Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Open Big Ten Season at No. 19 Minnesota
9/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 20, 2004
NU-Minnesota Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- After opening the season with three challenging nonconference games, the bar is being raised another notch or two. Big Ten action begins this weekend, and the Wildcats will waste no time seeing how they stack up against the league's best teams, taking on 19th-ranked Minnesota this Saturday in Minneapolis and then hosting seventh-ranked Ohio State the following week. (OSU has an open date this Saturday and will come to Evanston with a 3-0 record and top-10 national ranking.) This week's game vs. the Golden Gophers kicks off at 8:12 p.m. and is being televised nationally by ESPN2.
Northwestern handed Kansas its first loss (20-17) on Saturday after suffering two narrow defeats to TCU and Arizona State (now ranked No. 22) in the season's first two weeks. The Wildcats' injury-riddled defense rose to the occasion and held KU to 350 yards of offense (just 47 rushing yards).
NU's defense needs to build upon that effort as it readies to face one of the nation's top offenses, and perhaps the country's best rushing attack. Minnesota, which owns the third-best offense in Division I-A football (572.3 ypg), has the second-best rushing unit (359.3 ypg). The Gophers' ground game is led by the one-two punch of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney. Barber, who was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week for his 201 yards in the Gophers' 34-16 win over Colorado State, leads the Big Ten in rushing with an average of 142.7 ypg. Maroney is second in the Big Ten, averaging 127.0 ypg. The two have combined for nine rushing scores.
In his first year as a starter, sophomore quarterback Bryan Cupito has been impressive, recording the nation's fourth-best passing efficiency mark (183.94). He has completed 32-of-55 passes for 627 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Northwestern's offense, led by quarterback Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator), ranks third in the Big Ten in total offense (479.0), while Minnesota is second in the league (572.3). Basanez ranks first in the Big Ten in passing yards and total offense, and third in pass efficiency. Cupito is third in passing yards and total offense, and second in pass efficiency.
(For the complete set of notes, download the PDF file above.)
