Think back to the tenor of sentiment a year ago after the opener at Rutgers. To say the least, the general feelings on the board are a little better than they were a year ago after the Rutgers opener.
I am enjoying things a lot more, but will post what I said then as one of the Rivals Wildcat optimists:
“My expectations are low but not non-existent, and in some ways haven’t lowered a whole lot based on Sunday. Before the season started, it was clear both lines were going to be bad, and Sunday they were. Rutgers offense was able to get a 2 yard push any time they wanted. Having said that, the defense exceeded my expectations two ways. The DB’s, I thought, were excellent; the positional discipline of the entire defensive unit was very good. By and large, the D did not screw up. They did get beat on the first 2 drives, and will be challenged on 3rd down all year, but give Schiano and Rutgers some credit, too. On the first 2 drives, the first 2 of the year, they ran 32 plays with only one apparent breakdown, the pass that could have been intercepted. They were disciplined and well prepared. Going forward for the Cats, I would expect Braun to shift up and situationally use a little more press coverage on passing downs and run blitz more on short yardage situations. I don’t think this defense will be dominant, but t will be good enough to keep the Cats in half a dozen or so games this year beyond Howard.
The offense, as opposed to the defense, did not show good unit cohesion. While the inability of the line to open any daylight for an inside running game is probably not fixable, no one was reading blitzes and or adjusting to the pass rush. When the will LB rushed, the slot receiver did not read, move into the void the LB left and become hot. It looked to me like no one was recognizing blocking assignments on any sort of overload RU put on. My guess is that Bryant is still learning the system, and it showed. My expectation going forward is pretty low, but he is an experienced guy. What I do expect is that the offense is going to look a lot like it did in 2018 before Bowser emerged: a lot of quick passes, some jet sweep motion, and some inside screens to try to get Porter the ball with a little space. I do think Bryant will remember to do some of the things he has done before: read and adjust at the line, put some loft on the ball when Henning gets deep separation as happened at least once Sunday. I don’t think the offense will be great, but I do think there are a few players who can make plays and (big if) if Bryant can get them working with a little precision, they will put some points on the board. If Bryant can’t adjust, they will need to use Sullivan and start over.
To some it up, this team has a low ceiling, but the floor might be a little higher than what Sunday showed. I think next week we will see what sort of a game to game coach Braun is. I still want to give home a chance to show me before I throw in the towel completely. I still think the Cats can win 4 or 5 games this season, and hope they do.”
northwestern.rivals.com
