Nebraska vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Austin Carr. Carr continues to be the only player on Northwestern who consistently plays hard and gets results. Despite Thorson's accuracy problems, Carr has been one of the best receivers in the Big Ten.
THE BAD: Jack Mitchell. This is getting ridiculous.
THE UGLY: The effort. In every game besides one, the win against Duke, Northwestern has looked like they don't care. Last year Northwestern beat a handful of teams that they were not better than because out hustled them and gave more effort. This year's team, however, simply is lazy. In the Kafka and Persa days, Northwestern could stay in a game with anyone because they played harder than every team that stepped on the field against them. Talent didn't matter, Northwestern out hustled and wanted every game more than the other team. This year's team couldn't care less. It has nothing to do with talent, this Northwestern team is by far more talented than the teams Kafka and Persa were quarterbacks for; they just don't care. This was plainly obvious against Nebraska, stupid penalties, lazy arm tackles, not hustling down the field to down punts inside the ten yard line, pulling guards just standing there and not blocking anyone, and many many others are examples of a lack of effort and little to no desire to win. This has to come back to the coaching staff. There play calling is a problem, no doubt, but if they can't even motivate the players to try; they have to go.

Beavers vs Boise State

Positives: Seth Collins played well. Victor Bolden Jr. had a great kick return for 99 yards.


Negatives: Darrel Garretson needs to step up. Ryan Nall needs to play like he did in the civil war. Defense needs to stop the run. Offensive line needs to protect Garretson better.

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Beavers vs. Idaho State

I will not be doing a pregame anymore just a postgame on the Sunday after the game.



Positives: The offense and the defense played very well. The defense was forcing turnovers and capitalizing on those turnovers. Darell Garretson was good at escaping pressure and running or passing. Garretson was passing nicely and passed for 172 yards. Victor Bolden Jr. showed that speed of his on that jet sweep he so good at. Also, receiving for 56 yards.

Negatives: Ryan Nall had 39 rushing yards and receiving for -4 yards. He needs to play big against Boise State. Also, the Beavers need to work on tackling because on that long TD run by the Idaho State running back he broke multiple tackles and scored a TD.



Tune in on FS1 on September 24 at 2:30 vs Boise State

Duke vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: The defense. Anthony Walker Jr. and the Wildcats' D appear to be moving past their poor performance against Western Michigan. Walker Jr.'s forced fumble was one of the key turning points in the game. The defense really carried the Wildcats to the victory against Duke.
THE BAD: Clayton Thorson. While Thorson set his career high in passing yardage, he was atrocious against the blitz. He rarely scrambled and threw far too many balls away. Northwestern's offensive line is bad, so Thorson needs to improve against the blitz.
THE UGLY: Jack Mitchell. Northwestern needs to do something about their kicking game. Mitchell is so inconsistent its almost consistent. Northwestern may need to start going for it more if Mitchell cannot solve his problems.

Illinois State vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Nothing.
THE BAD: Everything.
THE UGLY: Everything.

Western Michigan vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Justin Jackson was a beast. He crossed the goal-line three times and carried the team. Northwestern will need to continue to give him the ball if they want to have success.
THE BAD: The defensive play calling. The defensive line could not get pressure on the Western Michigan quarterback. Instead of calling a blitz to put pressure on the quarterback, Hankawitz and Fitzgerald continued to only rush four and give the quarterback all the time he needed to find an open receiver.
THE UGLY: The defensive line. The Northwestern defensive line got pushed around all game long. This got in the way of Northwestern's linebackers, making stopping the run very difficult. They also could not get any pass rush. Western Michigan's quarterback could have sat in the pocket all game if he wanted. The defensive line will need to get some push for Northwestern's defense to be successful.

Beavers @ Minnesota Postgame

In the future I will be doing a preview on Friday and a postgame on Sunday. I didn't make a pregame or a postgame on Friday because I was at the game and didn't have access to a computer. Now lets get to the postgame. Now I believe that the 2-10 beavers last season played very well against a big ten team in Minnesota. I think Ryan Nall was HUGE in this game leading the team in rushing and receiving yards with 71 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards. He was not the only one receiving Victor Bolden Jr. had 32 and a TD, Noah Togiai had 31 and a TD, and Seth Collins had 57. The offense was vastly improved from last year and the team as a whole. Their were costly turnovers for the offense with 2 fumbles. One of the fumbles was hard to avoid because Garretson was blind sided very hard. Both turnovers turned into touchdowns. The defense was so-so. In the first and third quarter they held the gophers scoreless. Second and fourth quarters were a different story. The beavers gave up 17 in the second and 13 points in the fourth quarter. If the beavers made tackles and came up big on 3/4 down, down the stretch of the game they would have won.




Tune in on Saturday the 17th against the Idaho State on Pac-12 network.