The defensive side of the ball has made tremendous strides under Fitzgerald. In 2005, the Cats gave up 480 yards/game and almost 34 points. This prompted Northwestern to bring in a coach with a defensive background. Last year, they gave up 350 yards on average and 24 points/game. The Wildcats do not have the most talented players in the Big Ten, but they play extremely hard for Fitzgerald. Linebackers Quentin Davie and Nate Williams return after finishing 1-2 in total tackles last year. The defensive front loses their best player (Corey Wootton) and two other full time starters. It will difficult to match the 129 rush yards allowed in 2009 with the new group coming in. The secondary lost two all conference performers and three starters in all. This is one of the most difficult area's to lose that much talent and expect opponents to air it out early and often against the Cats.
Northwestern plays one of the easiest schedules in the country. They open with Vanderbilt on the road and end the non-conference slate with Central Michigan at home. A trip to Minnesota opens Big Ten play on October 2nd. Conference favorite Ohio State is not on the schedule. Two of their four conference road games are difficult tests at Penn State and at Wisconsin. I believe this team will end up in the middle of the Big 10 and win 7 games.