Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: 10 Things Heading into Michigan State
10/4/2018 12:16:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Ten things. . . .
1. The 'Cats stared into the abyss on that night of October 7. A week earlier, at Wisconsin, they had suffered eight sacks and had netted but 25 rushing yards on 34 attempts (0.7 ypc) and had lost to the Badgers by nine. Now, at home earlier on this day, they had suffered four sacks and had netted but 67 rushing yards on 30 attempts (2.2 ypc) and had lost to Penn State by 24.
This dropped their record to unpromising 2-3 and right here, indisputably, their season was in peril. But now, of course, they pulled themselves off the mat and brushed themselves clean and ran the table and closed out their year with eight consecutive wins. Still, after his current 'Cats fell to 1-3 last Saturday and he was asked if that story arc gave them hope, Pat Fitzgerald emphatically declared, "I don't think anything in the past makes you think you can do anything in the future. I think you have to work at it. I think last year's group of offensive linemen took it upon themselves to stop getting their rear ends kicked and did something about it."
"I think he said it well," one of those linemen, the senior guard Tommy Doles, will say days later. "We can't just think that we're automatically going to turn things around because that's what we've done before. But we can look at what it took to turn it around before. We know that if we step it up, get one day better, that we were able to make that upward trend. But we can't think that it's going to happen just because it has happened before."
2. While going through it before, this is what Doles learned. "A big thing that's always important, but becomes especially important right now, is really taking it one game at a time," he says. "That's something— we didn't start like we wanted to and, yeah, if you step back and look at it it's disappointing. We could have been a lot better. We know that we have the ability to do a lot more. But if we focus on what's already happened it's going to effect how we play moving forward. One thing we've learned is don't let a team beat you two weeks in a row. So we come in, take it on the chin, watch the film of the loss and then move on and get past that. If you narrow your focus to one game at a time, it's a new week. It's part of something bigger, but you can focus on just one thing. I think that's the most important thing."
3. Last year's resurrection kicked off at Maryland, where the 'Cats suffered but one sack and netted 238 rushing yards on 44 attempts (5.4 ypc) while topping the Terps by 16. This Saturday they will attempt to reclaim this season on a visit to Michigan State, which merely leads the nation in rushing defense. Still, when asked if the O line's mood now is similar to what it was 12 months ago, Doles will say, "Now we've got a lot of confidence that we're able to do it. Last year we felt like our backs were against the wall. We were desperate for a win. That's what we are now. But we have enough faith and confidence in our group to really believe that we can do it. So we're coming in with confidence despite what's happened. . . . We want to beat Michigan State. That's what our focus is right now. We're thinking about having intensity at practice and cutting down our mistakes. We think if we execute, and we do it with violence and intensity, then we're a special unit up front. But we have to bring it every play."
4. There are no excuses. There is just next-man-up. That is a locker room code, but here is a harsh reality. The successful offensive line, like a chorus line, operates with a not-uncertain choreography, and some cohesion is lost when a new dancer is inserted. This, in turn, has been the recent fate of the 'Cat O line as Doles and tackles Blake Hance and Rashawn Slater have been slowed by and missed time with injuries. "It is tough," Doles will say when asked to explain the result of their absences. "You described it well. It's a unit, it's a chorus and everyone has to be in sync. It's five fingers, one fist. Whatever analogy you want to use.
"So when you have a new person come in, they have to adjust, make sure they have the calls, make sure they're on the same page. That's watching extra film together. That's getting really great reps in practice. It's tough anytime that happens. But I'm proud of the way Nik (Urban) stepped up (for him) at right guard. That's been really cool to watch. Him going through that process— he's a great friend of mine. Then Blake's been doing a great job helping Gunnar (Vogel) and the next tackles going in. They've been fighting. So we have enough depth that we have guys able to step up, which is good."
5. The senior corner Montre Hartage is another who lived through not just last season's slow start, but the stumbling 1-3 start in 2016 as well. "Through those experiences," he says, "I became more mentally tough as an individual and learned that the game's not easy. You've got to go out there and take it. As a player, as you mature and see a lot more things, you realize you can't take any play for granted or be out of position for even one play. That could lead to, who knows? A first down. A touchdown. Those little things, making sure you're on point on each play, that's critical."
6. It is ironic, then, that the 'Cat defense he helps lead has too often been gashed by costly explosion plays. "As far as the secondary," the safety JR Pace on that subject this week, "we've got to focus on eliminating (those) by doing your job and not doing too much. If everybody's doing their job, we can eliminate those explosive plays."
Are people trying to do too much?
"I would say that from a personal standpoint," said Pace. "It's a reflection of me, not as far as anybody else. I know in the Michigan game a couple plays I was doing too much and if I was just doing my job we could have eliminated some plays. I was just wanting to win so bad, wanting to make those one or two plays that could help us change the course of the game. With that being said, you still have to do it within the limits, within the confines of our defense."
"I wouldn't say doing too much. Maybe thinking too much," Hartage will later demur when asked about Pace's observation. "Defensive players in general, sometimes we think too much. We've just got to go out there and play."
7. He was out there playing last Saturday against Michigan's Zach Gentry, who caught the pass that set up the Wolverines' winning touchdown. "I tried to squeeze the seam pattern, which was a vertical by the tight end. Tried to get my hands on it," Hartage says, replaying that moment. "The guy attacked the ball before I could get my hands on it. The guy made a great play."
8. That one play is a representative snapshot of many of the explosion plays that have hurt the 'Cats. "Sometimes," explains Hartage, "we've been in a position to make plays where we've got to finish on the 50-50 balls. It comes down to balls like that (against Michigan). I've got to make the play."
9. Here are some numbers on the Spartans' rushing defense. In four games opponents have netted just 161 yards on 108 carries (1.49 ypc). The longest run it has surrendered is the 16 yarder Central Michigan's Jonathan Ward broke off last Saturday. And here it is going up a 'Cat rushing offense that is averaging a Big Ten worst 94.8 yards per-game. In contrast: The Spartans passing defense is ranked 13th in the conference, surrendering 288.3 ypg, and here it must face the 'Cat passing offense that is ranked third, averaging 274 ypg.
10. And finally here is Doles, on going through his final season with the 'Cats: "Missing a couple games (with injuries) gave me some valuable perspective. One, it just reminded me how much I love this game. It's made me not take anything for granted. Just coming out to practice and being able to go out there with the ones (the starters) and knock guys around, that's something I don't take for granted anymore. But also I think it's a reminder, and seeing what happened to Jeremy (Larkin), that we are more than just the sport that we play. That's something that we do, but it's not who we are. I'd say this to any athlete, any guy showing up freshman year. I'd tell him, 'You've got to find out, make sure what your identity is apart from your sport. That's not guaranteed to stay.' For me it's my Christian faith and belonging to my family. That's the security of who I am. Football is an amazing thing that I get to do. But it's not who I am."
