Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
Let's go, Dawgie!!!! Can't wait to see your journey.
Let's go, Dawgie!!!! Can't wait to see your journey.
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
Nice bounce back win over the Dukies.
Big Ten is brutal with all of the Pac-12 teams coming over. It's become the new SEC in my dynasty. Goodluck bringing Northwestern to the top!Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
That's a big reason why I chose to go with a lower-ranked Big Ten team. I'm curious to see what the league looks like now and there are far fewer days off. It used to be the only games you had to really worry about were Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. And as a Big Ten West team, you might not play either of those teams in certain seasons. Now you get Oregon, Washington and USC thrown into the mix. Maybe UCLA will be better, too. I'm looking forward to the journey.Comment
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2024 SEASON - GAME 3
Northwestern lineman Carmine Bastone dives to recover a fumble.
Richie Haggerty and Greyson Metz force Coastal Carolina quarterback Ethan Vasko to fumble.
Northwestern linebacker Xander Mueller sacks Coastal Carolina quarterback Ethan Vasko.
Northwestern’s Jaylen Pate forces a fumble.
Cullen Coleman sacks Coastal Carolina quarterback Ethan Vasko.
Northwestern cornerback Theran Johnson intercepts a pass for the second straight game.
Northwestern receiver Frank Covey grabs a touchdown catch.
Northwestern running back Cam Porter celebrates a touchdown.
WHAT A DRAG
Northwestern resorts to drag routes
ad nauseum to beat Coastal Carolina
CONWAY, S.C. — Until B-Dawg gets a better handle on the passing game in College Football ’25, it’s apparent what we’re going to see from the Northwestern offense when the running game isn’t working.
Get ready for a heavy dose of drag routes.
Until he had a 32-yard run late in the game, running back Cam Porter was held in check by Coastal Carolina’s defense on Sept. 14, 2024. Porter finished with 92 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.
Outside receivers Bryce Kirtz and A.J. Henning were fed a steady diet of drag routes, enabling Northwestern to come away with a 34-14 victory.
Kirtz caught 11 passes for 141 yards, averaging 12.8 yards per catch. Henning caught nine passes for 94 yards, an average of 10.4 yards per catch. Kirtz’s longest catch went for 24 yards, Henning’s for 19.
“Unless we occasionally get lucky, it doesn’t look like I have the capability to hit the deep ball yet,” B-Dawg said. “We have to do what we have to do to move the ball. I prefer running the ball first, but that wasn’t working for much of this game.”
Coastal Carolina was able to hit for some big chunk plays, but didn’t get much else against Northwestern’s defense. The Chanticleers’ two touchdowns were on passes of 44 yards to tight end Cane Berrong with 38 seconds left in the first half after Northwestern took a 17-0 lead and a 32-yard pass to Malick Meiga with 3:31 left in the game.
“I love the way we played defense for most of the game,” B-Dawg said. “They hit us for two big plays, but that was it. They couldn’t really drive on us.”
Northwestern quarterback Mike Wright was 32-for-46 for 372 yards, but didn’t throw his only touchdown pass until it was garbage time. He hit Frank Covey with an 11-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds left in the game on third-and-goal.
Passing for a touchdown in that situation was strictly out of spite.
“I was mad they were slamming our run game, so I threw it,” B-Dawg said. “We aren’t going to give them an easy run play to stop when they expect it.”
NORTHWESTERN BLOCKING
Ben Wrather 10 pancakes, 0 sacks; Josh Thompson 8-1; Caleb Tiernan 7-0; Thomas Gordon 4-0; Nick Herzog 3-0; Marshall Lang 2-0; Jordan Knox 2-0; Duke Olges 2-0; Bryce Kirtz 1-0.Comment
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2024 WEEK 3 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2024 WEEK 3 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NATIONAL
BIG TEN
Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
now it feels like college football season---Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
Glad to see you on CFB 25 now, broheem!
You've got the same idea as I do. It's a better experience to take a bottom-tier power conference school through the rigors of a P2 schedule than to go through the MAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, etc.
Glad to see you back at it. Get that run game going and you'll get the opportunity for big plays in the pass game. On those passes over the middle, try to lob them - I know our muscle memory has us firing piss-missile's to the WRs, but lobbing might cut down on those sneaky AI LBs that pop-up out of nowhere over the middle of the field.Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
I had hoped to have my dynasty posted by early September, but I just dragged my feet. I started two dynasties before aborting, one because I accidentally simmed a game, the other because I waited for the late-August update. As is my style, I'm actually in Season 3 as I am posting Season 1.
Glad to have you on board! I love playing in big settings, but don't want to be a powerhouse right away. The game I played at Washington that I'm about to post reminded me why I wanted to play in the new Big Ten. Such a cool environment.
I'm trying to learn the lob passing, with very little success.Comment
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2024 SEASON - GAME 4
Northwestern strong safety Coco Azema returns an interception 72 yards to the house with 55 seconds left.
Northwestern middle linebacker Xander Mueller secures the victory with an interception with 49 seconds left.
Northwestern receiver Reggie Fleurima catches a touchdown pass.
Northwestern’s Cullen Coleman sacks Washington quarterback Will Rogers.
Northwestern defensive tackle Nick Mills sacks Washington quarterback Will Rogers.
Northwestern quarterback Mike Wright fumbles as he’s sacked.
SIGNATURE WIN
Northwestern gets 2 late interceptions
to secure 28-20 win over Washington
SEATTLE — To know B-Dawg is to know he’ll find a cloud in every silver lining.
So, as Northwestern strong safety Coco Azema was taking an interception to the house with 55 seconds in the game, giving the Wildcats a 28-20 lead over Washington on Sept. 21, 2024, B-Dawg was thinking dark thoughts.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, no! We’re still up by only one possession and we left them too much time,’” B-Dawg said. “I was kicking myself for not just having Coco slide to the ground at the 5-yard line.”
B-Dawg stopped kicking himself pretty quickly thereafter, as middle linebacker Xander Mueller secured the victory by picking off a pass on the very next play from scrimmage with 49 seconds left.
Winning on the home field of a team that played in the real-life national championship is an early signature victory in the B-Dawg era at Northwestern.
“This is huge,” B-Dawg said. “It was a very hostile road environment. There were some struggle squiggles on the screen, but our quarterback refused to get rattled.”
Senior Mike Wright operated the offense with pinpoint precision, going 22-for-26 for 244 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. A.J. Henning caught nine passes for 107 yards, while Bryce Kirtz and Reggie Fleurima caught touchdown passes.
Through four games, Wright has thrown his eight touchdown passes to eight different receivers. He is 98-for-144 for 1,055 yards, serving up six interceptions.
An 8-yard touchdown pass to Kirtz with 20 seconds left in the first half changed everything after the Wildcats fell behind 14-0.
Northwestern chipped into the lead until running back Cam Porter scored on a 3-yard run with 6:23 left in the game to cap a 12-play, 76-yard march that consumed 4:34.
From there, it was up to the defense to stand tall.
On third-and-16 on Washington’s next possession, B-Dawg nearly got a user sack with defensive end Anto Saka, forcing Will Rogers to just throw away the ball with 4:12 left.
The Wildcats were stuffed by D.C. Robinson on third-and-two from their own 44 with 1:58 left and had to punt.
Washington got the ball at its own 27 with 1:51 remaining. Facing fourth-and-eight at the Washington 40, Rogers served up the pick to Azema before making it two straight passes for interceptions on the ball to Mueller.
NORTHWESTERN BLOCKING
Jordan Knox 8 pancakes, 0 sacks; Josh Thompson 7-0; Caleb Tiernan 4-0; Nick Herzog 4-0; Ben Wrather 4-1; Thomas Gordon 3-0; Hunter Welcing 1-0; Marshall Lang 1-0; Reggie Fleurima 1-0.Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
Welcome Back! Great to see you posting again!Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
struggle squiggles is my new favorite name for the routes lol
Nice win at Husky Stadium. Not an easy place to go into and get a W, but you've got the Wildcats playing some tough ballComment
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Re: 2024 SEASON - GAME 4
Ah, the squiggles. That's when I go full "cloud of dust" mode and just run until I can get the crowd calmed down.
Northwestern strong safety Coco Azema returns an interception 72 yards to the house with 55 seconds left.
Northwestern middle linebacker Xander Mueller secures the victory with an interception with 49 seconds left.
Northwestern receiver Reggie Fleurima catches a touchdown pass.
Northwestern’s Cullen Coleman sacks Washington quarterback Will Rogers.
Northwestern defensive tackle Nick Mills sacks Washington quarterback Will Rogers.
Northwestern quarterback Mike Wright fumbles as he’s sacked.
SIGNATURE WIN
Northwestern gets 2 late interceptions
to secure 28-20 win over Washington
SEATTLE — To know B-Dawg is to know he’ll find a cloud in every silver lining.
So, as Northwestern strong safety Coco Azema was taking an interception to the house with 55 seconds in the game, giving the Wildcats a 28-20 lead over Washington on Sept. 21, 2024, B-Dawg was thinking dark thoughts.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, no! We’re still up by only one possession and we left them too much time,’” B-Dawg said. “I was kicking myself for not just having Coco slide to the ground at the 5-yard line.”
B-Dawg stopped kicking himself pretty quickly thereafter, as middle linebacker Xander Mueller secured the victory by picking off a pass on the very next play from scrimmage with 49 seconds left.
Winning on the home field of a team that played in the real-life national championship is an early signature victory in the B-Dawg era at Northwestern.
“This is huge,” B-Dawg said. “It was a very hostile road environment. There were some struggle squiggles on the screen, but our quarterback refused to get rattled.”
Senior Mike Wright operated the offense with pinpoint precision, going 22-for-26 for 244 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. A.J. Henning caught nine passes for 107 yards, while Bryce Kirtz and Reggie Fleurima caught touchdown passes.
Through four games, Wright has thrown his eight touchdown passes to eight different receivers. He is 98-for-144 for 1,055 yards, serving up six interceptions.
An 8-yard touchdown pass to Kirtz with 20 seconds left in the first half changed everything after the Wildcats fell behind 14-0.
Northwestern chipped into the lead until running back Cam Porter scored on a 3-yard run with 6:23 left in the game to cap a 12-play, 76-yard march that consumed 4:34.
From there, it was up to the defense to stand tall.
On third-and-16 on Washington’s next possession, B-Dawg nearly got a user sack with defensive end Anto Saka, forcing Will Rogers to just throw away the ball with 4:12 left.
The Wildcats were stuffed by D.C. Robinson on third-and-two from their own 44 with 1:58 left and had to punt.
Washington got the ball at its own 27 with 1:51 remaining. Facing fourth-and-eight at the Washington 40, Rogers served up the pick to Azema before making it two straight passes for interceptions on the ball to Mueller.
NORTHWESTERN BLOCKING
Jordan Knox 8 pancakes, 0 sacks; Josh Thompson 7-0; Caleb Tiernan 4-0; Nick Herzog 4-0; Ben Wrather 4-1; Thomas Gordon 3-0; Hunter Welcing 1-0; Marshall Lang 1-0; Reggie Fleurima 1-0.
Sounds like you're getting a handle of the passing game with the performance from Mike Wright. No INTs in a squiggly line environment is growth.Comment
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Re: B-Dawg's Northwestern Wildcats: Navigating the new Big Ten in CFB25
quoting a whole game report is an ick---Comment
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