayette to demand respect as one of the Big Ten’s top competitors.
Colin Kruse (doesn’t have twitter rip): Northwestern 31, Purdue 24
To echo Eli, I expect the ‘Cats to establish the run game pretty effectively early on and, as I predicted last week, take an early lead. My one worry is that Aidan O’Connell has a bevy of talent at the wideout position with the likes of David Bell, Milton Wright and Rondale Moore at his disposal, and a lack of pass rushing from NU’s defensive front could spell trouble for Mike Hankwitz’s unit. However, as they did against Iowa and Nebarkas, good timing, key plays and some classic heart and hustle from the secondary and linebacking corps will stall a Boilermaker squad in desperate need of possession and defensive stops. ‘Cats by a touchdown.
Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger): Northwestern 21, Purdue 20
I have a lot of respect for the Boilermakers, especially after I did a deep dive on the dynamic receiving duo of David Bell and Milton Wright this week for Inside NU. Throw human torch / weighted squat champion Rondale Moore into the mix and you have a dangerous offense. And yet, Purdue only beat the middling Illinois Fightin’ Lovie’s by seven points (albeit, they entered the fourth quarter up 31-10). Northwestern is not a great team, but they’re a resilient bunch with a defense that has been lights out in the second half. Literally. Twenty-one has been the lucky number for the ‘Cats the past two weeks, so I’ll say this week’s battle plays to a similar script, with NU coming out victorious once again.
Mac Stone (@MacStone00): Northwestern 28, Purdue 20
I hope what I’m about to say won’t be a jinx, but I don’t believe Purdue is that great of a football team. Sure, they’re 2-0 with wins over Iowa and Illinois, but their record doesn’t tell the whole story. Their Iowa win was impressive, but the Boilermakers let Illinois hang tough when the Illini were playing with their fourth string quarterback. Both Rondale Moore and David Bell are elite wide receivers, but, outside of them, I don’t think Purdue has enough offensive firepower to keep up with Northwestern’s impressive defense. ‘Cats by eight.
Good Tweets
This is real! This is not fake!
Everyone make sure your Uncle Tommy quarantines before Thanksgiving, if he’s invited.
This gives us some ideas if Northwestern continues to play well.
This might encapsulate why Nebraska fans become more mad and more delusional every year. And they can’t even beat Northwestern!
That’s all from us. Make sure you’re subscribed to the Inside NUsletter as we’ll have anything and everything Northwestern/Big Ten football (and basketball) covered in the coming months. Give us your questions, comments, suggestion, compliments, good Tweets and everything else by emailing us at insidenu@gmail.com. Have tips, article ideas and more? Hit us up.
See you next week.
Written by Colin Kruse and Eli Karp.