Indiana State Preview and Prediction
By Charlie Simon
Matchup: Indiana State Sycamores (1-0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 11, 11:00 a.m. CDT
TV: BTN
Line: Northwestern (-28!)
Outlook:
Northwestern's return to the gridiron in 2021 was underwhelming to say
the least. No one quite knew what to expect from the 2021
Wildcats as they lost the majority of their offensive weapons and
defensive standouts from 2020. There were the optimistic thoughts
that with the great offseason of recruiting that NU had made it to the
big time and could simply Expect Victory. As any team not coached
by Nick Saban eventually finds out, you can't just walk out onto the
field and be handed the win. You have to earn it. And in
the opener for both teams, Michigan State did earn the victory.
They were the aggressor. They attacked. NU tried to react
but was left looking flat footed.
The offense was OKish. Hunter Johnson looked fine. He was
sharp with his passes but he was falling back on many of them as the
O-line was over matched. The receivers are nothing to be afraid
of at this point so the opposing Defense can key on the running
game. The loss of Cam Porter was also evident. The trio of
runners that replaced him were acceptable but not spectacular.
Some group on the offense needs to be better than average for NU to be
successful. Right now no group is.
The defense was the bigger concern. NU simply made way too many
mistakes. There were way too many missed tackles and missed
assignments. If theses problems aren't corrected soon, it could
be a long season.
Luckily Indiana State comes to Evanston tomorrow. NU should be
bigger and stronger and in general should have their way against the
FCS foe. It will be a good week to correct the mistakes on
defense and give the offense more time to find its identity.
I expect the trees to stay close for the first half but NU will pull
away. It should be a beautiful day for a game and there will be
special tributes as this is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Get out
and enjoy the game and life.
Just don't expect NU to cover 28 points...
Pick: Northwestern 30, Indiana State 13. Take the Trees and the points.
Season to date: Straight Up (0-1), Against the Spread (0-1)
The Lowes Line is an
e-mailed description of NU's
next
football game, with an invariably fearless prediction of the outcome
and
how NU will fare against what the other "experts" predict. Our
good
friend and Brother Marcus Lowes began the broadcast mailing in 1996.
The crack Lowes Line Staff (alumni Lone Star Cat,
GallopingGrapes, P.S. O'Briant, Eric Cockerill, Joel Kanvik, Charlie Simon, and
MO'Cats) have continued the Line in memory of Marcus.
For
the 2021 season it has returned to HailToPurple.com,
for anyone to enjoy. Thanks to the gridiron brain trust at the Lowes
Line!
