** 2022 Opponent Previews : Northwestern (Game 1) **

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Saunders

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Athlon: Northwestern 2022 Schedule Analysis

After posting one of the best seasons in program history in 2020, the Northwestern Wildcats had high expectations heading into last season. But the talent losses from the previous year, combined with injuries, a lack of depth at some positions, and inconsistency across the board, gave NU its first losing campaign since 2019. However, after picking up some new recruits and adjusting some key positions this offseason, Pat Fitzgerald hopes to lead his team back to a bowl game.

There are also some familiar faces returning such as quarterback Ryan Hilinski, running back Evan Hull, wide receiver Malik Washington, linebacker Bryce Gallagher, and defensive back A.J. Hampton Jr. The Wildcats will have a strong balance of both youth and experience on this year's roster.

In order to go bowling again, however, the "Cardiac Cats" will have to go through another grueling Big Ten schedule and a non-conference slate full of trap games. Here is the road that the Wildcats will need to take in order to be bowl eligible once again.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/northwestern-football-wildcats-2022-schedule-analysis
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HuskerOnline: Northwestern 2022 Preview

“So Northwestern is coming off a 3-9 season, and they did this a couple years ago. In 2018 they won the Big Ten West. In 2019 they went 3-9. Then in 2020, they won the West, and in ’21, they went 3-9. So they’re on a bit of a rollercoaster.

"Looking back on that 2019 team, almost all of the problems could be traced to the quarterback. They had absolutely awful play at that position, and it really hurt them. Where last year, there were problems on both sides of the ball. They scored 16.6 points per game and their defense got shredded an awful lot.

"So they’ve got a lot of problems to address. I think if they can get to 6-6 and make a bowl game, this season would be considered a success and get things back on track for Fitz.

"I don’t think they’re going to be a whole lot better than that, and there’s potential they could be a couple games worse than that. Northwestern typically wins a game they shouldn’t and loses a game they shouldn’t every season, so I think they should be somewhere around .500 for the year.”

https://nebraska.n.rivals.com/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-northwestern
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CollegeFootballNews: Northwestern 2022 Preview & Prediction

Almost everything has to be perfect for Northwestern to be great. It has to win the turnover battle, control the clock, keep games close and relatively low scoring and … The rest of the Big Ten has to be bad. Getting annihilated by Nebraska and Illinois last year wasn’t okay, but unlike 2020 when so many teams were down, Northwestern’s style didn’t take over partly because Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Iowa were better than the previous versions. Even so, last year’s team should’ve been it. It was full of upperclassmen, extra year seniors, and had more than enough depth to come up with a few options, and it all fell flat. That doesn’t mean Northwestern under Pat Fitzgerald can’t go Northwestern under Pat Fitzgerald and pull out something special out of nowhere. Duke, Southern Illinois, Miami University. Over the years – even in big seasons – Northwestern will occasionally gack away an easy home game, but those should be three wins in the bank.

If this is going to be any sort of a bounce-back season, beating Illinois at home is a must, and there has to be a crazy victory somewhere in there – like Wisconsin doing what it normally does in Evanston and turn the ball over 14 times. No, it won’t be a third trip to the Big Ten Championship in five years, and it’s going to take a slew of crazy things just to go bowling, but crazy things when no one is expecting them – for good and for bad – is what this program does.

SET THE NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS REGULAR SEASON WIN TOTAL AT … 5

https://collegefootballnews.com/2022/06/northwestern-wildcats-preview-2022-season-prediction-breakdown-key-games-players/3

Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Northwestern Top 10 Players | Northwestern Schedule & Analysis
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The Athletic: Up-and-down Northwestern improving, but Dublin opener could be indicator of season ahead

Pat Fitzgerald was a rugby guy all along. He just didn’t know it. Fitzgerald and his wife, Stacy, were in Dublin for three days in February and got to see Ireland take on Wales at Aviva Stadium in the opening match of the men’s Six Nations Championship, the annual European rugby competition. The stadium environment was electric. The downtown energy was incredible. The home team dominated. It was a picture-perfect image of how Fitzgerald — an old Big Ten linebacker if there ever were one, neckroll and all — hopes to open his 17th season as Northwestern’s head coach. The Wildcats play Nebraska inside that same Irish venue Aug. 27, as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. If the past four seasons of Northwestern football serve as any indication, the opener — and the performance against the Cornhuskers — will determine exactly what kind of season the Cats will have.

https://theathletic.com/3382620/2022/06/28/northwestern-wildcats-state-of-the-program/
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More to come...

 
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Would love to start the season with another game like last year. Kinda sucks it’s in Ireland but at least it’s not on that terrible field/stadium 

 
I cant wait for this game! The build up to it will be crazy with the possibility of Game Day being there which I doubt they will be there but its going to be a crazy game Im already counting down the days to when the season starts!!! GBR!!!

 
This NW team is going to be a lot closer to last year's team than any of their scrappy West champion teams. There's just not a lot of dudes - they've got one OL (Skoronski) who will probably be some level of all conference, and that's it. I don't see anyone else even contending for 3rd team or anything. Hull is alright, but the bulk of his production came against very bad teams. Zero receiving talent, and I don't see the overachieving front 7 players (Dean Lowry, Joe Gaziano, Earnest Brown, Paddy Fisher, Blake Gallagher, Chris Bergin, Anthony Walker) or polished DBs (Brandon Joseph, Greg Newsome, Godwin Igwebuke) they've had in the past.

Anything can happen with NW, but their skill talent is just not that of a P5 team and they don't currently have the defense or OL to make up for it. We are in serious trouble if this is a close game. Not expecting 56-7 again because we won't be firing on all cylinders and they'll be ready to play, but if this is an L or even a 24-21 type of game I will be in panic mode.

 
Wonder if it will take a few minutes to get adjusted watching the game?  It'll be around 1pm for us, but a night game over there (and on the TV)

 
Northwestern desperately needs to find a QB and play much better defense this year.  Nebraska seems to have found their QB who'll be playing in his first game as a Husker. 

If Thompson and co could get it going maybe this isn't a close one as almost usual.  

 
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suh_fan93 said:
Northwestern desperately needs to find a QB and play much better defense this year.  Nebraska seems to have found their QB who'll be playing in his first game as a Husker. 

If Thompson and co could get it going maybe this isn't a close one as almost usual.  
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I do like it that we have a QB that is experienced for this trip. 

 
Frost is 1-3 in openers so far at Nebraska. Fitz is 2-2 in that same time frame. 

Nebraska is now -9.5 

For reference we were -6.5 vs Illinois last year in the opener. 

 
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