Nebraska forgotten, now Northwestern
Monday, Sep. 3, 2007 @ 11:51 pm
The way the Wolf Pack came out against Nebraska showed it wasn’t intimidated.
At one of the loudest stadiums in the country, Nevada held a 10-7 lead in the first half, before getting blown out 52-10.
Nevada played its toughest non-conference opponent in the Huskers and now the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten are next. Nevada beat the Wildcats last year 31-21 at Mackay Stadium.
The Wildcats return 16 starters and are expected to be better this year under second coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Without a ranking, Northwestern isn’t as fierce as Nebraska, but offers a quality football environment and a tough test for the 0-1 Wolf Pack.
Stop Sutton
Last year’s leading rusher Tyrell Sutton is back and could give the Wolf Pack fits like Marlon Lucky did for Nebraska. Lucky dominated the Wolf Pack with speed to the outside and power up the middle for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Sutton offers similar running characteristics but doesn’t have the mammoth offensive line Nebraska has.
The Wolf Pack will have the services of linebacker Ezra Butler, who was suspended for the Nebraska game for undisclosed reasons last week. He should have a big impact and give the defense a much-needed confidence boost after giving up more than 400 yards rushing last week without him.
Sutton rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and will be relied upon to slice through Nevada’s defense. He is their best shot at scoring points.
More from Mitchell
Nevada could not run the ball at all last week so this week it should focus on the pass.
Sophomore quarterback Nick Graziano, who made his first start last week, showed promise throwing the ball in the first half against Nebraska and needs to find his most talented receiver, Marko Mitchell.
At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Mitchell has the size and speed to torture secondaries. He has great hands and a good awareness for the ball. If he makes catches downfield, it gives the offense better chances to score and keeps the defense off the field. Against Nebraska, the defense was on the field 40 minutes.
Mitchell has the size to go up for deep balls and the speed to get downfield to open up the air attack.
He is still a relatively unknown threat because he hasn’t had a truly overpowering performance.
This needs to be a break-out game for him so the Wolf Pack can set the tone for passing for the season, especially conference play.
Second half stamina
The Wolf Pack was exploited in the second half against Nebraska due to the intense pressure from the offensive and defensive lines. The Nebraska offense left Nevada’s defenders exhausted and it showed with Nebraska scoring 24 of its 52 points in the third quarter.
Northwestern should not be as tough as Nebraska, which could help the Wolf Pack be fresh for the entire game. Nevada coach Chris Ault said his defense wore out in the second half and Huskers coach Bill Callahan agreed.
With the offense unable to consistently get first downs, the defense was on the field for 40 minutes.
To compete with Northwestern, the defense needs to be fresh and stealth when trying to contain Sutton.
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September 4th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Is this a misprint?
More from Mitchell
Nevada could not run the ball at all last week so this week it should focus on the pass.
I hope Mitchell has no influence with the coaching staff, maybe this is why they couldn’t run the ball. Canyon