Northwestern
Wisconsin
GAME NOTES: ’Cats Open Big Ten Play at #10 Wisconsin
9/26/2017 12:16:00 PM | Football
| NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Saturday, September 30 | 10/10 Wisconsin | 11 a.m. | Madison, Wis. | TV: ABC RADIO: WGN 720 |
UWBadgers.com |
| ABC: Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Brock Huard (color), Allison Williams (sideline) WGN 720: Dave Eanet (play-by-play), Ted Albrecht (analyst), Adam Hoge (sideline) Social: Twitter (@NUFBFamily and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@nufbfamily) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — Coming off its only bye week of the season, the Northwestern football program will start its "second" season on Saturday when it travels to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin for its Big Ten opener against the 10th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
The Wildcats (2-1) and Badgers (3-0) will kick off in front of a nationally-televised audience on ABC at 11 a.m. CT with Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Allison Williams on the call. As always, fans can also listen to the contest on WGN 720 with the voice of the Wildcats Dave Eanet, Ted Albrecht and Adam Hoge.
WILDCATS RUN WILD
Northwestern picked up its second win of the season on Sept. 16 when it claimed its largest margin of victory since 1970 with a 49-7 win over Bowling Green. The Wildcats racked up 678 yards of total offense behind 303 yards rushing and 375 yards passing. Below are a few notes on the offensive outburst from the 'Cats.
• The Wildcats set the second-best single-game mark in program history with 678 yards of offense on 74 plays, setting a program record of 9.2 yards per play.
• NU went over 500 yards of total offense for the second time in 2017 and 21st time since 2000. The 678 total marked the 12th time the 'Cats have eclipsed 600 yards of total offense since 2000.
• The 'Cats scored on five consecutive drives in the first half, accomplishing the feat for the first time since a matchup with Wisconsin in 2005.
JACKSON EYEING PROGRAM RECORD
Senior running back Justin Jackson rushed for a season-high 121 yards and matched his career high for the fourth time with three rushing touchdowns versus Bowling Green. Jackson enters Saturday's contest at Wisconsin with 4,377 career rushing yards, just 108 shy of Damien Anderson's program record of 4,485.
SUPER BACK OR SUPERMAN?
Senior superback Garrett Dickerson had the best game of his career in the Wildcats' win over Bowling Green, finishing with career highs of nine receptions and 150 receiving yards. Dickerson set the ninth-best single-game mark since at least 2000 and recorded the most receiving yards by a NU superback in program history. He is the first NU superback to record 100-plus yards receiving since Danny Vitale had 108 versus Ball State in 2015. His nine receptions were also the most by a superback since Drake Dunsmore matched the total versus Auburn in the 2010 Outback Bowl.
HUNTER THE PUNTER
Senior punter Hunter Niswander continued his stellar start to the season, setting a new career-high with a 51.5 yards per punt average versus Bowling Green. Niswander currently leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with a 49.5 punt average with five of his 12 punts this season traveling at least 50 yards.
FOR THE FIRST TIME
The Wildcats' 42-point victory over Bowling Green included a series of career firsts, including...
• Touchdowns: Sophomore Bennett Skowronek (two receiving), redshirt first year Jeremy Larkin (rushing) and redshirt first year Jesse Brown (rushing).
• Forced Fumbles: Juniors Jordan Thompson and Montre Hartage.
• Sacks: Sophomore Trent Goens and Jordan Thompson.
• Tackles: Redshirt first year Tommy Carnifax, first years Erik Mueller and Chris Bergin.
BIG PLAY BENNETT
Sophomore wide receiver Bennett Skowronek has turned into Clayton Thorson's go-to target through the Wildcats' first three games. Skowronek made three catches for 86 yards versus Bowling Green, including touchdown catches of 58 and 18 yards on consecutive offensive plays in the first half. He leads the team with 218 yards receiving and is tied for the team lead with two touchdown receptions. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native had recorded the highest passer rating when targeted among Big Ten wide receivers through week three at 158.3 according to Pro Football Focus.
CLAYTON IS CLIMBING
Junior quarterback Clayton Thorson completed 23-of-30 passes for a career-high 370 yards and two touchdowns versus Bowling Green, eclipsing 300 yards passing for the second time this season and fourth time in his career. Thorson leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd nationally in passing yards per game (280.7) and is 23rd in the country in yards per pass attempt (8.68). Below are a few more notes on the junior's recent accomplishments:
• With two passing touchdowns versus Bowling Green, moved into sixth in program history with 33 career passing scores, just 11 shy of the Northwestern program record.
• Surpassed 6,000 career yards of total offense and moved into sixth in program history with 6,044 total.
• His 842 yards passing are the second most by a NU quarterback through three games since 2000 (Brett Basanez; 933 in 2004).
• Needs just 67 passing yards to pass Steve Schnur (5,612, 1993-96), 134 yards to pass Sandy Schwab (5,679, 1982-85) and 258 yards to pass Mike Greenfield (5,803, 1984-87) on Northwestern's career list.
JUSTIN JACKSON CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE CHARTS
Senior running back Justin Jackson eclipsed the 100-yard plateau for the second time this season and 22nd time in his career with a season-high 121 rushing yards versus Bowling Green. Jackson ranks 15th in Big Ten history with 3,377 career rushing yards and is just 141 yards shy of cracking the top 10. He is the second-active leading rusher in FBS behind only Oregon's Royce Freeman (4,687) and leads all active FBS players with 910 career carries.
HE GOES, WE GO
Jackson has rushed for 100-plus yards 22 times during his career with the Wildcats posting an 18-4 mark when he hits the century mark on the ground. In fact, Jackson's success on the ground has truly been the driving force behind Wildcats' victories the last three-plus years. In the 24 wins during his career, Jackson has averaged 26.7 carries and 132.9 rushing yards per game, while averaging just 15.8 carries and 69.8 rushing yards per game in 17 losses. Jackson's first career 100-yard game came against Wisconsin during his true first-year season in 2015 when he totalled 162 yards on 33 carries, and has averaged 114.3 yards per game in three contests against the Badgers.
GROUND AND POUND
Northwestern rushed for a season-high 303 yards in its win over Bowling Green, eclipsing the 300-yard rushing mark for the first time since Sept. 12, 2015, versus Eastern Illinois. In addition to Jackson's big day, the Wildcats got key contributions from the players below:
• Senior quarterback Matt Alviti: Recorded a career-long 68 yard rush in the fourth quarter, marking Northwestern's longest play of the season.
• Redshirt first-year running back Jeremy Larkin: Rushed for a season-high 31 yards, including his first career touchdown on a 14-yard carry in the second quarter.
• Redshirt first-year running back Jesse Brown: Scored his first career touchdown on an eight-yard carry in the fourth quarter.
BALL HAWK
Junior cornerback Montre Hartage forced a turnover for the second-straight game with his first career forced fumble versus Bowling Green. Hartage picked off his first pass of the season in week two at Duke and leads all active Wildcats with six career interceptions, just two shy of cracking Northwestern's top-10 list all time.
KUHBANDER KICKS
First-year kicker Charlie Kuhbander won a kicking competition during training camp and has solidified his position through three games. Kuhbander made a season-long 40-yard field goal and nailed both of his extra-point attempts at Duke to improve to 2-for-3 in field goal attempts and 6-for-6 on extra points through two weeks. He set a season high with six extra points in the Wildcats' win over Bowling Green, matching the seventh-best mark in program history for extra points attempted and extra points made in a game. He enters Saturday's contest second on the team with 18 points.\
SLATER PROTECTING THE EDGE
True first-year offensive lineman Rashawn Slater has started the first three games at right tackle for the Wildcats. Slater is Northwestern's first true first-year offensive lineman to start since Auston Matthews in 2005. Slater was ranked a consensus three-star prospect by 24/7, Scout, Rivals and ESPN and was rated the No. 32 offensive guard in the nation by 24/7. His father, Reginald, played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves after a college career at Wyoming.
'CATS RECEIVE HIGH GRADES FROM PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS
Senior superback Garrett Dickerson and senior center Brad North were named to Pro Football Focus' Big Ten Week 3 Team of the Week following the 'Cats win over Bowling Green. Dickerson received the Big Ten's highest grade of the week at 99.9 following his career-best day, and North was named the team's center with a grade of 85.0.
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