Few Northwestern players are as emotional as sophomore punter Stefan Demos. But he’s got a perfectly good reason.

Continue reading »

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When coach Pat Fitzgerald woke up Saturday, he was sure of one thing. The weather conditions would be terrible. After all, it had been that way every time he came to the Big House as a player or coach.

Treacherous might have been a better assessment. Temperatures fluctuated around 32 degrees, with rain turning to sleet and snow. Winds were gusting at up to 25 miles per hour.

Given the conditions, Fitzgerald said the team had to fight through it. Outside of a punt that Michigan blocked and returned for a touchdown, his special teams unit did.

“We went into the game thinking it would be a field position game, special teams game with the weather,” Fitzgerald said. “I think we executed the plan pretty well.”

Continue reading »

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Facing fourth and three in NU territory, Michigan’s offense was stymied on a pass breakup by Brad Phillips.

The defense did its job. The same cannot be said for the offense.

Continue reading »

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Northwestern’s first half of football against Michigan mirrored the weather conditions: ugly.

A resurgent C.J. Bachér made sure the second half was a different story.

Bachér led a suddenly explosive offense to two critical third-quarter touchdowns, and the Wildcats’ defense came up with two critical stops in the final five minutes to preserve a gutsy 21-14 win.

Continue reading »

Tyrell Sutton carried the ball 21 times in the first half, three off his season high. Northwestern is going to him often to start the third quarter. Sutton has been the Wildcats’ biggest playmaker this season - and really since he broke onto the scene as a freshman. He has not gotten the ball as consistently since his big freshman year. He had 67 yards at halftime.

The defense makes the big plays after giving up a first down. Corey Wootton picks up his second sack of the day and Brad Phillips nearly gets an interception. The defense has done its job so far. It has gotten the Hoosiers off the field pretty quickly and consistently all day. Two bad plays have led to scores though.

It almost seems like the defense is going for big hits all the time. There have been a couple of big misses that have gone for big gains for the Hoosiers. The defense has been a bright spot overall. They have done well with what they have been given.

Stefan Demos is making a case for punter of the year award. He continues his great, yet unconventional, punting. Demos punts it 63 yards and the ball is downed at the one. Should give NU ’s defense the chance to really contribute to the cause.

Defense gets off the field with a solid three and out deep in Indiana territory. NU is winning the field position battle and will start at the Indiana 40.

NU needs to get a little more creative on offense. Sutton has gotten the ball a lot this quarter and Bacher looks out of sync.

Stefan Demos’ facial expressions said it all.

The Northwestern punter and kickoff specialist put his hands on his head after a failed onside kick and ripped his helmet off in disgust after another kickoff was returned close to midfield. Demos’ angst epitomized a frustrating day for the Wildcats’ special teams unit, which made mistake after mistake in NU’s 37-20 loss to Michigan State.

Ineffective in almost every facet of the game, the Cats’ special teams frequently put the offense and defense in tough positions — a fact not lost on coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Continue reading »

From the bumpy landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to a roller coaster of a game, Northwestern’s trip to Duke Saturday was tumultuous.

With Hurricane Hanna poised to strike the Eastern seaboard, the Wildcats were poised to avenge last season’s heartbreaking 20-14 loss to the Blue Devils.

But the storm passed through with anything but a vengeance, and the Cats were anything but overpowering.

Conditions and expectations aside, NU left with what it needed most, a 24-20 victory over Duke for its second win of the season.

Continue reading »