Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Maryland Upon Further Review
10/16/2017 4:48:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
UPON FURTHER REVIEW. . .
YOU OR THEM: Northwestern had previously lost to Wisconsin and Penn State, a pair of top-10 teams, and now here they were coming off a big win over unranked Maryland. So the question had to be asked, and it was tossed to Pat Fitzgerald early in his regular Monday presser. Was that victory a result of his team's improvement, or of the Terps' presence on the other side of the line?
"I focus on us, and I thought we played our most consistent game," he said, and then he made a segue.
"It's kind of funny," he now said. "When we play bad, it's our fault. When we play well, it's the other team stunk. That's the narrative I usually hear."
Then he laughed out loud and said, "I'm not just talking about you guys. I'm talking in general. I don't know. Write whatever you want to write, I guess."
Finally came another laugh, and now was he back at the beginning when he concluded, "I thought we played pretty well, though. I thought we played physical. I thought we played pretty consistent."
IT ALL STARTS UP FRONT: The 'Cats averaged less than a yard-per-carry against the Badgers, who also sacked Clayton Thorson eight times, and against the Nittany Lions those numbers were 2.2 yards and four. That swung a most-unflattering spotlight onto their offensive line, which responded by surrendering just one sack to the Terps; by springing Justin Jackson for 171 net yards on 28 carries (6.1 ypc); and by opening holes enough for their rushing game to average 5.4 yards on 44 carries.
"I thought they communicated pretty well. It didn't seem like we had many breakdowns there," Fitzgerald said when asked the reason for that marked improvement.
"I thought we played with a little better pad level. Not consistent enough. I thought we were able to keep the pocket clean. I thought the guys picked things up. I thought Clayton put us in some protection checks that we needed to get into, and he became a threat with his legs. When you bring that kind of pressure, there's going to be holes and scramble opportunities. I thought he did that just enough to help us be successful."
UP IN THE AIR: The 'Cats' wideouts had also been muted in their losses, but they too were refurbished against the Terps. Macan Wilson had five receptions, one for 32 yards, and Flynn Nagel had four, one for a touchdown. The emerging Riley Lees had three, one for 20 yards, and Charlie Fessler had a pair, one for 30.
"They're just working," Fitzgerald said of this group. "We've got a lot of young guys, first-time players that are getting into the mix. I think those guys are developing. I thought the production from Charlie was great. I think you see a guy like Riley Lees growing each game. I thought Macan played his best game. Same thing with Flynn. I think they're just working to get better. That's where we're at. We're an average team right now. You are what your record says it is. That's what we are. We're average. We've just got to keep getting better."
"We as a group have gotten more comfortable with Clayton and what we're doing," Lees himself would soon say. "And I think we've got a lot more confidence in ourselves too, which helps us go out there and play fast, especially the young guys who haven't played before this year."
NO LACK OF CONFIDENCE HERE: Charlie Kuhbander, a true first-year kicker, missed the first field goal attempt of his career, which came back on Sept. 2 in the 'Cats' season opener against Nevada. But now he is on a streak of six straight makes, the last three against the Terps, and along the way he has also converted all 20 of his PATs. On Monday morning he was named the Big Ten's Special Teams Player of the Week, and early that afternoon he was asked about rebounding from his inauspicious start. He talked of being buoyed by his holder Hunter Niswander and his long snapper Tyler Gillikin, and then he blithely said, "Now I'm just on a roll (and) every kick's the same to me. I never treat it as, 'You need to make this one.' I never even consider missing it. It never goes through my mind. When I go out onto the field, I'm confident I'm going to make every kick."
And how important is that confidence?
"I had a really good kicking coach in high school and learned early on that if you had any sort of different mindset on a kick, it was going to effect it a lot," he said. "You had to treat every single one the same."
ANOTHER LESSON LEARNED: Two Saturdays ago, against the Nittany Lions, middle linebacker Paddy Fisher was tossed after getting hit with a targeting penalty, which also sidelined him for the first half of the Maryland game. He returned to play the second and posted four tackles, and Monday he talked about the experience.
"It was a good call, a bad play on my part. Should have let up," he said. "I need to be more disciplined in that situation. I told Coach Fitz this. I felt I let the team down, I felt I let the defense down. That's where you need to be smarter, more disciplined, so things like that don't happen again. I was really hard on myself, down on myself afterwards."
"He was really emotional when it did happen. He was really upset at himself," remembered Fitzgerald. "That's when I tried to settle him down and get him to smile on the sideline. He was really upset. He was disappointed he didn't lower the strike zone. He was disappointed that he's letting his teammates down. He was really, really emotional."
HAPPY TO HAVE YOU: Linebacker coach Randy Bates was the primary recruiter of Fisher, who played at famed Katy High School just outside Houston. He did a fine job, Fitzgerald allowed on Monday.
"But," he then said, "I think we were really fortunate. I was shocked that he wasn't being more heavily recruited. I thought from a size, speed, production— I mean, wow. He jumped off the tape to me. It wasn't like you don't make a stop at Katy High School. It's like Loyola, or Mt. Carmel, or some of the powerhouses (in the Chicagoland area). You're stopping there. That's what you're doing."
Was Fisher himself surprised he wasn't more heavily recruited?
"I don't know. I'm a pretty slow guy," he said sarcastically. "But I know a thing or two about football. I like to think I have a little bit of game speed, a little bit of instincts. I love the game, got a lot of passion for it. Regardless of the recruiting process, this is the place I needed to be. This is the place that fit me the most. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
AND FINALLY, Fisher, when asked what it's like playing his coach's old position:
"I love it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. He's the man. He's been in the same shoes that I'm in. So he sheds a lot of light and wisdom on me. I wouldn't want to play any other position. It's the best position in the game." And what makes it that? "You get to fly around, baby. You get to hit, to make plays."
