Northwestern football 2019 preview: Best and worst-case scenario

With the limitless potential of new quarterback Hunter Johnson and a defense that returns nine of 11 starters, the Wildcats have the potential to make some noise in the Big Ten yet again.

Somehow, someway, Northwestern managed to go 8-4 in the regular season and still make it to the Big Ten Championship game. They would lose to Ohio State in that game but would have a thrilling victory over Utah in their bowl game.

Even though the Wildcats had a fantastic end of the season, it wasn’t always so great as they started off 1-3 with losses to Duke and Akron. But after losing their third straight to Michigan they turned it around with wins over the likes of Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Iowa in Big Ten play.

To make all of this even more unbelievable, they did it with an offense that wasn’t that great and was even downright bad at points. Finishing 12th in the Big Ten, quarterback Clayton Thorson threw for good yardage but was inconsistent, the running attack disappeared at many points in the season, and the offensive line finished last in the Big Ten in sacks allowed. The Wildcats got to the Big Ten Title game behind a defense that while average against the pass, had a great front seven that wreaked havoc against opposing offenses forcing 26 turnovers in total.

That front seven that was great last year, will have six of seven back in 2019 including Junior linebacker Paddy Fisher Jr. who has already racked up 229 tackles in just two seasons. The secondary gets three back as well so they should improve too.

On offense, the Wildcats get a major upgrade at quarterback with Clemson transfer, Hunter Johnson. The former No. 1 quarterback recruit was once thought to be the replacement for Kelly Bryant but that was before Trevor Lawrence stepped in and the rest is history.

Nonetheless, Johnson will head an offense that also gets its leading rusher in  Isaiah Bower back. Bower ran for 866 yards and six touchdowns in his freshman season last year and should see increased production in the upcoming season.

Northwestern football 2019 best-case scenario

• Aug. 31 – at Stanford – L
• Sept. 14 – vs. UNLV – W
• Sept. 21 – vs. Michigan State – W
• Sept. 28 – at Wisconsin – L
• Oct. 5 – at Nebraska – W
• Oct. 18 – vs. Ohio State – L
• Oct. 26 – vs. Iowa – W
• Nov. 2 – at Indiana – W
• Nov. 9 – vs. Purdue – W
• Nov. 16 – vs. Umass – W
• Nov. 23 – vs. Minnesota – W
• Nov. 30 – at Illinois – W

Record: 9-3 (7-2 Big Ten)

This is a very favorable schedule for Northwestern. Traveling to Stanford to start the season is going to be tough for a new quarterback and a generally inexperienced offense. But inside the Big Ten, the Wildcats get all of the hard hitters at home outside of Wisconsin and possibly Nebraska. Going to Wisconsin is going to be tough as the Badgers will be out for blood behind star running back Jonathan Taylor after a letdown season last year. I think that Northwestern can give the Buckeyes trouble at home since the Buckeyes have become prone to dropping a game against a team from the West on the road, but it’s difficult to say that Northwestern can pull off the upset.

Other than that though, with the limitless potential of new quarterback Hunter Johnson and a defense that returns nine of 11 starters, the Wildcats have the potential to make some noise in the Big Ten.

Northwestern football worst-case scenario

• Aug. 31 – at Stanford – L
• Sept. 14 – vs. UNLV – W
• Sept. 21 – vs. Michigan State – L
• Sept. 28 – at Wisconsin – L
• Oct. 5 – at Nebraska – L
• Oct. 18 – vs. Ohio State – L
• Oct. 26 – vs. Iowa – L
• Nov. 2 – at Indiana – W
• Nov. 9 – vs. Purdue – L
• Nov. 16 – vs. Umass – W
• Nov. 23 – vs. Minnesota – W
• Nov. 30 – at Illinois – W

Record: 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten)

This would be a major setback for a Wildcat program that has gotten used to making a bowl game under Pat Fitzgerald. But with how the rigors of a Big Ten schedule can wear on a team that doesn’t have five-star players up and down the roster, it’s possible for Northwestern to have a season like this every once in a while.

Who knows what Hunter Johnson will play like as this is a different offense than the one he was originally a part of at Clemson and we haven’t really seen him put his potential as a college quarterback on the field yet. The Wildcats did lose a few receivers to graduation and if the rushing offense and pass protection don’t get better this could be a Wildcat offense that resides at the bottom of the Big Ten.

With all of that, it’s hard to see Northwestern missing a bowl game with a schedule as easy as the back half of theirs is. If the talent of Hunter Johnson displays itself and the defense plays like it has in years past, this version of the Wildcats should be just fine.